# calcium/phosphorus



## BlueDiamond (Mar 18, 2013)

How serious is the calcium/phosphorus issue for a pup of medium size breed? What should I be looking at, calcium% phosphorus% or the ratio?


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## cheebamaster (Jun 21, 2010)

it is definitely important. I did a TON of research on this topic back in the day. You should avoid food brands that don't have the calcium/pho ratio listed. You want to stay under 1.8 for calcium and pho is always lower. I found that some brands of Natures Variety have acceptable levels for puppies. Acana fish in my opinion has the best ratios for growing pups that is 1.4 or 1.5 calcium max and 1.0-1.2 pho. There is one other acana brand that has acceptable levels and the rest are 2.0+ so should be avoided.

Also, be careful with wet food. You have to manually do the math to get the calcium level for most canned foods. 

Your safe level is between 1.2-1.8 for calcium and .8-1.5 for phosphorus


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