Vitamins & Minerals: Dog Food Basics
March 3rd, 2010
The vitamins and mineral part of our Dog Food Basics discussions inherently falls into a this-or-that pattern. Vitamins are organic. Minerals are not. Some vitamins are water soluable. Some are fat soluable. With a good diet, it’s hard for pets to be deficient in certain vitamins. Yet, when it comes to minerals, the real risk can be getting too much, not too little.
An individual’s vitamin and mineral needs changes based on many things, including:
- Age
- Health status
- Constant shifts in the body
- Relative density or balance of other nutrients in the diet.
For example, the amount of thiamin (B1) needed greatly depends upon the dog food’s carbohydrate content. Or, compounds found in things like peas or soybeans can make iodine (a mineral) unavailable for the body’s use.
So, I wish I could tell you that EVERY dog needs THIS much of each vitamin or mineral, but I cannot. Instead, I can only tell you what roles they play in the body.
Water-Soluable Vitamins
These vitamins don’t store well, with excesses shed through urine, so animals are more likely to suffer deficiencies and less likely to experience toxicities of water-soluable vitamins:
- B-complex vitamins (metabolism of energy and tissue development)
- Vitamin C (antioxident, synthesis/metabolism/transport, immunity)
Fat-Soluable Vitamins
These vitamins can be stored in the body’s fat, making them less prone to deficiencies but more prone to toxicity:
- Vitamin A (important for vision, bones/teeth, respiratory membranes, gastrointestinal membranes)
- Vitamin D (helps with calcium and phosphorus metabolism)
- Vitamin E (antioxidant that protects other vitamins, fats, and certain amino acids)
- Vitamin K (important for blood clotting and bone growth)
Minerals
Minerals are broadly classified as either “macro” or “micro” minerals. Dogs need macrominerals in greater amounts, whereas microminerals they need just trace amounts. Generally speaking, animal-based foods provide a more available source of minerals than plant-based ingredients.
Macrominerals
- Calcium (key for bones/teeth and for intracell messaging from hormones and neurotransmitters)
- Phosphorus (important to bones/teeth as well as for cell growth, energy transfer, amino acid formation)
- Magnesium (used in carbohydrate and fat metabolism and as a catalyst for enzymes)
- Sodium & Chloride (electrolytes important to fluid balance and pressure, pH balance, nerve and muscle activities)
Microminerals
- Iron (oxygen activation/transport and electron transport)
- Zinc (metabolism of carbs, fats, proteins as well as key to skin integrity and immune system function)
- Copper (iron absorption/transport and hemoglobin formation, also needed for normal skeletal growth)
- Selenium (protects cell membranes from oxidation and spares Vitamin E for other uses)
- Iodine (key to hormone synthesis, including those that control body temperature and even muscle function)
That’s a lot to digest. (Ha! I made a joke)
So, I’ll end this week with a little piece of trivia: Zinc plays an important role in the ability to taste.
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Tags: dog food, dog nutrition, minerals, vitamins
Posted in Dog Food Basics, K9 Nutrition, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
6 Responses to “Vitamins & Minerals: Dog Food Basics”
A professional writer based in Colorado, Roxanne Hawn doesn't just love dogs. She deep-down requires them in life. Something inside her genes, perhaps? That's why it's such a joy to write about all things canine. Roxanne began writing about pets in 1995, when she worked for the American Animal Hospital Association and later for the American Humane Association. During this period in her career, Roxanne served on the board of directors for the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy (a coalition of animal welfare groups). Roxanne also volunteered for many years at an animal shelter, where she witnessed firsthand what happens when the human-animal bond breaks or never forms.
I *like* your jokes. Seriously, great post.
Great post, Roxanne. I feed my dogs one of the foods offered through K9 Cuisine, but isn’t one of the risks of fixing your dog a homemade diet not getting the vitamins and minerals right?
Indeed, Kerri. People who want to do homemade diets have to be really careful about this piece of the nutrient puzzle.
Roxanne, Very nice post. Very informative. Thank you.
From the description of water-soluable vitamins above it sounds like I could add them to my pets water dish without fear of “over-medicating” them. Would this be OK to do? If so,what dilution would I need to do?
That’s a good question, David. I’ll look into it and perhaps write a whole post on the topic. Thanks for the idea.