The amount of calcium supplementation for dogs should be appropriate, otherwise it will be more dangerous
I often hear from many owners that puppies or adult dogs need calcium supplementation. But did you know that? You can’t blindly give your dog calcium supplements. Otherwise, the dog will not only not be stronger, but will sometimes get sick.
1. Dogs are often prone to excessive calcium
Excessive intake of calcium in dogs is a very common occurrence. This can easily be caused by feeding dogs with finished dog food while adding a mineral feed containing a lot of calcium. All feeds (only for adult dogs) or puppy feeds contain enough calcium. If such feeds are normally fed to dogs and there is not too much other meat, then there is no need to add mineral feeds and similar products. .
For example: a 3-month-old puppy, say about 10 kg, will grow to more than 30 kg in the future, so the current daily calcium intake is about 8-10 grams. Then this puppy needs about 400 grams of feed per day (this refers to pure meat products, additional mixed feed is not counted). Generally speaking, about 0.35% calcium per 100 grams is enough, which can fully meet the needs of dogs.
And if the dog owner adds two tablespoons of calcium powder in addition to this, then the intake is already 16 grams, then the calcium is much more than the amount required by the dog, and at the same time the phosphorus Intake does not increase proportionally, resulting in an imbalance of calcium and phosphorus.
This can cause many skeletal problems, especially in medium to large breeds. Large dogs such as golden retrievers are more likely to have hip joint diseases if they take too much calcium.
2. Calcium deficiency
Generally, if you make your own dog food, calcium deficiency often occurs. Most homemade dog food contains insufficient calcium, especially for medium and large breeds.
People often think that just like people, a few milligrams of calcium in a mouthful of milk or a calcium tablet is already very useful. But this view is actually quite wrong. It takes about 10 years for a baby to reach 60 kg, and it takes less than a year for a real large dog to be enough. So if you want to supplement calcium like this, of course, it is easy to cause calcium deficiency.
3. What kind of dog needs calcium supplementation
1. If a dog mother who is breastfeeding is weak after giving birth, it can be supplemented appropriately 10 days after giving birth calcium. If the situation is serious, you can go to the animal hospital to take intravenous calcium supplementation to try to relieve the symptoms of calcium deficiency in the mother dog.
2. Elderly dogs are prone to osteoporosis, fractures, and bone spurs. In addition to more sun exposure, it is very important to supplement easily absorbed calcium.
4. The performance of calcium deficiency in dogs
1. The limbs are deformed, and the legs are X-shaped or O-shaped;
2. The toes are divided and the legs are unstable;
3. There are signs of deformation at the joints;
4. There is drooling;
5 , Don’t like sports, don’t run actively;
6. Calcium deficiency during tooth replacement, resulting in slow growth of permanent teeth, thin enamel layer, double-row teeth or bad occlusion of teeth;
5. Misunderstandings of calcium supplementation
1. Milk calcium supplementation: Lactose in milk will cause gastrointestinal discomfort in dogs and may cause diarrhea and other conditions.
2. Calcium supplements for humans: The bodies of humans and dogs are very different, not to mention the differences in gastrointestinal absorption. Therefore, do not use human calcium supplements to supplement calcium for dogs. In order to avoid calcium supplementation, it will cause harm to the dog.
Six, summary:
In fact, most of the time dogs don’t need to make up. Although calcium deficiency is extremely detrimental to the health of dogs, as long as they eat dog food normally, calcium deficiency is generally not expected. Partial eclipse and disease will cause calcium deficiency. The research and development of dog food has a history of decades. It can be said that the technology and formula are very mature and can fully meet the calcium absorption requirements of dogs.
Therefore, if your dog can eat dog food normally, there is no need to give your dog extra calcium.
