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This has been a very interesting and educational dialog. I poured over much of the literature submitted/ referred to on the site and found especially useful those referenced by Tracy from Australia (?).
An interesting paper was published from UC Davis and another mention was made on the Pedigree/Waltham site indicating that too rapid growth may be the real culprit with skeletal problems such as pano (though genetic predisposition was discussed as well)...this in turn can be influenced by too high energy levels in the feed (principally it is the fat content here), and too high "dose" of calcium (not the percent calcium or Ca:P ratio, but the actual amount consumed by the dog). The UC Davis paper suggested feeding a diet with Ca that does not exceed 0.9%.
Even more importantly, one can calculate the actual amount of Ca fed by first determining the Metabolizable Energy level required by the pup (in Kcal) and then using this to determine the feed rate of your selected diet (Kcal needed/Kcal per cup). The actual units (in grams) or an index to calcium units (using cups) can be obtained by multiplying the cups fed by the percent calcium. Doing this little exercise may demonstrate that an adult diet delivers a higher dose of calcium --even though the percentage is lower-- because you are feeding more of the food.
This is food for thought I guess!
Keith, Soo, Dusty, and Romy
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