How much calcium do my dogs need?

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Savvy

Savvy Savverson

Barked: Mon Oct 29, '12 3:17pm PST


	They are 9 and 10 lbs. what is the best calcium supplement I can buy (at Walmart?) and what would their daily dose be? I'm new at this and can't find my answer. I ordered a multivitamin for dogs (animal essentials) it doesn't have calcium or phosphorus I believe so you can add your own.

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Maxwell

I'm triple- superior MAD- now!

Barked: Mon Oct 29, '12 5:19pm PST


	Since commercial foods have more than enough calcium and phosphorus it would be a bad idea to put it in a supplement meant to be mixed with commercial food. See Sedona's thread on balancing homecooking for information on how to figure out how much calcium and phosphorus. Your supplement is unlikely to do the whole job but don't worry about it, it would take months for a deficiency to develop so you have plenty of time to learn how to get any missing bits and pieces into the diet. Also see dogaware's page on home cooked food. It is awesome. http://www.dogaware.com/diet/homemade.html If Max had to have cooked food I hope I could feed something like this. http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/low-glycemic/ Basical ly 3/4 meat-organ-egg-fish and 1/4 low calorie veggies like celery/zucchini/broccoli/cabbage. Feed mostly red meat as it is higher in minerals and vitamins than chicken [lean ground beef is super easy], have about 1 ounce of liver per pound of meaty stuff and 2 ounces of fatty fish per pound of meat as well. Then I would add 900 mg of human grade bone meal for calcium and phosphorus per pound of how many pounds of raw ingredients. Egg shell is fine in a pinch but lacks phosphorus which is an essential nutrient. Even though meaty stuff is very high in phosphorus I cannot make up a recipe high enough without bone meal. I would tweak the recipe to meet my dog's nutritional and calorie needs. If he needed fewer calories then I might need to add a bit more calcium for instance.

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Moxie

1247371

Barked: Wed Oct 31, '12 2:36pm PST


	I can't use that spreadsheet thing for some reason, and I'm having a hard time understanding everything else.. I read a lot of different things on google about it.. I went and bought 600mg dose of calcium for humans, (without vit. D) Should my dogs be getting half (300mg) or whole pills? 9and 10 lb dogs.. Edited by author Wed Oct 31, '12 2:36pm PST

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Savvy

Savvy Savverson

Barked: Wed Oct 31, '12 3:20pm PST


	I just realized my supplement is calcium carbonate too. Is this a problem?

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Maxwell

I'm triple- superior MAD- now!

Barked: Wed Oct 31, '12 3:43pm PST


	Calcium carbonate is the same as eggshell calcium. I don't know how much calcium your dogs need, Max is 38 pounds and needs 1000 mg a day but if I just gave him that he would be low in phosphorus. Perhaps you could add 900 mg to a pound of what you are cooking now and continue studying up on the subject? See dogaware's page on book reviews, perhaps there is a recommended book in the library or online you could read. Some of those books can be partly read online. I read them on Amazon and Google books.