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Mineral Needs Of A Dog

from: Kyle Besser

Minerals and vitamins make up less than 2% of any formulated diet for dogs. However, minerals and vitamins are the most crucial of nutrients. Minerals don't provide any calories or energy. Their main function is to assist the body in energy production. A dog's body can make vitamins, but it cannot make minerals. All minerals come from the food that your dog eats, and the availability of the minerals is quite complex.

There are approximately 17 types of minerals that your dog needs. They are considered "essential" and are grouped as trace or macro. The eight macrominerals are calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, chloride, sulfur, magnesium and silicon. The nine trace minerals are iron, zinc, copper, cobalt, iodine, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, and selenium.

All minerals are either elemental or chelated. Elemental means that the minerals come from the earth and are composed of chemical molecules. These chemical molecules cannot be reduced to simpler substances. They are basic constituents of all living matter. They exist in an inorganic state. Chelated minerals are suspended in an amino acid or other organic substance which make them easier for the body to absorb.

Between 50% and 85% of minerals are lost during food processing. This can cause deficiencies within your dog's body. There are a lot of minerals that are not destroyed by the heat used in processing dog food, but many of these minerals are water soluble and are lost during the cooking process and before packaging.

All dog food must be made within the dog nutrition guidelines of the "Minimum Daily Requirements" of known figures to use in the recipes used for dog food. This minimum daily requirements within the dog nutrition guidelines are set by the National Research Council (NRC). The NRC tells us that the research information presented to them has been limited and is not complete with many nutrients and life stages and that much of the information is over 30 years old.

The sum total of minerals, together with the cereal grains contained in all dog food ingredients and nutrition determine the acid/alkaline balance of the body. Most minerals are only moderately absorbed even when the dog's digestive system is functioning at optimum level.

The way that dog food is made, the source of the dog food ingredients and nutrition, the breed of the dog, the age of the dog and the climate that the dog lives in all have an effect on his mineral needs. The need for minerals for different life stages has yet to be calculated. The NRC states that more minerals are needed during growth, gestation, lactation, old age and when the dog is physically exerting himself.