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Calcium supplements

This is the place to share your best homemade dog food and treat recipes with each other! Remember to use caution if your pet has allergies and to make any diet changes gradually so that your dog's stomach can adjust to the new foods you are introducing.

  
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Quinn

Walk, sniff,- pee, repeat...		 
 
Barked: Mon Nov 19, '07 9:08pm PST 
What's really the best way to supplement calcium into homecooked? I've read bonemeal in the Pitcairn book, Calcium Carbonate in the Whole Pet Diet and other people on Dogster have said Coral Calcium, but that's alkaline (as is Calcium Carbonate ie Tums) when I've also read that Calcium Citrate is better for dogs because of their acidic stomachs. I have also seen Calcium caseinate (the calcium from cows milk) which also contains additional protein/amino acids but no lactose. Wouldn't that be good for an extra protein boost? Or not?

So... I'm feeling confused. I've been using bonemeal since I have been using the Pitcairn recipes as my transition to homecooked, but I can see how it would be more flexible to use a calcium supplement that doesn't contain phosphorous to balance the meals if I want to branch out with other recipes etc. Especially to do my own stews without grains.
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Pepper

you say cookie?- now I listen.		 
 
Barked: Mon Nov 19, '07 11:46pm PST 
calcium and phosphorus have to fed in correct ratios otherwise problems (serious problems) can arise. Personally I would stick with bone meal because it supplies both in ideal ratios.
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Drizzle

Support our- Soldiers!!!		 
 
Barked: Tue Nov 20, '07 12:43am PST 
we use a bone meal supplement. It is the easiest and best way to get the necessary items.
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Member Since
10/08/2007		 
 
Barked: Tue Nov 20, '07 3:21pm PST 
we use ground eggshells which is also listed in pitcairns book.
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Quinn

Walk, sniff,- pee, repeat...		 
 
Barked: Tue Nov 20, '07 7:30pm PST 
Hmmmm, but meat already contains lots of phosphorous and not much calcium, which is why you need to add the calcium. But with the bonemeal you are adding calcium plus phosphorus so if you calculate how much phosphorus and calcium is in your recipe already before you supplement it is easier to supplement with pure calcium than bonemeal to reach the ratio. Plus I have other recipes from sources other than pitcairn using pure calcium and there are instructions for adjusting the pitcairn ones for pure calcium. They use calcium carbonate or citrate interchangably. I was just wondering if any other pups knew any advantages/disadvantages of the pure calcium supplements. Has anyone else read or heard about the alkaline/calcium carbonate thing?
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Byron

Small dogs can- have BIG jobs!		 
 
Barked: Wed Nov 21, '07 12:21am PST 
You are right about bonemeal adding additional phosphorous. You really have to be careful of that and adjust accordingly. I prefer not to add bone meal, as it is coming under increased scruitiny for poor ingredients and manufacturing processes.

You can try adding ground egg shell. You dry the clean egg shells (take the membrane out) in your oven (which should be off) for several days and then grind them in a spice grinder (or mortar and pestle etc). 1/2 teaspoon of egg shell powder provides 2750mg of calicium carbonate or about 1000mg of elemental calcium. Usually you add 1/2 teaspoon of powdered egg shell to one pound of cooked food.
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♥- Princess- ♥

One-eyed Wonder- Dog		 
 
Barked: Wed Nov 21, '07 8:10am PST 
I agree with Byron....the calcium in bone meal is absorbed and used really well by the body BUT with all the BSE concerns even my vet doesn't recommend it....I do use bone meal from the HUMAN health food store that is human grade but am I sure it is really that much safer than pet grade????shrug

Many people, including my vet, suggest using coral calcium instead...you can get that human grade as well. Or, my vet even suggested Tums! wink
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Gio

CD RE (CKC)- RXMCL (CARO) FM- CGN SJATD
 
 
Barked: Fri Nov 23, '07 8:21am PST 
Can you purchase ground egg shells? I don't go through enough eggs on my own to provide enough egg shells to supplement that way.

And with coral calcium, where do you get that? Health food stores?

Do you folks worry about changing the supplement levels with different home made meals, or do you just give one amount of calcium regardless of what you are feeding that particular day and assume it all equals out in the end?
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Penny (RIP- 1996-2008)

Gone but never- forgotten!		 
 
Barked: Fri Nov 23, '07 12:14pm PST 
This was a great question. Mom wonders the same thing. When she supplements with calcium, she's adding phosphorous too so how does that balance the phosphorous of the meat out. Lately we've just been using Tums and a regular multi-vitamin with our homecooked. Not sure what else to do!!
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Gabe the Dog

It's Gabe. Gabe- the Dog		 
 
Barked: Fri Nov 23, '07 1:16pm PST 
our recipe from the Veterinary school in the state given to me by my vet uses bone meal AND calcium carbonate...so I buy human grade bone meal and do the ground eggshells or you can by cal carb from a health food store. I was told that the combo is the way to get the ratio and th best absorption. I don't know if long term Tums use is ideal, truly long term TUMS for people to get calcium is not ideal either because of the GI effects.
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