American Pet Botanicals Nature's Best Seaweed Calcium for Pets, Vet Recommended, Tested for Purity, 14 ounces 1 Pack

UPDATE: The price increased by 80% after they got a high star rating, so it's no longer a great deal. There's a product for cattle called Cal Min that is almost entirely lithothamnion powder and it sells for less than $1/lb retail. Unfortunately that product isn't suitable for cats/dog (but might be fine for people) due to the higher magnesium content. I have to assume this company here is trying to pull a fast one on pet owners, at the expense of innocent pets. Owning pets is expensive enough, there's no need to gouge people on necessary supplements. I don't know that's what's occurring with this manufacturer/distributor, but based on the jump in price it sure seems like they're being greedy.What I love:-Tested for purity-Contains many minerals including magnesium- *WAS* less than half the current price of competitor's seaweed calcium (At $10/14oz it was $.71/oz competitor is $18/12oz or $1.50/oz) but now they're about the same price.Pet owners who feed raw or cooked meat must balance the meat with a calcium source and might as well use something with many trace and macro minerals which can provide benefit. This is a multiple mineral source which is high in calcium. I don't know that it's as bioavailable as other sources like bone meal or eggshell calcium. Our pets need much more than 1 tsp per pound of meat to produce firms stools. This could be an indication of lower bioavailability of the calcium. Eggshell calcium is perhaps a better choice, but it's important to analyze what the chickens are fed to determine how healthy the eggshells are. It's hard to get things just right with home-made pet food, so it may be a good idea to alternate different supplement options. For calcium one could alternate seaweed calcium, eggshell calcium, and ground bone.Pro Tip: Always keep a log of what supplements and foods you are offering so you and your vet can look back if you notice any new issues which may be related to diet.

... for a home-made canine or feline diet...as it is necessary to balance calcium to phosphorous in homemade meals for canines or felines by 1.2/1, calcium/phosphorous, this is a fine bio-available calcium to make it so. you can find the phosphorous content of the meats, vegetables, and grains you are serving your homemade-fed pet, by doing a search on "USDA food database" or the like (could not post the site without the review being rejected)... then, once you find the mg of phosphorous content of each item (meats, primarily, if not all) in your pet's meals, just add up the total mg of phosphorous, multiply by 1.2, and that is how much of this calcium to add to each homemade meal.also, it is very important to give your pet a daily multivitamin when receiving homemade meals. the following is vet recommended and half the price here than at the vets;  NaturVet VitaPet Adult Daily Vitamins Plus Breath Aid for Adult Dogs, 365 ct Time Release, Chewable Tablets, Made in USA good quality stuff at a very fair price... very pleased, Thank you. :-) NaturVet VitaPet Adult Daily Vitamins Plus Breath Aid for Adult Dogs, 365 ct Time Release, Chewable Tablets, Made in USA

Background: my 17 pound Terrier/Italian Greyhound mix baby eats 100% homemade food, all human grade and organic. Her digestion, energy level, lack of arthritis, shining eyes and coat has been incredible on this, and we are both so happy to have kibble completely banished from her diet. I did research and read from many sources that dogs who eat a homemade diet definitely need a calcium supplement. I was interested in finding her a good whole food calcium supplement, and was excited to try this. I have been feeding it to her for two weeks now, and have noticed that almost immediately of adding it to her mes, have been making her stools tiny and hard. I am giving her less then a quarter of the recommended dose. I wanted to try and stick it out to see if her digestion improved, but it seems to be plugging her up even more as time goes on. I won't be repurchasing again because of it.

My furchildren aren't about that dry dead kibble life, so I cook for them on a daily basis. I bought this because my rescue English Mastiff is a gulper and raw meat bone isn't a safe bet for her health or digestion. It has trace minerals in it, which is wonderful for my 2 English Mastiff's health. I use it 2-3x a week and the rest of the time I crush up a boiled egg shell to substitute for the daily calcium/phosphorus ratio. The picture shows a plastic container, but it comes in a thick resealable bag (FYI).

We switched this year to making our own dog food. Dog loves the change, a bit cheaper than ultra premium fresh food and we know exactly what is in it. Came as a surprise to me that dogs in the wild get about 30% of the calories from "meaty bones" and as you might expect, almost all of the Calcium. This supplement is derived from seaweed and mixes in with my dogs homemade food well and our finicky Labradoodle has approved of the taste.