[CorkyMax]

I would encourage everyone to check out this site. There is good information here and this person knows her Dog Nutrition the best of anyone else I have come across! There are numerous article to click on. Don't miss any of them!! It is a very informative site and it has helped me even though I have been feeding raw and home cooked for about 13 years!

DogAware.com Articles: Homemade Cooked Diets for Dogs

[Dash]

Hey CorkyMax, Thanks for the link. I will read it.

Can we buy the eggshell powder from pet shops or online?

Cheers

Dash

[CorkyMax]

I don't know if you can buy it---I make my own. Even if you can buy it--I feel mine is healthier--not contaminated---More then likely boughten would not be heated which would kill off contamination!! (See my comment below on this oven way.) LOL, sometimes it is better to do things yourself!!
These are paragraphs I copied from dif. sites. I had a long thread on calcium from egg shells in this forum but it seems to have disappeared over time and I am not going to redo it now! I don't agree with all the methods used here and have added a few comments of my own. Word of caution: Make sure you are not giving too much--Too much calcium is very bad for your dog!! I go by (and I have seen differences of opinion--just like everything you check on the net!! I go by the 1/2 teaspoon per pound of meat fed! Suggest you read all the articles below and 'cipher' what you want to do!
How to Make Powdered Eggshells:

Wash empty eggshells in warm water until all of the egg white is removed, but do not remove the membrane because it contains important nutrients for the joints which helps arthritis.
Lay broken pieces out on paper towels and allow them to air dry thoroughly.CorkyMax: I prefer the oven method I mention below!
Break the eggshells up into small pieces, and grind them to into a fine powder in a food processor, blender, coffee grinder, or a nut mill, or put them in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to grind them. Please note that some blenders will not grind the eggshell into a fine enough powder. A coffee grinder works the best. I agree use a coffee grinder!
Store powdered eggshells in a covered glass jar or container. Keep it in a dry place, like the kitchen cupboard.Dry cool place is best--Keep out of the sunlight. I use an empty green olives jar (the little slim jar but wish it was a dark color like brown glass instead of clear but if you keep it in a dark place it is okay too.

Another site gave this info: The Incredible Eggshell

Beside eggs being an excellent protein source, the eggshells provide our dogs with much needed calcium. Eggshells consist of calcium carbonate (94%), magnesium carbonate (1%), calcium phosphate (1%), and organic matter (4%). For those of us who prefer not to use bone meal as a dietary supplement, this is an inexpensive and reliable source.

I spend a few minutes on Sunday preparing the shells. Shells from 8 eggs provide more than enough calcium for the two dogs for the entire week. I think this is worth the effort, since it amounts to another aspect of your dog's diet that you totally control.
The procedure:
Lightly tap the egg on the counter to break the shell and extract the contents. Where the egg has cracked, lift up a part of the shell and pull the broken shell away from the rest of the egg, taking the membrane with it. Sometimes it comes willingly, sometimes not. Don't sweat it if it does not. If you have enough eggs, toss the problem and work on the easier ones. Drop the cleaned shells in a pot of water, bring to a boil, then remove to let them air dry.* I never thought of boiling them but think I still prefer the oven method. I don't know if by chance that boiling would more likely leach out some of the good of the egg shell.

When completely dry pulverize the shells either in a coffee grinder (I have one I use just for this purpose-CorkyMax), with a mortar and pestle, or any means you have. Store in a covered jar on your counter and sprinkle on your dog's dinner at the rate of ½ teaspoon per pound of meat.

One half teaspoon of ground egg shells yields about 2750 mg calcium carbonate which has 1100 mg of elemental calcium.

* I boil them as a means of cleaning the shells from left over membranes, and also in case the egg supplier coated the egg surface to maintain freshness.

