Question re. Rickets (calling vet techs and other knowledgeable peeps) - Page 1

Someone e-mailed me about their GSD, which the vet says is suffering from rickets. He's got the dog on a supplement called Osteoform, which contains the minerals needed to build bone, but not Vitamin D. The owner says he/she keeps the dog outside, so it shouldn't need the vitamin D, as it gets enough sunshine that its body can make it naturally.

If it was my dog, I'd be giving it some cod liver oil on its food, just to be on the safe side, especially since the dog lives in the northern U.S., and this is wintertime, so there's not a lot of sunshine around. 

The rickets is affecting ONLY the one leg. Now, this has me scratching my head. My understanding of rickets is that it affects ALL the bones in the body. Why would JUST the one leg be affected?

Is this possible, or has the vet misdiagnosed the dog?

Dogs do not have an efficient mechanism to make their own vitamin D, although sunlight is beneficial. You do not give good enough information to determine what is really going on with the pup. Especially since the problem is in a single leg, I wonder if the pup simply has panosteitis. Ricketts is very rare and as below, and if present,  there are often other problems going on. Normal good dog food, even commercial pet foods, contain what is recognized as sufficient vitamin D content. Over supplementation is also dangerous. Osteoform DOES contain vitamin D. It probably can't hurt, but again, not enough information. Maybe who wrote you does not have all the facts either?

From a good source:

"Vitamin D metabolites are important in the regulation of calcium metabolism and, subsequently, skeletal development in dogs. They aid in the absorption of calcium and phosphate, increase bone cell activity, and influence endochondral ossification and calcium excretion.(29) Unlike other omnivores, the dog seems to be dependent on dietary vitamin D sources. Dietary sources of vitamin D are either of plant (vitamin D2) or animal (vitamin D3) origin. Commercial pet foods contain from 2 to 10 times the National Research Council (NRC) recommended amounts of vitamin D.(30) Clinical cases of vitamin D deficiency (rickets) are extremely rare. Diagnosis of a deficiency can be made by measuring circulating levels of vitamin D metabolites(31) and by measuring growth plate width. Increased width is not associated with low-calcium/high- phosphate diets but is a strong indicator of rickets.(29) Excess vitamin D can cause hypercalcemia, hyperphosphatemia, anorexia, polydipsia, polyuria, vomiting, muscle weakness, generalized soft tissue mineralization, and lameness. In the growing dog, supplementation with vitamin D can result in marked disturbance of normal skeletal development, primarily as a result of increased calcium and phosphate absorption.(29)" https://www.msu.edu/~silvar/hips.htm

Thank you, Hodie. I am waiting for the owner to provide more information. He/she has also promised to send photos. Apparently, there is a visible deformity in the one leg. This makes me wonder if it is something other than rickets, such as an injury to the growth plate.

I checked the ingredients for Osteoform and did not see Vitamin D listed. Glad to know that it is in there somewhere.

I will e-mail them a link to your post, if that's okay with you.