# Does my puppy really need calcium tabs?



## Thaya (May 11, 2012)

Hello all, I am a new mom to a precious puppy named Thaya. We have had her for two days now and I took her to the vet this morning for a check-up. He told me because she is a large breed, and because she looks like she is going to be very large that he wants me to start her on calcium. Is that really necessary? She's 9 1/2 weeks and 19.7lbs. Her parents are both of average size. I guess my concern is, if I give her calcium will it affect her bone development in any way? If it is necessary, how much do I give her? The vet tech said to go to the local pharmacy and purchase calcium pills for humans and give her one pill a day. That's 600mg a day. Too much?

Thanks!

Thaya's mom


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I've never supplemented my puppies with anything and use an "all life stages" kibble with a puppy-friendly formula.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Nope


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Large Breed Puppy food.


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## rarerare37 (May 6, 2012)

Well at a puppy class a trainer told me to give our puppy cottage cheese to add some calcium to her diet. She said it helps with the dogs ears(cartilige) while the dog is getting its adult teeth. Don't know if its true but we do give our female a little cottage cheese every morning. I've also found cottage cheese listed on sites that explain ways of making your own dog foods. Maybe not necessary, but she does like it.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Actually large breed puppy food should have less calcium in it than ordinary puppy food, and calcium and phosphorus needs to be balanced properly so just giving a human calcium pill will throw your puppies nutrients out of balance. 

I am not a vet or a nutritionist. Calcium while teething can help the ears as the cartilage in the ears requires calcium as do the teeth that are coming in. But if I really feel like doing this for whatever reason, I will give raw meaty bones, or add a bit of cottage cheese or yogurt to their kibble short term. 

From the little I think I understand, calcium if in excess, will create deposits in the joints and can cause some problems down the line. 

Many breeders will not feed large breed puppy food or any puppy food, they feed the adult formula to limit the calcium.

Don't take my word for it or your vet's word for it, research it on the net, and listen to people who hopefully will provide some studies about calcium and large breed puppies.


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## marbury (Apr 3, 2012)

Selzer brings up a good point. There's a growing difficulty in normal birth with dogs these days, as relatively high amounts of calcium are required for proper uterine contraction. With today's high-calcium diets in many commercial dry kibbles, a bitch's body doesn't have to worry about pulling calcium from her own body; she gets it once or twice a day with her meal. When it comes to crunch time and her body struggles to pull calcium from her tissues and bones she isn't equipped to handle it.
I haven't bred my dogs, but knowing that makes me wary of over-supplimenting. I'm sure that if they have trouble pulling calcium during whelp they would also have trouble pulling it for other reasons in their lives. Again, I'm not a vet... but remember, most go to schools funded in large part by food and drug companies. If they can sell you a product, they will try their hardest to do so.


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## rarerare37 (May 6, 2012)

I have never looked (never thought to), but I take it that puppy foods have a lot of calcium in them? How long does everyone keep their puppys on puppy food?


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Absolutely no calcium pills for GSD puppies. Stuff like this goes to show just how clueless some vet techs can be.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I don't use puppy food. They say it is formulated to make the pups grow slower, but I think it is formulated to have less caloried, higher volume, and less calcium than regular puppy food. Which means because you have a large puppy, you will buy more of it, and require to feed even more of it than you would if you were feeding ordinary puppy food. So, you get a double whammy. 

Back in the dark ages we had one dog food and we fed it big dogs, little dogs, puppies, adults, and seniors.

Now we have a bazillion different brands, and each of those has different flavors, and different incredients, and different focusses. 

So that now there are dog foods touting "All life stages." Well duh! We have come full circle. 

But you look at a big dog and a little dog and think, they might need different foods. You look at an active dog and a couch potato, they probably have different needs. You look at a growing puppy, an adult, and a senior dog and think, well maybe they need different amounts. 

So they have GSD puppy for 0-6 months, 6-18 months, 18-24 months, adult, senior, sensitive stomach, skin and coat, hypo-allergenic, and the stuff with prayer in the ingredients to feed the dog's soul I suppose. 

Dog food is a racket, and everyone has a different take on it. They are all out to sell you their food, and will do it any way they can. If they will cut down the calories, put cheaper junk in it, make the kibble larger, and say it is for large breed dogs, they will. Because it will sell.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

There are some good links in this article 
http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/feeding-our-puppy/163201-feeding-puppies.html

Now days most large breed puppy forumulas have LESS calcium than a lot of adult forumulas to prevent excessive growth. If a formula is labeled for "all life stages" that alone should be adequate. 

A lot of adult foods also fall within those ranges. Agree you have to look at calories and if a large puppy is consuming more calories it is already getting more calcium.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Thanks, Nancy - was just going to get that link Feeding Puppies posting again - click on it!

Answer: no.


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## Thaya (May 11, 2012)

Thanks all for your replies. The thought of giving her calcium just didn't sit right with me and your responses just reafffirm my initial thought.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

You have good instincts. I woul strongly suggest looking for another vet.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Also at 9 weeks and 19 lbs, your pup is an average GSD pup - not too large.


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