Excessive calcium supplementation is not only a waste, but also has a bad effect on dogs.
If you take too much calcium orally in a short time, most of the excess calcium will be excreted through feces, mainly to increase the burden on the gastrointestinal tract of dogs. In addition to some dogs may have anorexia, constipation, indigestion and other minor symptoms, generally there will be no more serious reactions.
Long-term excessive calcium supplementation may cause the following hazards:
Cause long-term hypercalciuria and increase the chance of urinary calculi;
It leads to premature calcification of cartilage and premature closure of anterior fontanel, forming microcephaly, which restricts the brain development of dogs;
Premature calcification of bones and premature closure of epiphysis affect the development of long bones and limit the height of the end;
Too much calcium in bones makes bones brittle and prone to fracture;
Affect the appetite of dogs, thus affecting the absorption of other nutrients in the intestines;
Too much calcium in the intestine will inhibit the absorption of ferrous ions such as iron and zinc, resulting in secondary zinc deficiency and iron deficiency, and lead to the corresponding symptoms such as decreased immunity, anorexia, slow growth, anemia and fatigue in dogs.
If the blood calcium concentration is too high, calcium will be deposited in internal organs or tissues. If deposited around the cornea, it will affect vision, on the heart valve, it will affect heart function, and on the blood vessel wall, it will aggravate vascular sclerosis.
How to judge excessive calcium supplementation
At present, judging whether the dog has excessive calcium supplementation mainly depends on whether there are cases of eye calcium supplementation, repeated calcium supplementation and excessive use of vitamin D preparations in the feeding history, which is a prerequisite for diagnosing excessive calcium. Secondly, combined with bone X-ray to check whether there is bone age ahead of schedule, abnormal calcification of tissue and excessive detection of urinary calcium.
How to correct calcium excess
Once excessive calcium is found, calcium supplementation should be stopped or the dosage should be adjusted in time. Usually, as long as the dosage of calcium supplementation and vitamin D is properly adjusted, the symptoms of calcium excess will soon disappear. However, once the calcification of bones is formed, there is often no good way to eliminate it. Avoiding excessive calcium supplementation and vitamin D preparation may be the best measure to delay further calcification.
Two problems that should be paid attention to in calcium supplementation
1. Calcium absorption is the most important. Absorption is not entirely according to people's wishes: how much to add, how much to absorb; The more you make up, the more you absorb. The amount of calcium absorbed by gastrointestinal tract mainly depends on the calcium nutrition status of dogs at that time, which is regulated by activated vitamin D hormone and parathyroid hormone in infants.
Vitamin D can promote the absorption of calcium in intestine. When vitamin D is deficient, no matter how much calcium is added, it can't be absorbed well. Vitamin D can also inhibit renal excretion of calcium and promote decalcification in old bones.
2. Food calcium supplement is the safest. Generally speaking, food calcium supplementation is safer than drug calcium supplementation, and eating normal food will not cause calcium to exceed the standard.
In addition to dairy products, you can also supplement foods such as soy products, shrimp skin and fish.
Sunbathing and outdoor exercise are beneficial to the absorption and utilization of calcium and are one of the safe ways to supplement calcium.