Different Types and Forms of Calcium
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Good Dog is on a mission to educate the public, support dog breeders, and promote canine health so we can give our dogs the world they deserve.
Good Dog is on a mission to educate the public, support dog breeders, and promote canine health so we can give our dogs the world they deserve.
Good Dog is on a mission to educate the public, support dog breeders, and promote canine health so we can give our dogs the world they deserve.
Q: After the Q&A session this week, I have questions about calcium. I breed GSDs. My vet gives me injectable calcium to give after the 1st or 2nd puppy is born. Does this work differently than oral calcium? Should I be giving oral calcium in addition to the injection? Also, dicalcium phosphate was mentioned at one point, but then calcium citrate was recommended, but you have to add phosphorous. Why wouldn't you want the dicalcium phosphate instead as it's also available in bulk powder?
A: I am going to answer your question in two parts. I use calcium first during whelping, and then my second use is during lactation. Even before your girl whelps you need to make sure that her food has a calcium-to-phosphorus ratio as close to 1-to-1 as you can get. The reason for this is that you do not want to saturate their body with calcium during pregnancy as that tricks the parathyroid gland into thinking that it does not have to do its job during the whelping and release calcium for use then. Avoid foods that have calcium-to-phosphorus ratios above 1.4:1.
During whelping I am not a fan of using injectable calcium, unless I am at the veterinarian’s office. Injectable calcium can cause heart irregularities, along with skin necrosis and these are risks that I am not willing to take, unless I am under the care of a veterinarian. So, during whelping I prefer to give calcium citrate orally. You can buy this in bulk form or use crushed pills.
The reason for using this form of calcium is that it does not require food to work, and it starts working as soon as it hits the mucous membranes. During whelping the phosphorus balance is not as important, as we are truly looking for the boost that calcium gives to the muscle contractions. Yes, calcium loading right before the first puppy has been advocated by some, and it can work well, and you can use calcium citrate for this too.
During lactation, you want to switch to a balanced calcium supplement as soon as you can, such as Doc Roys Healthy Bones or Granules, or OsteoForm SA. If you can’t get your bitch to take one of these, use a calcium supplement and add a scrambled egg in her meals to increase her phosphorus intake. An egg has 25 milligrams of calcium and 125 milligrams of phosphorus.
