Do dogs need vitamin d?

Dogs do need vitamin D however, and if their diet lacks it, or the form of vitamin D is poorly used by the dog’s body, health problems can result. Vitamin D is critical for proper calcium and phosphorus balance. read more

Recently, there’s been a lot of attention to what insufficient vitamin D can do to our dogs. Because vitamin D controls calcium, too little vitamin D can often show up as bone deformities (rickets) and, as researchers are looking at now, even immune system dysfunction. read more

The Cornell researchers compared blood levels of vitamin D in dogs with CHF and healthy dogs. The dogs with congestive heart failure had lower blood levels of vitamin D than the dogs without heart disease. And, as with humans, low blood levels of vitamin D were linked to poor survival rates in the dogs. read more