Vitamins, Minerals, and Moisture In Your Homemade Canine Dog Diet

Vitamins
Two different kinds of vitamins exist in your dog’s diet, known as water-soluble vitamins and fat-soluble vitamins. These different kinds of vitamins are handled differently by your dog’s body, as well. When feeding a natural diet, it is important to be aware of precisely what kind of vitamins your dog’s food contains and in what quantity.

Water soluble vitamins, if fed in excess, are not stored by the dog's body. The B vitamins and vitamin C are all water-soluble. Although it is tempting to give high doses of some of these vitamins to "protect" the body from certain disorders, such as folic acid and ascorbic acid, the body will excrete such overdoses. Feeding very high doses of these vitamins, then, is essentially a waste of time and money. Many vitamins are found naturally in fruits and vegetable that, when pureed, can be added to your dog's food. Some good fruits and vegetable for this purpose would be apples, cranberries, blueberries, carrots, and tomatoes.

The fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E, and K, are stored by the body. These vitamins are used to maintain certain body functions and muscle mass. They also are, in part, responsible for bone growth and maintenance and blood clotting. Although it is important the dog's body to manufacture a sufficient quantity, or for the dog to ingest enough to supplement a deficiency, these vitamins should not be overdosed. Doing so can cause toxicity, illness, and even death. Obese animals, with a greater amount of body fat, are particularly at risk.

Minerals
Dogs use the minerals found in their food to support many body systems and functions. Minerals either act alone in these capacities, or they act in concert with various vitamins. Calcium and phosporous, for example, work with vitamin D to support bone formation and growth. Potassium and sodium are also paired and are important minerals in muscular functioning and cellular formation. Other vital minerals include magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, and selenium.

Moisture
Living organisms are composed primarily of moisture. A dog's body is made up of over half water; for this reason, dehydration can create severe problems or even death more quickly than even a loss of fat or proteins. All dogs must have constant access to fresh, clean water. Water is also present in dog food, defined as "moisture" on the label. Dogs who get a large quantity of moisture in their food will drink less water, as a rule, than those who consume primarily dry food. The average amount of moisture found in dry food varies between 10% to 12%. By contrast, canned food averages between 70% (most foods) and 82% (stews and gravies).

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