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Originally Posted by Kris Christine  We took Butter in to see our homeopathic vet yesterday for an updated checkup on his allergies and to have a blood test to see if anything was out of balance after the lopsided elimination diet we've had him on. My concern was that he may be low on potassium, vitamins, maybe even sodium.
Everything was fine except for, much to my surprise, his calcium level (11.1), which was on the high end of the "normal" range (6.6-11.8) and his phosphorous level (3.1) was on the low end of the "normal" range (2.9-6.6) range, so the vet recommended we lower the calcium citrate from 1.5 teaspoons per pound of meat to 1.25 teaspoons per pound of meat. This was the one nutrient I thought we had a handle on!
Our vet feeds her own animals a raw diet and annually does a CBC test to make sure nothing is out of balance -- I think we're going to do the same from now on. For what it's worth from Butter's human still trying to strike the proper balance in Maine.
Kris |
Annual blood work is a necessity for seniors and would benefit all dogs but I hesitate to use it as any kind of indication that homecooking or raw is in the right proportion. From my understanding, calcium is stored in the bones and when the body is low, it takes it from the bones. So the calcium in the blood can be normal but the whole time the bones are being depleted...
Somebody correct me if I'm wrong?
I am definately not a supplementation expert.
This is a quote from Ellie's nutritionist, Dr. Remillard:
"A veterinarian should examine your pet regularly (2-3 visits/yr), while eating exclusively a homemade diet, and please inform your veterinarian that your pet is eating a homemade diet. There are no additional tests to recommend while your pet is on a homemade diet because there are no accurate "tests" of nutritional status. Your veterinarian may perform a few routine overall evaluations of red and white blood cells, serum proteins and electrolytes as part of an annual checkup. These tests are only very broad overall indications of nutritional status and not specific to any nutrient intake. The best overall indication of nutritional health is your pet's body weight, activity level, normal skin and eyes, more specifically, the lens and retina."