Is Vitamin D Harmful To Dogs

Consequences Of Too Much Vitamin D

Make no mistake about it:

Excessive vitamin D can seriously harm your dogs internal organs. The kidneys are at particular risk with wrong amounts of D3 as well as iron.

Hypercalcemia is a condition whereby there is too much calcium in the blood. Vitamin D can cause this and your dog would suffer.

Bring your dog in ASAP if you are concerned they have overdosed on vitamin D.

You can expect the following:

• Urine testing

Is Vitamin D Bad For Dog

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Correspondingly, how much vitamin D is too much for a dog?

Symptoms of Vitamin D toxicosis can be seen with doses as low as 0.1mg/kg, and a lethal dose in a mature dog can be as low as 2mg/kg .

Also, what are the symptoms of vitamin D toxicity in dogs? Such symptoms may include:

• Vomiting.
• Dark tarry feces containing blood.
• Blood in vomit.

Correspondingly, what does too much vitamin D do to a dog?

Very high amounts of vitamin D can have a number of serious health effects on dogs, including kidney disease and even death. Symptoms of vitamin D poisoning in dogs include vomiting, loss of appetite, increased thirst, increased urination, excessive drooling and weight loss.

Should I give my dog vitamin D?

Vitamin D is an essential vitamin for dogs, which means it must be part of their diet in order for your dog to maintain optimal health. Be careful to not give too much Vitamin D because it is a fat-soluble vitamin that can lead to toxicity if you over dose.

Vitamin D And Its Nonclassical Actions

The nonclassical actions of vitamin D were not a focus of this review. However it is important to remember that vitamin D is also related to numerous functions not associated with bone metabolism . From 1983, when the presence of vitamin D receptors in human immune cells was discovered, research on the unrelated effects on bone metabolism of vitamin D intensified, and it was discovered that cells in almost all body tissues express vitamin D receptors .

In small animals has been demonstrated an association between low vitamin D circulating concentrations and diseases not associated with bone metabolism, such as: cancer , congestive heart failure , gastrointestinal diseases , acute pancreatitis , acute polyradiculoneuritis , CKD and infectious diseases . It has also been demonstrated in hospitalized cats that when 25D was represented as a categorical variable, cats with 25D circulating concentrations in the lower tertile had a higher risk of mortality compared to cats in the reference category and the middle tertile . In a study with hospitalized dogs in a critical condition, it was observed that 25D serum concentrations at the time of diagnosis was a predictor of mortality rate for dogs with chronic enteropathy .

It is not yet clear whether low vitamin D status is the cause or consequence of the diseases mentioned above, with evidence supporting both hypotheses .

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Do Dogs Need Vitamin D Supplements

Were living in strange times. Never in living memory have so many people been asked to stay home for so long. Theres a lot of focus on the bigger negative effects of being indoors for so long: mental physical social and so on. A less obvious downside of lockdown that recent news reports have brought to our attention is vitamin D deficiency. Health experts are concerned many people are becoming deficient in this crucial vitamin because of a lack of going outdoors in the sun. As Britain doesnt get great sun at the best of times, they are recommending certain groups of people should be taking vitamin D supplements to top up. Naturally, as a nation of animal lovers, questions have arisen as to whether our four-legged friends, who may also be indoors more than usual, should be given vitamin D supplements as well. So today we will be answering the question do dogs need vitamin D supplements?

How To Research Your Pet Food Maker Online

Step 1: Do They Own Their Own Plants?

If you have some time to research before heading to the store, its a good idea to get to know more about the manufacturer behind your favorite dog food brands. The first thing to learn is whether the company uses its own manufacturing plants. Companies that own their own plants tend to have stronger quality controls than companies that rely on third parties to manufacture their products. This step simply requires you to type the following into your search engine: Does own its own manufacturing plants? Companies that own their own manufacturing plants will often state the fact on their websites.

Step 2: Do They Have Good Quality Control?

Responsible companies also employ full-time nutritionists, and make their quality control procedures clear on their website. Good quality control will test the ingredients for quality, and make sure they dont contain any mold-produced aflatoxins and other pathogens. Quality control will also ensure end-to-end nutritional content . Again, the best way to research this is by simply typing What are s quality control procedures? into your search engine.

Step 3: Do They Conduct Nutritional Research?

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Pet Food Fads To Avoid

Finally, try to avoid pet food fads. For example, theres recently been a large movement in pet stores towards grain-free diets. However, nutritional scientists havent found a lot of evidence that dogs and cats need a grain free diet. In fact, in recent months there actually have been reports of grain-free diets being linked to heart disease in some dogs. Research continues to be conducted on this topic and we will surely be learning more in the coming months.

Vitamin D Deficiency In Dogs And Cats

Vitamin D deficiency can be caused by abnormal vitamin D metabolism related to congenital abnormalities due to genetic mutations , as well as by the intake of unbalanced diets . Currently, in the face of the growing production of commercial complete foods, dietary vitamin D deficiency has become less common in dogs and cats . However, the recent increased use of unbalanced diets, that may include homemade and raw foods or inappropriate feeding strategies used by veterinarians or pet owners, may increase nutritional disorders in animals, including vitamin D deficiency .

