Can Dogs Eat Hard Boiled Eggs? The Easter Version

People ask us can dogs eat hard boiled eggs every spring once the hunt is over, and the answer is yes: a plain one, peeled and broken into small pieces, is fine for most dogs as an occasional treat. The trouble at Easter is rarely the egg. It is the dye, the deviled filling and the one that sat in the yard.

This page is only the Easter question. For the shell, the yolk and the white in full, our whole eggs guide is the longer answer. Here we cover what the holiday does to an egg and how much a dog of each size should get.

The plain egg, peeled

A hard boiled egg is a whole egg simmered in water until the yolk and the white are both firm. Nothing goes in the pot but the egg and the water. That is the version to share. Let it cool, peel it, and break off a piece the size of a thumbnail or two.

The American Kennel Club writes: "There are several ways to integrate eggs into your dog's diet, from the occasional bite of hardboiled egg to sprinkled scrambled eggs on top of their usual food." Read their egg page if you want the whole thing. The word we would underline is occasional. The yolk is part of the egg and gets the same treatment as the white: plain, small and now and then.

Dyed eggs

Most home dye kits are food coloring and a little vinegar in a cup of water, and the color sits on the shell. Peel the egg and hand over the inside. The shell goes in the trash with the paper towels.

Some eggs get more than a dunk. Glitter, paint, markers and craft dyes all show up on the Easter table once the kids get going. If an egg was decorated with anything that was not a kitchen dye, skip it, and let it be a centerpiece instead.

Deviled eggs: keep them on your plate

A deviled egg is a hard boiled egg with the yolk mashed up with mayonnaise and mustard, then spooned back into the white and dusted with paprika. Plenty of recipes add minced onion, onion powder or garlic. Those are the part to watch, and the ASPCA names them: "Onion, garlic and chives are members of the Allium species of vegetables." We link their list of people foods so you can read the rest of it.

Even a recipe with no onion in it is mayonnaise and salt and spice. The platter is for the people. If a deviled egg falls on the floor and the dog gets there first, that is a story for the dinner table, but do not hand them over on purpose.

What you can do is keep one plain egg aside before the filling goes in. Peel it, cool it, and the dog gets a small piece of the real thing while everyone else eats theirs.

Eggs left out after the hunt

Real eggs get hidden in baskets, in flower beds and under the porch steps. Most are found within the hour. A few are found in July. The American Kennel Club puts the reason plainly: "Bacteria: As eggs go bad, they can grow bacteria that can harm your dog."

Keep a head count, like the tally at a car show gate: a dozen out, a dozen in. An egg that came out of a bush, or sat on the lawn all afternoon, goes in the trash. An egg that went back in the refrigerator after the hunt is a different egg, and it is the one to peel for the dog. Plastic eggs have their own problems, and our Easter egg hunt guide for dogs covers the candy inside them.

The shell

Peel it every time. Dogs swallow more than they chew, and a shell does not break up into anything soft. The American Kennel Club says it directly: "Plus, egg shells have sharp edges that can hurt your dog's throat or internal organs." Sweep up the shell bits before the dog goes out.

How much, by dog size

An egg is a treat, and a large one is a lot of treat for a small dog. These amounts are a place to start, counting one large peeled hard boiled egg as the unit:

• Small dogs under 20 pounds: a quarter of an egg.
• Medium dogs, 20 to 50 pounds: half an egg.
• Large dogs over 50 pounds: up to one whole egg.

Those are for a day when nothing else eggy is on the menu, and not for every day. On the weight side, the American Kennel Club writes: "Eating too many eggs can cause weight gain." On Easter weekend the dog is also getting bites of ham and whatever a kid drops, so go lighter on the egg. Our ham guide covers the other half of that table.

The first time

If your dog has never had egg, start with one small piece of plain peeled egg on a quiet day. Wait a day before giving more. A new food is a test, not a reward, and the Easter weekend is a bad time to run it, with so much else going on. Do it the Tuesday after if you have to. If your dog is on a special diet, or has had trouble with eggs before, ask your veterinarian before you start.

What to hand over instead

If you would rather have something in the treat pouch than a peeled egg, we make two single ingredient treats that do not need cooking or peeling. Freeze-Dried Beef Heart Dog Treats have one ingredient, beef heart, freeze-dried in small batches in Malvern, Pennsylvania. The texture is firm and snaps into small pieces, and it is milder than liver. It comes in 1.5, 3 and 6 ounce bags.

The other is Freeze-Dried Cheddar Cheese Dog Treats, which are cheddar and nothing else. Freeze-drying makes the cheese crunchy and non-greasy rather than soft, in one 8 ounce bag. It contains dairy, so it is not suited to dogs with dairy sensitivities. Both are single ingredient with no added ingredients, and both live in our freeze-dried treats for dogs collection.

Hard boiled egg questions

Can dogs eat hard boiled eggs with the shell on?

Skip it. Peel the egg first and sweep the shell bits off the floor, because the shell is the one part of an Easter egg that stays behind.

Can dogs eat egg yolk?

Yes, the yellow part goes down with the white. Keep it plain and keep the piece small, and let our whole eggs guide cover yolk and white separately.

Can my dog have a dyed Easter egg?

A small plain piece of the peeled inside is fine if the dye was a kitchen food coloring. If it was glitter, paint, marker or a craft dye, skip it.

Can my dog have deviled eggs?

Keep them on your plate. Mayonnaise, mustard, paprika and sometimes onion make them a people food, and a plain peeled egg set aside beforehand is the better handout.

Can dogs eat boiled eggs every day?

We would not. Think a few times a week at most, in the amounts above, and let the egg stay an occasional treat rather than part of the bowl.

What about the egg the dog found in the yard?

Trash it. Whatever the egg was before, once it has spent time outside it is no longer one to hand around. Pick it up before the dog gets to it.