Pumpkin for the Pooches!

My title is cynically enthusiastic.  There are many headlines about how good pumpkin is for your dog; however, until I read this article at Cesar's Way, I did not have any idea that too much pumpkin could lead to Vitamin A toxicity in dogs.  Herein lies my approach to evaluating the hype behind the hype regarding 'miracle foods' for my pet.

Let's Do Math: Calculating Toxic Levels of Pumpkin in Dogs:

RDA for dogs of Vitamin A:                                    2,272/lb of food or 50/lb of dog (1)
Amount of IU in 1 cup of canned pumpkin:            12,231 IU (2)
Amount of RDA for a 50 lb dog:                              2,500 (math: 50 IU x 50lbs)
Maximum amount of canned pumpkin to add to your dog's food absent other supplementation: (2500/12231) x 1 or 1/5th of a cup.

(1) source: http://www.vetinfo.com/vitamin-a-toxicity-in-dogs.html)
(2) source:  http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2601/2 

I purposely added the qualifier of 'without additional supplementation' as my NUPRO supplement that I give my dogs provides 2,365 IU per scoop (3TBLS).

Conclusion:  giving my dogs pumpkin regularly on top of their current supplementation would expose them to over supplementation for Vitamin A.  As you think about supplementation for yourself or your animals, research the risks of oversupplementation.