Many stories of people helping their aging dogs, cats and other pets with Vitamin D
Apparently there are no studies as of June 2012
Overview Veterinary and vitamin D many items on pets
The following is a story of an old dog benefiting from 4000 IU of vitamin D
Beaus History
This is a report on how we have managed Beaus asthma attacks since 2008. Beau is a Border Collie Cross, 17 years old, weighing in at 20kg.
He is living in Iligan City, Philippines where I was a service volunteer for 8 years.
Unfortunately he can never leave, govt regulations.
In 2008, I Robert Powrie, Beaus owner was helping the local university reduce their power consumption. We were also improving air quality using Ionizers.
These were normally fitted to out-flowing air on A/C, however we fitted units to fans in our house to clean our air up.
The first thing we noticed was Beau, who was showing signs of respiratory difficulty, was always near the fan that had an ioniser fitted.
Any problems he had were non-existent when it was on, the ioniser certainly helped his breathing.
However as time progressed his breathing progressively got worse with the ioniser being of a minor help.
When I came back to the Philippines in April 2011, his condition was much worse. I had bought whilst in NZ, a supplement to assist his breathing. It was no help, but I had used Vitamin D to help local asthmatics. The city vet had diagnosed Beaus condition as asthma & suggested I get him an inhaler, but seeing you have to hold your breath to make an inhaler work properly, I considered that was impossible to administer one effectively. Plus he still had big teeth & I am always wary of any dogs bite, different things can set them off. I had with me some VitD3 that I was personally using & sharing with others nearby. I decided to try the VitD.
Initially the tablets didn’t work, mainly thru the capsules not dissolving in his stomach. I then released the powder into his bowl, mixing a little milk so he could drink it. I found that to actually work, 4000 iu had to be administered. Any less and the attack did not stop. 4000 iu provided him with nearly 24 hours protection. The attacks normally came at about 8pm, when temperatures had dropped about 5-6 deg C. Sometimes the attack came after midnight when I was asleep & Beau would wake me seeking help. Every time 4000iu improved his breathing.
Without the Vitamin D assistance I’m sure he would be dead. The attacks stop almost as soon as he has finished drinking the mix, it is truly amazing.
We have continued a Vitamin D supplement of 4000iu per day. I approached a New York company & they made me a water soluble VitD3 mix to my specs which he is given daily, sprayed onto his food. We monitor him closely, he truly is a family friend.
Other things happened to him. He was becoming very lazy, getting him outside to the toilet was very difficult, he slept nearly all the time. His hearing & sense of smell was non-existent. He was already blind from cataracts & his coat looked like a worn out rug. It was time, we thought to put him down.
But things slowly changed. His coat started to look good again, he can hear again & his sense of smell is back.
We know about his smell, he knows where cats are. He has regained his energy, he’s first to the kitchen when food is about.
He wants my nephews to take him for walks, it’s like he’s a new dog.
His coat is all lush now, no-one believes he is over 18 years old, 19 in August (2012).
Many friends have asked for some of the VitD mix I was sent from NY.
I’m currently talking with them & will be able to supply others. I will tell you when I have more.
Notes
- Cows are routinely given 30 IU per kilogram (which would be 4,000 IU for a 60 lb dog)
- Can probably add vitamin D drops to the pet food
- Probably should not continue to give 4000 IU - It is OK for a loading dose daily amount for several months, but not longer.
On the web May 18 2012
Do you have any thoughts on the effect of keeping animals totally out of the sun?
I’m talking about our cats and dogs who are kept indoors “for their protection”.
This story isn’t over yet, but my cat seemed intent on dying [not eating, trips to the vet ($500+)],
so just because he seemed to enjoy it, we started spending a lot of time outdoors.
I was so sure he was close to death, we prepared his grave a week ago.
Now he’s greatly improved, but still on shaky ground
– after all he ate nothing for two weeks!
But could this possibly be from simply taking him outside?
(Vitamin D from the sun helps too)
See also VitaminDWiki
- Dog Cancer 4X more likely if low Vitamin D – Nov 2015
+Includes vitamin D level in blood vs brand of dog food - Rickets increasing in dogs
- Vitamin D for Your Dog – A Beagle’s Happy Days April 2012 by Vitamin D Survivor
Dog age 10 was in some pain and moving slowly
20 to 40 IU per pound of body weight per day
Clinical symptoms of vitamin D toxicity in dogs have been found as low as 3 mg/kg or 1.3 mg/lb.
Played with the new puppy and enjoyed another happy 5 years. - Companion animals (dog, cats) need vitamin D too – March 2016
- Dogs, like humans, need vitamin D for many reasons – Jan 2018
- Dogs with Cancer have low vitamin D, same as humans – Sept 2017
- Dog Cancer (hemangiosarcoma) is rare if more than 100 ng of vitamin D – July 2014
- Half of dogs now get cancer, it used to be just 1 percent (probably low Vitamin D)