Calcium & Eggshell Powder

I ran out of bone meal powder this week.

I'm having a hard time finding bone meal powder containing only calcium and phosphorus, with a calcium-to-phosphorus ratio close to the recommended ratios (click here for an earlier post explaining this important ratio). Until I buy some new bone meal powder I decided to make egg shell powder to supplement Gracie's meals.

Several books, including Dr. Pitcairn's, tell how to do this. Over the course of two or three days I saved some egg shells and washed and dried them. I then put them in a 300 degree F oven for 15 minutes, even though 10 minutes is the recommended oven time. I feel like the extra five minutes might help kill more bacteria but I'm not even sure that's what the oven time is for. One source said it's to help remove a type of wax that's sometimes put on commercially produced eggs.

After removing the eggshells from the oven I cooled them to room temperature and ground them in a coffee and spice mill. I ground them thoroughly, to avoid leaving any large or sharp pieces. I've added small amounts of this eggshell powder to some of Gracie's meals, for a calcium supplement.

According to Dr. Pitcairn's book, eggshells contain a 1,800 mg-to- 6 mg calcium-to-phosphorus ratio, so excessive use can supply way too much calcium in a dog's diet. Bone meal provides a better calcium-to-phosphorus ratio for a calcium supplement so I'll keep searching for a brand I like.

*** POST UPDATE: The ground egg shells were just a temporary calcium supplement. I'm now using KAL Bone Meal Powder. According to the label on this new bottle, 1 teaspoon (6g) contains: 1620 mg calcium (from Bone Meal), 540 mg phosphorus (from Bone Meal) and 18 mg magnesium (from Bone Meal). It's not an ideal calcium-to-phosphorus ratio but Gracie's meals contain enough phosphorus to balance it out.

Easing Up On The Supplements

Happy New Year! --- almost, anyway.

Gracie turns 10 this coming year. It's a good time for a dietary review. Like any good Doggie Chef  I periodically take some time to think about what I feed my dog and why.

I've decided to gradually stop feeding Gracie vitamin supplements and nutritional yeast. I'll continue essential fatty acid and calcium supplements (corn oil, sunflower oil, ground flax seed, bone meal powder) but I'll phase out using the Doctors Foster and Smith Lifestage Select Premium Multivitamin and Mineral Supplement For Adult Dogs, and the Red Star Nutritional Yeast.

I think supplements can help if a deficiency or nutrient absorption problem exists. Yet I'm beginning to wonder if they're necessary when a dog is healthy and eats a balanced, high nutrient diet.
Gracie has thrived on homemade meals for almost six years. I've given her multivitamins for only a year. She seems to be just as healthy taking the multivitamins as she was without them. I don't think she actually need these multivitamins at this point in her life.

"Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide To Natural Health For Dogs and Cats," by Richard H. Pitcairn (click here for my review of that book), gave me the confidence to make my dog's food myself. The author recommends feeding dogs nutritional yeast regularly, in small amounts. So ever since I started making Gracie's food I've sprinkled Red Star Nutritional Yeast on her meals periodically. Nutritional yeast contains B-complex vitamins which promote skin, coat and general health. However, I believe Gracie's good health and healthy coat are mostly the result of the nutritious foods she eats and the regular grooming she receives. For now I think she'll be just as healthy without the nutritional yeast supplement.

There's definitely some trial and error involved in being a Doggie Chef! I think it's okay as long as dietary changes are made carefully and gradually; with close watch kept on the dog to monitor the results.

Calcium & Bone Meal Powder

When I was a new Doggie Chef I boiled a big beef bone for about a minute (to "sanitize" it) and gave it to Gracie to chew on. She immediately cracked a tooth. Cooked bones really are bad for dogs!

The vet fixed Gracie's tooth but advised against feeding her anymore bones, cooked or raw.

So how could I provide Gracie with extra calcium? Getting enough calcium, and the right calcium-to-phosphorus ratio, is crucial to a dog's health. Even well-intentioned Doggie Chefs can get it wrong and accidentally harm their pets!

Every argument against homemade dog food mentions this calcium-to-phosphorus ratio. It almost scared me away from becoming a Doggie Chef. How could I ever get it right? It sounded way too complicated.

Well, it's actually easy!

I learned to supplement Gracie's homemade meals with bone meal powder (made for human consumption).

However, bone meal powder contains both calcium and phosphorus. It's important to find a bone meal powder with the recommended calcium-to-phosphorus ratio (or as close as you can get).

The ideal ratio most experts recommend for a dog's diet is a little more calcium than phosphorus.
Specifically: a ratio of 1.2 to 1.4 parts calcium: to 1 part phosphorus.

Yet some bone meal powders contain twice as much calcium as phosphorus!
That's okay because even though it's not ideal, a range of 1 to 2 parts calcium: to 1 part phosphorus is considered acceptable by many experts.

Through the years I've used Now Bone Meal Powder and KAL Bone Meal Powder. Both are tested for heavy metals and other contaminants.

When using Now Bone Meal Powder I supplement Gracie’s meals with about 1/8 teaspoon, three times a week. One teaspoon of the Now Bone Meal Powder I've used contains 1,000 milligrams of calcium and 500 milligrams of phosphorus; or a 2:1 ratio of calcium to phosphorus.

When using KAL Bone Meal Powder I supplement Gracie's meals with about 1/16 teaspoon, three times a week. One teaspoon of the KAL Bone Meal Powder I've used contains 1,620 milligrams of calcium and 540 milligrams of phosphorus; or a 3:1 ratio of calcium to phosphorus. It's a higher calcium-to-phosphorus ratio than experts recommend but at times it's been the only bone meal powder I could get. When using it, I do my best to balance out the extra calcium with phosphorus-rich foods.

Red Star Nutritional Yeast

Why would anyone want to eat yeast? And why would anyone feed it to a dog?

You may have heard some pet owners add brewer’s yeast to their dogs' diets. Pet companies such as Pet Smart and Doctors Foster & Smith sell brewer’s yeast supplements for dogs to promote skin and coat health.

Like brewer’s yeast, nutritional yeast is a dietary supplement available in most health food stores. Both are rich in B-complex vitamins.

Vegans (people who eat no animal products) and vegetarians often use nutritional yeast to replace Parmesan cheese or to flavor popcorn and other foods. It has a somewhat cheesy flavor.

Unlike the kind of yeast used in bread making, nutritional yeast is deactivated. In the book, "Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats," (click here for my review of that book) author Richard H. Pitcairn suggests feeding nutritional yeast to dogs. Pitcairn includes nutritional yeast in a recipe for, "Healthy Powder," a dietary supplement he suggests feeding dogs regularly.

Red Star’s brand is reportedly the most beneficial nutritional yeast so that’s the kind I give Gracie. I add a sprinkle of nutritional yeast to three of Gracie’s meals each week.

*** POST UPDATE: Since writing this post I've decided to stop including Red Star Nutritional Yeast in Gracie's meals. Click here to see my 12-30-08 post explaining why.

Omega 6's vs. Omega 3's --- Essential Fats

Like humans, dogs need to ingest certain types of essential fatty acids.

Yet conflicting advice exists about what types of essential fatty acids dogs need. I decided to look it up myself in the online Merck Veterinary Manual --- an excellent source for information on animal health and nutrition.

[Note: To minimize confusion, mention of omega-6 fatty acids are color-coded in red. Mention of omega-3 fatty acids are color-coded in blue.]

According to Merck, dogs need linoleic acid; an omega-6 essential fatty acid found, “in appreciable amounts,” in corn and soy oil.

The Merck Manual further states, “Recent studies suggest that α-linolenic acid is also essential in dogs...” A-linolenic acid (ALA) is alpha linolenic acid, the omega-3 fatty acid found in fish, flax and other oils.

