# calcium-phosphorus levels



## anetaze (May 10, 2009)

I keep hearing that you have to be careful to make sure these levels are balanced or else bone/hip issues will arise.

So how do you know that you are feeding the right amount of calcium phosphorus and that it is balanced appropriately so no problems will arise?

Thank you,
Aneta


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

http://www.stevesrealfood.com/facts/calcium-phosphorous.html

I think it depends on what and how much bone you are feeding that would affect the levels. As long as you are doing the proper ratio of meat/bone/organ it should be healthier than most kibble.

My pup just went thru a bout of pano, and it is due to his structure more than anything else. It was a mild bout, if he was kibble fed, it could have been worse.


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## anetaze (May 10, 2009)

Interesting read, thank you.

So what % of bone and meat do we feed to best maintain and support these levels?


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

My opinion, the best percentages are as follows:

45% - MM (muscle meat)
50% - RBM (raw meaty bone)
5% - OM (organ meat)


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## anetaze (May 10, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: elisabeth_00117My opinion, the best percentages are as follows:
> 
> 45% - MM (muscle meat)
> 50% - RBM (raw meaty bone)
> 5% - OM (organ meat)


Thank you for your opinion and this information. Just curious, are these % something you researched/read about or have personal experience raising GSD's on. I don't want to come off sounding smart alec about this just trying to understand where the info came from and if it is accurate.

There is another website/board that uses this guideline (based on what they think wolves in the wild eat like): 80% meat, 10% bone, 10% organ - of which 5% has to be liver.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Wolves eat what they can find to eat, they don't have the choice of ratios.
Many of the raw sites I have been on have the same ratio Elisabeth posted for proper balance. 
The 5% should be a variety of organ meat, not specifically liver. 

Have you visited rawdogranch? Great info on Lauri's site!


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: elisabeth_00117My opinion, the best percentages are as follows:
> 
> 45% - MM (muscle meat)
> 50% - RBM (raw meaty bone)
> 5% - OM (organ meat)


This depends entirely on the dog. My puppy gets runny stools at this ratio (he needs more RMB). So a "recipe" that works perfectly for one dog doesn't work for all. 

Also, what some people consider RMB -- chicken quarters -- are meatier than what others feed as RMB -- turkey or chicken necks (and how meaty are the necks?), chicken backs, etc. 

All RMB are NOT alike. Monica Segal discusses this and does some analysis on it. It's worth checking out her website and her book _K9 Kitchen_

Organ meats aren't the same either. Quite a few dogs can't tolerate as much liver as they can other organ meats.

With a raw diet, you have to work with what your puppy and his body are telling you is suitable. If he has runny stool, is gaining weight too fast, has health issue, etc, then you should look at the diet and do some adjusting.


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## natalie559 (Feb 4, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: anetaSo how do you know that you are feeding the right amount of calcium phosphorus and that it is balanced appropriately so no problems will arise?


Good question and one of the same ones I asked myself when starting out. I felt percentages were just a guessing game and I didn't want to guess with my dogs nutrition so I found another way. I researched and found that there are nutritional guidelines that are published for dogs. I looked up the nutrients in the foods I was feeding and compared the two.

I've posted more details here,

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=428679&page=10#Post428679


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## anetaze (May 10, 2009)

Natalie, thank you so much for this link and all the work you have done. That's amazing!!

I've been busy and sick and didn't get a chance to post recently but I just wanted to thank you for this. It helps a lot.

Best,
Aneta


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