Too Much Bones/calcium?

[Kaffy Magee]

Just been thinking about what i feed my pups/dogs. Ive been feeding lots of chicken bones and wonder if its too much. I have three large breed pups at 5 months of age and one at 8 months, so whilst they are still growing they are my main concern.

6 days a week they get bones in the morning(carcasses etc) then in the afternoon they get chicken mince which is ground up chicken carcasses and atleast 4 days a week i add Vets all natural complete mix and some oils to it. 1 day a week they get fish and egg and offal.

They were getting some beef mince well but i just recently cut that out as for some reason i thought it wasnt completely necessary and not as cost effective as chicken. They also get brisket bones 1 a week and lamb necks occasionly.

I have one of the pups down on her pasterns so have just bought some ester c to see if thats helps bring her back up so any info there would be good too.I know teething can bring it on and she is at the right age but the other two have no problem.

Anyway so do you think they are getting too much calcium in their diet,it has only just occured to me that they might be. I have also just noticed the Vets all natural complete mix also contains calcium supplement.

Any suggestions much appreciated.

[puggy_puggy]

I don't know about the to much calcium part but I'm thinking that it would be better to vary the bones and meat then just to have chicken all the time.

Being large breed pups they should easily cope with lamb bones. Maybe give lamb bones in the morning for half the week and chicken bones for the other half.

Also I would be varying the evening meal between the chicken mince and other things like kangaroo and beef.

[longdogs]

Just been thinking about what i feed my pups/dogs. Ive been feeding lots of chicken bones and wonder if its too much. I have three large breed pups at 5 months of age and one at 8 months, so whilst they are still growing they are my main concern.

6 days a week they get bones in the morning(carcasses etc) then in the afternoon they get chicken mince which is ground up chicken carcasses and atleast 4 days a week i add Vets all natural complete mix and some oils to it. 1 day a week they get fish and egg and offal.

They were getting some beef mince well but i just recently cut that out as for some reason i thought it wasnt completely necessary and not as cost effective as chicken. They also get brisket bones 1 a week and lamb necks occasionly.

I have one of the pups down on her pasterns so have just bought some ester c to see if thats helps bring her back up so any info there would be good too.I know teething can bring it on and she is at the right age but the other two have no problem.

Anyway so do you think they are getting too much calcium in their diet,it has only just occured to me that they might be. I have also just noticed the Vets all natural complete mix also contains calcium supplement.

Any suggestions much appreciated.

You cannot give too much calcium, provided it is from natural sources [ie bones or chicken mince made from ground carcasses].

I would be concerned about the calcium in the Vets All Natural mix. Artificial calcium can and does cause bone problems in dogs, whereas natural calcium does not.

Any excess natural calcium is excreted via the bowel, this is what makes the poos white.

If you are noticing white poos, give extra oil to help them pass through.

The oils I use are cod liver, extra virgin cold pressed olive, and flax seed.

I feed mine very much what you are feeding, [minus the commercial food] plus juiced vegies and juice.

I have reared a few litters this way, I increase the chicken wings and necks while the puppies are growing, and never add artificial calcium.

It is quite common for puppies to go down on their pasterns while teething, not all but a lot do.

Ester C may strengthen the ligaments and certainly won't do any harm.

Mine get Ester c daily.

[wylie]

How about adding some lamb hearts or beef hearts to there diet as well.

I also add meaty lamb flaps and meaty pork bones to both my puppy and adults diets.

You need to add more meat to there diet so things like beef cheeks are also a good idea.

Maybe even some sardines or salmon for a bit of variety

[Guest Tess32]

I'd add some more meatier bones - there's not that much on chicken frames. I generally give meat (heart, tongue, fish etc) in the morning and a meaty bone at night, and if they've had lots of meat one day, I give them frames the next.

[~*Shell*~]

I've been told that you can't get too much calcium from natural sources. I think you can from supplements but i wouldn't worry about the amount of bones in their diet. Zero gets heaps of bones atm because he's on a diet, and he's had no negative effects (he has very very clean teeth though - the vet couldn't believe it the other day!)

[Guest Tess32]

I've been told that you can't get too much calcium from natural sources. I think you can from supplements but i wouldn't worry about the amount of bones in their diet. Zero gets heaps of bones atm because he's on a diet, and he's had no negative effects (he has very very clean teeth though - the vet couldn't believe it the other day!)

Hmm, I don't really see how that's true. If you only ever fed your dog solely on chicken frames and nothing else, it would be 90% bones/cartiledge and no meat - so it would be high calcium, low phosphorus....which we know is incorrect.

[rose of tralee]

an imbalance of anything is not good, and applies to natural foods too. Why not look to the composition of prey animals, and what the well researched wolves eat?