Most of us know about the importance of Vitamin D in maintaining healthy bones and teeth. Did you know that it is also crucial to the function of the immune system and prevention of cancer? It is also important for learning, mood and cognition. Physicians recommend 1000 and 3000 IU daily for people. What about our pets?
Pets do not produce Vitamin D from sunshine like humans, even the baldest ones in the hottest sunniest summer months. Their skin lacks the enzyme to convert sunshine to the vitamin! 100% of their vitamin D must be from their food.
A recent study found that most dogs lack this essential vitamin. This is true for dogs on commercial kibble, frozen raw diets, as well as home-prepared. But some dogs eating the same food had low levels, and others had adequate levels. What does this tell us? There is no way to know if your pet has enough Vitamin D without doing a blood test. Once the test is done, we know if a supplement needs to be given.
Disorders of the bowel and kidney, as well as some medications, can contribute to low vitamin D levels. Dogs and cats with those risk factors need to have their levels tested. A simple blood test can give us the answer, and the sample can be drawn at the same time as other early-detection and wellness blood screening tests.
Over the past 15 years, I have been routinely testing patients’ Vitamin D levels. An overwhelming number of my patients are deficient in Vitamin D and require a supplement.
Vitamin D is a known risk factor for frailty in older pets.
For a deep dive, see these research articles:
