Iodine

Question
In home cooking when using NRC values how do you ensure you are meeting iodine requirements when databases do not track the amounts of iodine in any food substance due to variability?

Answer
While dogs' nutritional needs are well known and widely available, the contents of possible ingredients is hard to find.  They varies in some food stuffs.  This is a major problem with homemade diets.  You can never be quite sure if your dog is getting too much or too little of important vitamins and minerals.   In some cases, too much is very bad.   You can feed a slight excess of protein and fat, letting the dog burn the excess off as energy.  You can control the total calories by adjusting the amount fed to maintain a healthy weight.  Unfortunately the vitamins and minerals are more difficult.  

I can't imagine letting my dog be a laboratory test animal for a diet I formulated.  If I am wrong, my dog could die.  I suggest you read http://www.avma.org/press/releases/070404_homemade_diets.asp