by Frank Will

Created on: June 28, 2009   Last Updated: June 29, 2009

Rickets in dogs is becoming a lot more common than it used to be and it is speculated that it may be caused by Puppy mills and the lack of the proper nutrients that all growing dogs require.

However, there may be some other issues with your dog that causes this disease.

Although it is not considered life threatening to dogs, it can cause some very serious conditions if not treated properly. Most people have an understanding of what rickets is, and just like people, the majority of cases will be from a deficiency of Vitamin D; but there may be a lot more to it than just this vitamin deficiency.

What is Rickets?

Rickets in dogs is very similar to the same condition in humans and is found primarily in puppies or young developing dogs. Rickets is caused by either a deficiency of Vitamin D, or inefficient reactions in the body to the vitamin. This could be caused by your pet's parathyroid glands not functioning properly and releasing the proper amount of calcium and phosphorus into your dog's bone.

Vitamin D is a fat soluble nutrient that is stored in your dog's liver but it can also be produced in your dog by sunlight and is often referred to as the sunshine vitamin. When your dog is exposed to sunlight the ultra violet rays convert the vitamin D precursors into the active form of the vitamin, and conversion process starts in your dogs outer layers of their skin.

The conversion process from nutrients occurs when your pets system pulls the small amounts of Vitamin D it gets from their diet from their liver, and than transfers it into the kidney. If everything is functioning properly it than acts as a hormone in that it will regulate the levels of calcium and phosphate that goes to your dogs bone and skeletal structure.

However, because it is a fat soluble vitamin, if there are conditions existing in your pets body that reduce the digestion or absorption process, it will decrease the ability of your pet to pull and absorb it from the intestines. That is why sunlight is so critical to this process; your pet must get enough sunshine.

This vitamins major role in your pet is to regulate the levels of calcium and phosphorus in their body.

Most all dogs love to lay in the sunshine even on very hot days as it is a natural instinct for them. If they lack enough sunshine several things start to happen. If the blood levels of calcium and phosphate becomes low in your dog, other hormones in their body react and release the minerals from the bones into the bloodstream,

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