As previously discussed, vitamin D requirements are not well established for dogs and cats, which are dependent on vitamin D dietary intake. Vitamin D deficiency results in hypocalcemia and hypophosphatemia, which can result in clinical manifestation of bone disease characterized by impaired bone mineralization associated either with rickets or osteomalacia . Rickets is a disease characterized by delayed mineralization of growth cartilage and a failure to remodel freshly deposited bone , while osteomalacia is abnormal osteoid mineralization that affects bone during its remodeling so unmineralized bone matrix accumulates in all parts of the skeleton .

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Dangerous Levels Of Vitamin D Discovered In Several Dog Food Brands

CAUTION ONGOING SITUATION

December 7, 2018 The FDA is alerting pet owners and veterinary professionals about recalls of several dry dog foods after receiving complaints that dogs eating the food experienced vitamin D toxicity.

Testing found that samples of the affected foods contained as much as 70 times the intended amount of vitamin D.

Very high levels of vitamin D can cause serious health problems in dogs, such as kidney failure or death.

Veterinarians should be aware that vitamin D toxicity may present as hypercalcemia, similar to dogs that have consumed a rodent killer.

At this time, the only pet products that are affected by this recall are foods made for dogs.

What Brands Are Recalled

This is a developing situation and this list may not be complete.

The list of recalled dry dog food products provided to the FDA include:

Ahold Delhaize

• Ahold Delhaize
• Natures Promise Chicken & Brown Rice Dog FoodSize: 14-lb bag
• Natures Promise Chicken & Brown Rice Dog FoodSize: 28-lb bagUPC: 068826718471 28 lb. bagAll lot codes
• Natures Promise Chicken & Brown Rice Dog FoodSize: 4-lb bag
• Natures Place Real Country Chicken and Brown Rice Dog FoodSize: 5-lb bag
• Natures Place Real Country Chicken and Brown Rice Dog FoodSize: 15-lb bag

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What Vitamins Are Poisonous To Dogs

While you may think that your dog is not at risk of poisoning because of the small amount of vitamins you give him, they can be poisonous in larger amounts. Xylitol is one of the potentially toxic ingredients found in multivitamins.

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Do Pets Ever Need Additional Vitamins And Supplements

Healthy dogs and cats eating complete and balanced diets do not need extra vitamins and minerals, Wynn says.

Murphy adds that nutritional content in most commercial pet foods on the market is governed by the Association of American Feed Control Officials . Anything that meets AAFCOs requirements shouldnt cause vitamin or mineral deficiencies. Its like fortified kids cereal, but even better because its formulated for a total diet, she says.

One exception can occur in cases where an animal has a very low metabolism and requires dramatic food reduction in order to prevent weight gain. If the owner ends up reducing the calories in a balanced diet too much, the other nutrients will be reduced as well, potentially creating nutritional deficiencies, Wynn says.

Therefore, a pet-grade multivitamin or mineral supplement can help make up the difference. Consult with your veterinarian or a veterinary nutritionist to help you determine if your pet needs dietary supplements.

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How Much Is Enough

Theres the rub

The USDA is responsible for testing foods for vitamin D content . But vitamin D is really, really difficult to test for so the data is really lacking.

On the other hand, testing our dogs for the presence of vitamin D is also pretty hard.

We can only measure 25VitD, which is just the precursor to the important form of vitamin D, called 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol.

So we really dont know how much vitamin D should be in the foods dogs are eating .

We dont know what the optimal amount should be in their blood.

And even if we did, we can only measure the precursor, not the usable form of vitamin D.

If were feeding our dogs kibble, then we have to rely on AAFCO to tell us how much vitamin D should be in the food.

But AAFCO standards dont apply well to those of us who are feeding fresh, whole foods. And researchers think theyre not high enough to protect our dogs from disease.

Getting Into Vitamin D Supplements

Some dogs like to get into anything and everything they can find. When a dog finds Vitamin D supplements, they are usually human supplements that the owner accidentally left within reach. If your dog gets into your medications and eats your Vitamin D supplements, he can easily get enough to cause toxicosis.

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Increasing D Levels By Improving Digestion

Dr. Howell recommends feeding dogs a variety of meat-based diets that are free from corn, wheat, soy, rice, white potatoes, tapioca, and peas. Those foods are alkalizing to the stomach, and dogs need an acidic stomach for food to be digested and nutrients like vitamin D to be absorbed. The other problem with these ingredients is that they cause inflammation, which decreases nutrient absorption. As animals age, their stomachs become more alkaline, which explains why older animals may have a harder time breaking down and absorbing Vitamin D from their food.

