Here is the Purina Dog Food tip of the day - "Repeatedly adding raw eggs to a dog's diet can cause a deficiency of the vitamin biotin. This can lead to dermatitis, loss of hair and poor growth. Supplementation is typically not necessary when a dog is fed a complete and balanced dog food."

Any comments other than don't buy Purina dog food?! Connie S. - what's your take?

I had heard this from an SV judge a few years back.

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Here is the Purina Dog Food tip of the day - "Repeatedly adding raw eggs to a dog's diet can cause a deficiency of the vitamin biotin. This can lead to dermatitis, loss of hair and poor growth. Supplementation is typically not necessary when a dog is fed a complete and balanced dog food." Any comments other than don't buy Purina dog food?! Connie S. - what's your take?

Yeah, number one would've been the comment you made! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I've read so much back-and-forth about that egg white thing, as I imagine we all have.

Here's a quote that sums it up pretty well (IMO):

"Egg whites contain a protein which ties up the vitamin, biotin. Many people avoid feeding their dogs raw eggs for this reason. Funny thing is, the yolk contains more than enough biotin to make up for any that the egg white binds to. So feeding raw egg whites alone is a problem; raw whole eggs however are alright. Boiling the egg destroys the biotin-binding protein and kills off any salmonella, so the safest thing is to cook them before feeding to your dog but I wouldn't flip out about feeding the occassional whole raw egg."

That's from a Border Collie Rescue site, http://www.bcrescue.org/eggs.html

And good ol' Dr. Mercola says this (about people and dogs, btw):
"After my recent studies it became clear that the egg’s design carefully compensated for this issue.

It put tons of biotin in the egg yolk. Egg yolks have one of the highest concentrations of biotin found in nature. So it is likely that you will not have a biotin deficiency if you consume the whole raw egg, yolk and white. It is also clear, however, that if you only consume raw egg whites, you are nearly guaranteed to develop a biotin deficiency unless you take a biotin supplement."

Thanks, Connie - I knew you would know. Remember the good old days when raw eggs were even good for people (1 egg, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 tsp. sugar, 8 oz. milk, and a shot(s) of whiskey) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

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.....Remember the good old days when raw eggs were even good for people (1 egg, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 tsp. sugar, 8 oz. milk, and a shot(s) of whiskey) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Those days aren't so old, either! It hasn't been all that long that we've had to be afraid to make eggnog!

I actually don't trust big-ag raw eggs anymore. I get the ones that are cage-free, no "meat" byproducts in the feed, etc. According to a CDC bulletin I read, salmonella-infected eggs now come from hens whose ovaries are infected (which is not easily apparent), as opposed to in the past when the cause was salmonella on the shell of carelessly-washed eggs. This kind of infection, from contaminated feed of animal origin, is pretty rare. Although it's most often found in the U.S. Northeast, it has been identified in other areas.

Still, it's one more reason (I believe) for supporting farmers who feed carefully and raise the animals in better surroundings. The cost difference (at least where I am) is negligible.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/salment_g.htm#How%20Eggs%20Become%20Contaminated

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That would be me! Thanks for the heads-up.

Sorry for the "un"quote. - I was referring to the U.S. Northeast.