In continuing with our discussion around ratio diets and deficiencies, this week I want to talk briefly about manganese. As I mentioned before, ratio diets are a great starting point to feeding your dog a species appropriate diet, but we need to be mindful of the nutrients these diets may be lacking, and the symptoms that are manifesting. If you’re not feeding the right types of food, it is easy to become deficient in manganese.

Manganese is an important trace mineral that supports bone and cartilage function, as well as calcium absorption. This mineral is critical for growing puppies to support strong bones, and equally important for adult dogs to maintain healthy bone and joint health. Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CCL) disease has been linked to a lack of manganese in the diet. When bones, ligaments and joints are weak, health issues surface as dogs get older, including arthritis, torn CCLs and ACLs, other muscle and ligament tears, leg lameness, etc.  

Dogs that are fed a Prey Model Raw (PMR) diet are better off (in this instance) than dogs that are fed the BARF diet, because the dog is consuming the entire animal – fur, feathers and stomach contents, which are the parts that are highest in manganese. If following BARF and not adding manganese rich foods, your dog is going to be deficient in manganese, and over time this can have a detrimental effect.

Best manganese rich animal product:

• Fur/Feathers are the richest sources of manganese, as well as an excellent source of fiber that helps maintain a healthy digestive tract. It’s hard to find strong data on the amount of fur/feathers we should be feeding. I personally like to feed these as a treat, so I’ll get cow ears with the fur still on them from the farm and dehydrate them as a long-lasting chew for the dogs. Or I’ll order rabbit ears and feet that still have the fur on and throw one of those in my dog’s meals as extra manganese and fiber. Fur and feathers are not something that my dogs get daily, so I rely on the below to maintain an adequate manganese balance.
• Blue Mussels: One ounce (28 g) provides 1.9 mg of manganese
• Green Tripe: One ounce (28 g) provides 0.37 mg of manganese

Fruits and veggies that provide some manganese:

• Spinach: One ounce (28 g) provides 0.3 mg of manganese
• Kale: One ounce (28 g) provides 0.3 mg of manganese
• Blackberries: One ounce (28 g) provides 0.2 mg of manganese

*Note: Fruits and veggies have small traces of manganese. So, by pureeing a bunch of fruits and veggies together and adding them into your dogs meal, this will provide a small boost of manganese, and provide fiber for your dog.

Seeds and herbs that provide some manganese:

• Wheatgrass: One ounce (28 g) provides 1120 mg of manganese
• Ground Ginger: One ounce (28 g) provides 9.4 mg of manganese
• Hemp Seed Hearts: One ounce (28 g) provides 2.8 mg of manganese
• Pumpkin Seeds: One ounce (28 g) provides 1.3 mg of manganese
• Spirulina: One ounce (28 g) provides 0.5 mg of manganese

*Note: For dogs, vitamins and minerals are most bio-available in the form of animal products. Because dogs are carnivores, they are able to absorb the most nutrients from animal products as opposed to vegetation. Plants can be used in smaller quantities for their immune boosting properties and for added nutrients, but generally should not be relied upon to meet nutritional requirements. For example, wheatgrass is crazy high in manganese, but it is hard to say how much your dog can pull manganese from wheatgrass. So, it’s best to stick to animal-based products like green tripe and blue mussels to support your dog’s manganese requirements and use some wheatgrass on the side for additional benefits, which are plenty with wheatgrass! Better yet, grow it and leave it on the ground in your house for your dog to choose whether he wants some or not. It’s always such a beautiful practice to allow your dog the space to make selections for themselves.

Per NRC guidelines, an adult dog eating 1,000 kcals (approx. a 50-pound dog) should get at least 1.2 mg of manganese per day. There are so many ways to provide your dog with manganese, so make sure you are feeding manganese rich foods such as those listed above to keep your dog healthy and strong!

Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can assist you in any way!

Blessings <3