For dogs fed dry food, she suggests adding bone broth or warm water before feeding. Adding raw organic apple cider vinegar to food helps acidify the stomach, she adds, and it provides prebiotics, which feed gut microbes. Add 1/8 teaspoon to each meal for small dogs 1/4 teaspoon for dogs weighing 21 to 50 pounds and 1/2 teaspoon for dogs more than 50 pounds.

WDJ contributor Mary Straus, whose dogaware.com website offers nutrition and feeding tips, recommends supplementing the diet with probiotics , prebiotics , and digestive enzymes to improve digestion and the assimilation of nutrients.

Coconut oil and butter contain saturated fats and are often listed as good companions to fat-soluble vitamins. Consider adding 1 teaspoon per 25 pounds of body weight to your dogs dinner to help improve his or her vitamin D levels.

Are There Risks Associated With Dog Vitamins

Vitamins are absolutely vital to life. It should not surprise us that something so essential could also be potentially dangerous in large quantities.

You already know that too much of the mineral calcium can cause skeletal problems in large breed puppies. You might not know that vitamins can cause problems, too.

Too much vitamin A can cause dehydration, joint pain, and can even harm your dogs blood vessels. On top of that, there are very few studies that have tested the long-term safety of dog vitamin supplements, and some supplements contain other ingredients, like herbs, that can interact with certain medications.

You can avoid these risks by working out a nutritional plan with your veterinarian.

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Effects Of Vitamin D On The Intestine

In the intestine, calcitriol acts on both transcellular and passive paracellular calcium transport . Transcellular calcium transport consists of three stages: calcium entry into the enterocyte through the calcium epithelial channel transient receptor potential vanilloid type 6 the cytoplasmic transfer of calcium linked to the calbindin-D9k protein, which facilitates the diffusion of calcium through the cell and the extrusion of calcium through the basolateral membrane via Ca2+ATPase and/or a Na-Ca exchanger , which results in calcium entering the circulation. Vitamin D positively regulates TRPV6 and calbindine-D9k and, consequently, there is an increase in calcium absorption . The importance of vitamin D in regulation of TRPV6 and calbindin-D9k was proven in studies with VDR knockout mice in which a reduction of 50% in intestinal calbindin-D9k mRNA was observed, as well as a reduction of up to 95% in TRPV6 mRNA, when compared to wild type mice .

In addition to calcium absorption, in the intestine, vitamin D also acts on phosphate absorption. Calcitriol stimulates phosphate absorption via the Naþ phosphate transporter pathway so that calcitriol increases Na-Pi transporter expression, which corresponds to a family of SLC34 solute carriers .

Other Factors At Play

Should we pay attention to the low levels of 25VitD we see in dogs today?

I think we should because human research is showing a similar association between vitamin D and cancer.

Theyre not yet finding a cause and effect relationship, but its worth paying attention to.

The low levels of 25VitD in our dogs also reflects the state of the world they live in .

Here are some other factors that are known to decrease the ability to convert dietary vitamin D to 25-VitD:

• Polyunsaturated fats can decrease the bioavailability of vitamin D
• Fluoride decreases magnesium, which is an essential cofactor for vitamin D
• Strong magnetic fields can reduce vitamin D levels
• PCBs increase the risk of deficiency by 3%
• Roundup decreases vitamin D
• Flame retardants inactivate vitamin D
• Low magnesium in foods
• Spay/Neuter
• Kidney disease
• Exposure to DDT and other pesticides
• Certain drugs can consume or block vitamin D

Most dogs today are going to be affected by at least two or three of these factors at minimum.

So what does this mean?

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Your Dog May Or May Not Need More Vitamin D

But only your veterinarian can accurately determine if extra is actually necessary.

It cannot be stressed enough:

Excessive vitamin D can damage the kidneys to the point of failure. At that point, death becomes a possibility.

It is not recommended that you give your dog a synthetic human supplement. Thatd be a hit or miss approach which could do more harm than good.

Cholecalciferol Poisoning In Animals

, DVM, DABT, Pet Poison Helpline & SafetyCall International, LLC, Bloomington, MN

Since the recent regulatory changes, exposures to cholecalciferol, or vitamin D3, have increased markedly in frequency. Available in many formulations, including soft baits, hard blocks, and pellets, cholecalciferol may usually be found in a concentration of 0.075% . As with other active ingredients and products, nontarget species are exposed typically after inadvertent ingestion of the bait product itself. Acute relay toxicity has not been documented in research settings however, chronic ingestion of prey or carrion that had consumed or died of cholecalciferol exposure has been shown to lead to mild reversible clinical signs consistent with poisoning. Given the narrow margin of safety of this active ingredient, rare relay toxicity may theoretically be possible in companion animals.

After ingestion and conversion in the liver and kidneys, vitamin D3 ultimately disrupts calcium homeostasis by increasing calcium and phosphorus absorption from the gut, increasing calcium absorption from the distal renal tubules, and inducing mobilization of calcium from the bone with osteoclastic effectsan influence that is not entirely understood at this time.

Differential diagnoses may include exposure to vitamin D3 supplements, vitamin D3 analogues , renal disease, and neoplasia.

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