It's important for Doggie Chefs to know HOW MUCH of these fatty acids to feed a dog.

The Merck Manual states the amount of dietary ALA (alpha linolenic acid, omega-3) a dog needs depends on the diet’s LA (linoleic acid, omega-6) content. It’s important a dog consumes the correct balance (ratio) of omega-3s to omega-6s to avoid health problems.

So in addition to getting the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio right (click here for my post about that), Doggie Chefs must also be careful to give their dogs the right omega-3 to omega-6 ratio!

It sounds difficult, but it’s easy to do.

According to the Merck Manual, the required amounts of omega-3 fatty acids are presently unknown but the current MINIMAL recommendation for an adult dog is, "0.44 g/kg diet ALA (omega-3) when linoleic acid (omega-6) is 11 g/kg diet (dry-matter basis)."

*** To put it plainly, it's recommeded an adult dog consume a ratio of AT LEAST  .44 alpha linolenic acid (omega-3) to 11.0 linoleic acid (omega-6) ratio. Which is:

AT LEAST 1 part omega-3 fats: 25 parts omega-6 fats

Gracie's diet contains both omega-6 and omega-3 fats.

Most of the foods I feed her contain a lot of omega-6 fats. I cook her eggs and meats in vegetable oils high in omega-6 fats, such as corn or canola (which also contains omega-3 fats). I also add ¼ teaspoon of cold pressed sunflower oil (high in omega-6 fats) to Gracie’s food once a week.

To provide omega-3 fats I feed Gracie fish, two to four days a week. I also sprinkle about 1/8 teaspoon of ground flax seed on her food once a week although I'm not convinced it's a great nutritional benefit. I think fish is a better source of omega-3 essential fatty acids than flax. One time I took a vet's advice For a while and supplemented Gracie's meals with small amounts of flax oil. I did that for a few months. Another time I gave Gracie a fish oil supplement for extra omega-3 fats for a few months. I added about 3/4 of the liquid contained in one fish gel oil capsule to a meal once of twice a week. Now I prefer Gracie get most of her omega-3 fats from whole foods, like fish; rather than from oil supplements or from ground flax seeds.

Gracie's Vitamins

During my first four years as a Doggie Chef, I never gave Gracie any vitamin supplements. I figured she obtained all the nutrients she needed from high quality food, oils, bone meal powder and nutritional yeast.

Last year I decided to give Gracie daily vitamin supplements to strengthen and maintain her immune system.

After researching different kinds of dog vitamins I decided to try Doctors Foster & Smith Lifestage Select Premium Multivitamin and Mineral Supplement for adult dogs.

My greatest worry in preparing Gracie's meals was providing an appropriate calcium-to-phosphorus ratio in her diet (click here to read my post explaining that).

The vitamins I give Gracie contain, in each tablet, 50 mg of calcium and 25 mg of phosphorus – a 2 part calcium, to 1 part phosphorus ratio. Of course the actual ratio of calcium to phosphorus Gracie receives depends on how much of the nutrients her body absorbs and how much calcium and phosphorus is in the food I give her.

According to Doctors Foster & Smith, the vitamins are supposedly formulated for nutritional balance. The company also claims pure and natural sources are used, whenever possible, for many of the nutrients contained in the vitamins. And the vitamins are fortified with additional Omega-3 fatty acids (from fish oil) which I believe are good for my dog’s skin and coat and contribute to her general health.

The vitamin bottle suggests three tablets per day for a dog of Gracie's weight. However, I give her two tablets each day. With two vitamins each day and her high quality homemade meals, I think Gracie receives enough vitamins and minerals to maintain good health.

I'm not sure if the vitamins are actually contributing toward Gracie's good health. Yet I feel better about feeding my dog homemade meals now. I believe if I somehow miss providing her with any required nutrients, the vitamins will make up for it.

*** POST UPDATE: Since writing this post I decided to stop giving Gracie vitamin supplements. Click here to read my 12-30-08 post explaining why.