A reader sent me the following email with permission to post on this blog.

Q: What do I know of calcium…where do I get it, in what form, how do I know what dosage? Are there any other calcium questions I should think to ask? They do not chew on bones although they are raw food pups. Should they be receiving calcium everyday?

A:  The newest books on raw feeding are very specific about the different calcium sources. For centuries dogs and cats have just eaten bones and done fine. For generations they have eaten farm scraps and done well. Generations of dogs seem to have done well on all the following calcium sources, so I still feel it is fine to use any of these.  You can read the books and blogs to be totally fine tuned.  I like to rotate them if you are not letting them eat bones. 1. Ground eggshells – 1/2 teaspoon per pound of meat or fish; 2. bonemeal from a “good” source – says no heavy metals in it. NaturVet is one good one; 3. Calcium from Algae from Animal Essentials; 4. Wysong’s Call of the Wild supplement (has lots of great stuff including calcium from all of the above. Not needed everyday. Why are you not feeding chicken necks and backs and wings, etc?

Her answer: Cause I am a scaredy cat thinking of their tiny little throats and choking…