Another site: You can make your own calcium from egg shells and avoid any contamination. Buy organic eggs and after using the eggs rinse the egg shells thoroughly and put them aside in an open container. When you have gathered enough egg shells, put them in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes. Then when cooled, crush them and put them in a coffee grinder, or a fine grinder, until they are like powder. CorkyMax: I put mine (spread out on a jelly roll pan) in the oven also but in a 300 degree oven for about 15 mins. I also use a coffee grinder and then dump the ground (REALLY FINE) in a sieve over a Cool whip bowl and mesh by fingers or whatever through the sieve to weed out the pieces that did not grind fine enough. I dump the pieces that need more grinding back in the coffee grinder to do again. You may end up with a little that is too coarse--I just throw it away then but really not much left to do that with if you do it right. Note: I feel the need to put in an oven to kill off any contamination that may be on the eggshell and it also makes the shell more brittle and easier to get real fine powder--which you need in order for it to be assimilated better by the dog --get the necessary nutrition! Little hint here--After pulsing your coffee grind--wait a minute or 2 before lifting the cover or the fine powder is not settled and you will be breathing it in when you lift the cover!
The eggs I buy are called Nature's Harmony from my Walmart store. They cost about $1.90 t 2.15-- the ones with the 100 mg of Omega 3 per egg. Top of carton also says: 100% All Natural Specially Selected Farmer's Market Fresh No Added Hormones No Antibiotics. They are not the cheapest eggs but are still less then Eggland brand and just as good if not better I also feed a raw egg to each of my 2 dogs almost every morning mixed in with their oatmeal or canned mackerel/salmon along with some plain yogurt (not vanilla flavored!) some canned pumpkin (Plain pure pumpkin--not pie filling!) dash of cinnamon--Maybe a half slice of goodbread 'small chunked' I also supplement a taurine tablet and an Omega3--fish oil capsule (dble Strength) and a low strength multiple dog vitamin each wrapped in peanut butter. They get a dehydrated slice or 2 of sweet potato/yam that I sprinkled with cinnamon before I put in my dehydrator after they eat their breakfast. Hopefully this helps keep their teeth cleaned. Sigh, Now you see why I don't like to start on this nutrition thing I get carried away on and feel compelled to say tons as it a whole pkg deal to get the balanced end! Here is another example of what I mean. Being as I told you I supplement with fish oil--I need to say that you need to supply Vitamin E too because the fish oil can use up vitamin e. I give a 200mg. capsule in their evening meal for that. Also give 30mg. of CoQ10 in the evening meal. They also get Solid Gold's brand of Seameal sprinkled on their not very warm (otherwise kills the seameal suplement) meal at 1/2 tsp. per meal for the 2 meals a day--That measurement is dependent on the weight of the dog. Now you see how involved I tend to feel I have to do and I have done it too many times in here over the past 3+ years!

Note: Because I feed eggs every morning, I have more then enough shells to make my egg shell calcium.

I forgot to say that all the supplements mentioned except for the Solid Gold Seameal and the Doggie multivitamin are human supplements---the fish oil, CoQ10, taurine, V.E are from the Puritan's Pride vitamin catalog (also on the web). I also give human supplement milk thistle for a month out of the year to help keep the liver healthy. I prob. should be supplementing with a B50 complex vitamin too, although there are B vitamins in raw meat. Heat tends to destroy most of the B vitamins in cooking though although I feed raw meat ---no raw fish or raw pork--most of the time over cooked meat. Chicken I do both--feed raw and cook sometimes. I give raw ground turkey but cook the whole turkey--- and I believe V.C is good sometimes too. I also put vinegar--about 1/2 tsp. to a whole teaspoon of Bragg raw organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar mixed in their supper meal of meat and pulverized raw veggies or cooked vegs--variety. About the vinegar: The Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar to Dogs - Whole Dog Journal Article

Wow! My face is a little red--I thought I was talking mainly to another member here who had wanted some suggestions for what to feed her dog--The member whose dad was feeding her dog TV dinner scraps, etc. Well maybe this will be of some use to you too! And I'll just go over to this other person's posting and give her a link to this thread! Lol, boy am I done with this!!!

[Dash]

Hi CorkyMax,

Thanks very much for your detailed reply. We are all blessed to have people like you sharing your knowledge with everyone.

I wish I had been to this site when my Dash was alive, but it is really because of Dash our little pup Brodie is getting the best care we can give.

I am very grateful for all the time and trouble you have taken to post these for me and everyone else.

Take care

Dash