Dog Community

Calcium

Posted : 8/3/2010 4:20:30 PM

I try to feed Bugsy raw meals 1-2x a week which consist of some meat/organs and a bone. The only bones that really work are beef knuckle bones which at times I struggle to find.

Lamb bones are fine but expensive and even harder to find.

He has barfed up pork bones from time to time so I feed those rarely

He cannot have any poultry or egg

When I don't have enough bone I give him calcium supplements ground to a powder & mixed with some cottage cheese or yogurt.

Anyone have any other options?

Tonight he ate the meat and is not chewing (a first) his bone so it looks like I'll be making a calcium slurry.

BEVOLASVEGAS

Posted : 8/4/2010 9:52:51 PM

If, for some reason, our guys get a meat only meal I add cottage cheese, and/or yogurt to help make up the difference. Tofu is high in calcium, but it also bumps up the protein levels. Some of my guys love tofu. Some give me the finger for offering it.

Dawnben

Posted : 8/6/2010 12:14:14 PM

seaweed is a good source of calcium. My dogs love it. I just mix it in the food Sea vegetables : Hijiki 1 cup 610mg Dulse (dry) 1 cup 567mg Wakame 1 cup 520mg Agar-agar 1 cup 400mg Kelp (kombu) 1 cup 305mg

Myra

Posted : 8/6/2010 7:54:15 PM

BEVOLASVEGAS
I add cottage cheese, and/or yogurt to help make up the difference.

Cottage cheese really isn't a good calcium source for dogs. It does have some calcium, but it has more phosphorus than calcium. Since the whole point of supplementing a dog's diet with calcium is to balance out the phosphorus contained in meat and other commonly-fed foods, adding cottage cheese doesn't help. You'd actually have to add more calcium just to balance out the phosphorus in the cottage cheese itself.

jennie_c_d

Posted : 8/6/2010 7:55:01 PM

Can you get Blue Ridge Beef, there? They have ground beef with bone, that you could use when you can't get knuckles. They also have very reasonably priced, ground rabbit, with bone.

kpwlee

Posted : 8/6/2010 8:50:26 PM

interesting about the seaweed although I would have to watch the iodine levels due to his thyroid issues.

Jennie I can get Blue ridge beef not as simply as getting reduced meat from the stores though LOL I do know that I can get ground product that is balanced but I do like feeding him meat he has to chew and tear

thanks for all the input - I didn't realize the phosphorus levels of cottage cheese was so high

PurplePets22

Posted : 8/7/2010 11:44:49 AM

I read somewhere that ricotta cheese is a better choice than cottage cheese because of the phospherous levels.

You said no poultry or egg.......does that include egg shells?

I grind those to add to Baily's home cooked.

Myra

Posted : 8/7/2010 12:38:10 PM

PurplePets22

I read somewhere that ricotta cheese is a better choice than cottage cheese because of the phospherous levels.

That appears to be right.

I looked up the information for ricotta cheese and cottage cheese on the USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory website. According to them, a cup of whole milk ricotta cheese has 509 mg. of calcium and 389 mg. phosphorus. A cup of cottage cheese has 186 mg. of calcium and 358 mg. of phosphorus. So the ricotta cheese would be a much better choice.

kpwlee

Posted : 8/7/2010 1:53:33 PM

thanks for that Myra - Mindy I tried washing out the eggshells really well before drying them and he still had a horrific reaction so no eggshells.

It appears that using ricotta plus hte ground up supplements is the best way to balance things out.

Myra I am going to look up non-fat yogurt as we always have that in and see if that is better than the cottage cheese