Calcium and Phosphorus

Calcium and Phosphorus
- Calcium and phosphorus must be in balance in the dog, along with magnesium.
- Few animals are phosphorus deficient, but calcium is another story.
- Calcium deficiencies can cause eclampsia in breeding and nursing female dogs.
- This mineral is essential for bone, tooth, and muscle growth; blood clotting; normal heart rate; and transmission of nerve impulses.
- It helps the body to eliminate lead and other heavy metal poisoning.
- Calcium deficiencies (sometimes brought on by high meat diets, as meat contains an unbalanced amount of phosphorus) can result in nervousness, lameness, muscle spasms, heart palpitations, eczema, decrease in bone density, osteoporosis, gum erosion, increased cholesterol levels, seizures, hemorrhages, high blood pressure, arthritis, breeding difficulties, and bone fractures.
- For dogs, supplement high amounts of calcium only in the first year of life, or during pregnancy and nursing, as too much can cause kidney stones (use vitamin C along with calcium to prevent this totally).
- Many people believe that calcium deficiency causes hip dysplasia in dogs, but the lack of vitamin C is really the cause.
- Vitamin D is required to activate calcium.

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