Too much/too little calcium? concerns for puppy

[DaneMama]

so back to the question: has feeding a large breed puppy (since 3 months old) on high bone content for about a month done any harm to his growth?

No, I don't personally think that you've done any long term harm. But I honestly don't know for 100% absolute certain that you haven't done long term damage. In my years of experience helping people switch, after just a few days people either know (from reading "getting started" guides) that crumbly poo means add more meat, or they ask why their dog's poo is crumbly. He's gotten great variety thus far, so I don't think that he will be harmed from this.

Another question for you....is his poo crumbly when coming out or does it crumble up after sitting there for a while? This is a key piece of information....that I can't believe I haven't asked you yet!

I like this.

Done right by a household who can and are willing to follow through without cutting corners I see tremendous benefits from feeding raw style. You can quote me on that
But don't you think PMR as a style, method, concept or what ever you want to call it deserves to be recognized as something more than the "don't worry" diet? So for example when there are legitimate concerns with raising your puppy predominantly on industrial farmed poultry it should make it to the PMR website in a way so ppl understand why? So many more would accept PMR if certain aspects are discussed (not here) more in depth on the main website.

I get what you're saying and a lot of it has to do with my free time. Sure I could whip up an article based on what *I* have to say...but that's not good enough for my website. If the article is going to be there, its gotta be well referenced, etc. As of late, I don't have the free time to do it...which is why I'm glad this forum is linked to PMR so that people can come here with their questions. It sucks that I don't have much free time right now, because I most definitely want more content on PMR!

[evildiva]

For most of the first month I've had him, it has been fairly crumbly when it came out. He was getting a lot of bone-in chicken. I'm feeding a lot more boneless meals now and it does change the consistency... still figuring it out though as he sometimes has sloppy poo after too many boneless meals (or too much beef!)

[magicre]

his poo has been crumbly and chalky the majority of the time (he's been on raw for approx 6 weeks now) but I have been giving mostly bone-in chicken during that time. Now that he can eat beef and all sorts of meats with no problems I'm giving him more boneless stuff. I hope I haven't damaged him by giving too much bone during that first period - that's my worry

if you do this for years and years, you could cause some damage to his kidneys by giving too much calcium. what isn't used, since calcium is
water soluble, the excess is peed out.

but, if you just go by the poo, that will tell you whether or not you're feeding too much calcium....as he gets more and more used to eating raw, he'll require less bone.....nature will take care of it.

and, i do have a stiff legged arthritic oldster.....she was torn up as a young dog by another dog down to her tendon.....i'm pretty sure any arthritis or limping or stiffness is related to age and to that particular incident.

raw has helped...we started her at age ten. she'll be twelve this month and only now are we starting to work on her homeopathically to keep her stable.

i think she is a little stiff, so we make sure she walks and we give her some herbs to help with any inflammation. but i guarantee she'd be worse had we not started raw feeding. i feel it in MY bones. :)

learn your dog and read up on it. there are lots of posts and websites on this subject:

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/