Most dogs have the habit of eating indiscriminately, so what do we often see dogs eating? Some dogs will go to eat dirt, some dogs eat grass, some dogs will eat slippers, some dogs will eat paper, some dogs will even eat their poo, some dogs will eat rocks, dogs eat these things, and some are caused by a lack of nutrition, but also because of playfulness. Today we talk about another item that dogs eat - eggshells, dogs eating eggshells is not unusual, many dogs will do so, and some owners will take the initiative to give them eggshells, so do dogs eat eggshells because of curiosity or nutritional deficiencies?

We should be very familiar with such things as eggshells, dogs eat eggshells compared to eating other things, and the owners accept it a little easier, so many owners will not be too surprised, because although the owners know that eggshells are not normal food, but in the impression that eggshells are not poisonous, probably compared to other items eaten by dogs, eggshells are easier for the owners to accept in terms of sensory.

I. Why would a dog want to eat eggshells?

Egg shells are not an edible food in our human eyes, or a food that can be eaten directly, but for some greedy dogs, it is delicious, especially fresh egg shells, because there is still egg liquid on them, so most greedy dogs, when eating egg liquid, eat some egg shells by the mouth, this kind of dog eating egg shells, we can say it Not intentionally. But some dogs eat eggshells, but deliberately, because some dogs because of an unbalanced diet, their bodies will lack some trace elements, so the dogs themselves will go looking for items containing this nutrition, we call this behavior xenophagy, the vet said above dogs eat grass, eat dirt, eat poo most of the reasons for this, and eggshells are dogs eat these items, the dog most There is no harm and can play some role in things.

The curiosity of cats is strong, and the curiosity of dogs is not weak, in general, we can find that dogs are very interested in some objects that can make a sound and can move, this and their previous hunting habits have a relationship, eggshells, the reason why dogs are interested in it, in addition to the above-mentioned food, and omnivorous reasons, is because eggshells can cause curiosity in dogs, dogs in eating When a dog eats the egg inside the egg shell, or when he uses his mouth to check what the item is, the egg shell will break because of the external force and will make a slight noise, which will arouse the curiosity of the dog and will not make the dog feel afraid, so the dog is very interested in the eggshell. Like dogs that eat eggshells, they may eat the eggshells in their stomachs during play, but there is a big difference between eating eggshells and omnivory because omnivorous dogs will eat all the eggshells, while dogs that eat eggshells for food or play will only eat a small number of eggshells.

Why do some owners give their dogs unsolicited eggshells? Is there any harm in doing so?

Eggshells are a small thing with many uses, among their many functions, the public is most familiar with two functions, the first is to supplement calcium, the second is placed in pots as fertilizer, and the owner gives the dog to eat eggshells actively to try to supplement calcium by giving the dog to eat eggshells, so eggshells for dogs to supplement calcium is reliable?

First of all, let's look at the composition of eggshells: most of the eggshells are calcium carbonate in about 90%, and some trace elements, where calcium carbonate is an inorganic material and is the most commonly used to supplement calcium, many animal feeds will also add crushed eggshells (now most metabolized by bone meal), so theoretically eggshells can indeed give dogs calcium, can also give dogs, However, there is a gap between theory and practice. When we use eggshells for calcium supplementation for dogs, because of the different methods and production processes, in addition to not being able to play a role in calcium supplementation, it can even play a side effect.

If you want to give your dog egg shells for calcium, it is very easy for them to eat some parasitic worm eggs, such as common coccidia, and they are not sterilized by high temperature, so they can easily get diarrhea egg shells for calcium should be fried and cooked so that the effect and safety can be higher, but most owners are not doing this.
For the dog to eat eggshell calcium, many owners are crushed eggshells by hand, directly for the dog to eat, but after the dog ate, it is very difficult to digest, and also easy to hurt the gastrointestinal tract, if the amount of eggshells eaten is not well controlled, the dog will also be seriously constipated, the plant added eggshells, people are eggshells beaten into a very fine powder and added, there is a strict ratio, so we It is difficult for the owner to do.
Calcium carbonate is inorganic calcium, its absorption is not very good, and our eggshells inside the calcium carbonate are not yet purified, so dogs eat eggshells to supplement calcium, another digestive absorption procedure, absorption compared to direct calcium tablets more difficult to absorb, and if a large amount of calcium carbonate is not absorbed, it will eventually form kidney stones and bladder stones.

II. Do we need to use eggshells to give our dogs calcium?

The dog is between 3-8 months (within one year), we need to give the dog calcium because this is its skeletal growth period, need a lot of calcium to maintain bone growth, probably the dog can eat 2-5 bottles of calcium tablets (the size of the dog is different, eat the number of calcium tablets also varies) and the dog to a year later, we as long as the food is more balanced, then the dog does not need calcium supplementation, the owner only need to provide it with nutrition The owner only needs to provide him with a balanced diet, and then when the dog reaches about 8 years old, we can give him calcium according to his condition.
With the above calcium supplementation methods and cycles, dogs actually eat calcium tablets to eat not much, plus now the pet calcium tablets are not expensive, so we use eggshell calcium supplementation does not save a few money, the vet thinks, there is no need to give dogs with eggshell calcium supplementation, the original relatively simple method of calcium supplementation, become complicated, this is not good for the dog's health, but also a waste of the owner's energy and time, the owner more The owner should focus on learning the science of feeding management and diet of health and nutritional balance.

The more calcium you take, the better, and you don't need to take calcium all the time, because calcium is bad for your dog's body, such as the stone problem we just mentioned, as well as kidney problems, so when you give your dog calcium tablets, be sure to follow the instructions to eat the amount.