When formulating a diet for Dogs it is important to make sure that there are no excesses for some nutrients. Safe upper limits will be integrated into the stable (1.0) release. The following tables list the safe upper limit of key nutrients for dogs based on the NRC recommended allowance.
The 1.0 release of the software will have these limits built in automatically. We will use arbitrary amounts (including amounts from the FEDIAF / AAFCO industry standards) for nutrients that do not have safe upper limits. We will also allow the user to alter these arbitrary amounts.
Note that puppies have more stringent requirements (see Lysine and Calcium).
Puppies 4-14 Weeks Old
|
|
Lysine |
227 % |
Total Fat | 387 % |
Linoleic Acid | 494 % |
EPA + DHA | 2153 % |
Calcium | 150 % |
Vitamin A | 989 % |
Vitamin D | 588 % |
Puppies 14 Weeks and Older
|
|
Lysine |
285 % |
Total Fat | 387 % |
Linoleic Acid | 494 % |
EPA + DHA | 2153 % |
Calcium | 150 % |
Vitamin A | 989 % |
Vitamin D | 588 % |
Adult Dogs
|
|
Total Fat |
597 % |
Linoleic Acid | 582 % |
EPA + DHA | 2545 % |
Vitamin A | 4221 % |
Vitamin D | 588 % |
Late Gestation & Peak Lactation
|
|
Total Fat |
387 % |
Linoleic Acid | 493 % |
EPA + DHA | 2153 % |
Vitamin A | 989 % |
Vitamin D | 588 % |
Analyzing our Recipes
Below we see the Recipe Balancer module showing the Nutrient Summary for the adult dog recipe, "Turkey and Liver with Heart." We compare the values in the Nutrient Summary to the values in the Adult Dogs Table above. We want the values to be below the safe upper limit. The screenshot below highlights two different nutrients. The first nutrient component (EPA + DHA) is 715.34 %. This is below the safe upper limit of 2,545 % cited in the Adult Dogs Table above. So this nutrient component is at a safe level for this recipe. Total Fat, Linoleic Acid, and Vitamin D are all below the safe upper limits for adult dogs stated above. However, the safe upper limit for Vitamin A for adult dogs is 4,221 % and our recipe is 4,964.65 %; above the safety level. This recipe needs to be altered to bring this nutrient component below the safe upper limit.
Comparing EPA + DHA and Vitamin A in a recipe to safe upper limits.