Why we add trace minerals

See Spot Live Longer™ Homemade Dinner Mixes contain mineral-rich foods and supplements.  Here’s why:

Minerals are essential for dogs

At least 18 minerals are essential for mammals; deficiencies can lead to serious health problems and death. Those minerals needed in large amounts, (calcium, phosphorus and others), are measured in % (or grams per 1,000 kilocalories); and the trace minerals (zinc, copper, iron and others), needed in small or trace amounts, are measured in milligrams per kilogram (or milligrams per 1,000 kilocalories). The amount needed does not reflect its importance.  Deficiency of a mineral needed in parts per billion may be just as detrimental as deficiency of a major mineral.

Minerals are inorganic (not containing carbon) elements that originate in the earth and cannot be made by living organisms. Minerals must be obtained from the diet.

The natural diet of dogs is mineral-rich

Compared with 2006 National Research Council’s recommendations, the ancestral diet is mineral rich.  The mineral content of the ancestral diet exceeds the recommended allowances for puppies (NRC puppy) and adults (NRC adults) for all evaluated minerals, with the exception of zinc. 

Ancestral Diet, Minerals per 1,000 kcals ME

Many homemade and commercial raw diets are mineral-deficient

We’ve conducted extensive chemical nutrient testing and computer analyses of homemade and commercial raw meat diets, and found that many canine raw diets are mineral deficient, at least according to NRC and ancestral-diet standards.  It is difficult for a diet to meet NRC and ancestral-diet standards without adding significant amounts of mineral-rich foods (for example, oysters for zinc); or adding mineral supplements. 

In the wild, the dog ate the entire prey animal—certainly if it was a small animal. This included mineral-rich parts such as blood (a major source of iron), heads with eyes (the natural source of DHA), glands (pituitary, pancreas, spleen, thyroid and others) and organs. These mineral-rich parts are often not available to homemade and commercial diet makers. For example, blood is drained from slaughtered animals immediately, and used for other purposes (livestock feed, fertilizer, etc.). The juice present in packaged meats does not contain much blood.

Ensuring mineral compliance with NRC and ancestral diet standards

We’ve learned that the best way to ensure proper amounts of minerals is to feed appropriate amounts (not too much!) of mineral-rich foods, like hearts, livers and rice bran, and supplement with high quality mineral supplements. 

Whole food sources of minerals are almost always superior to synthesized forms; but many synthetic forms prevent mineral-deficiency-related health problems. Human and canine nutritional science clearly shows the efficacy of synthetic mineral forms in preventing mineral-deficiency health problems.

We believe that most dogs are healthiest when fed an ancestral-type diet, which is a mineral-rich, fresh meat-based diet.  That’s why we add mineral-rich foods and supplements to See Spot Live Longer™ Homemade Dinner Mixes.

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