Sunlight

Comments

• ljowen123

  January 2009 edited November -1

  I wonder about that as well. I'm definitely not outside as much during the winter and my bedroom (east-facing, but with a lot of trees) doesn't get a lot of light. Can you supplement Vitamin D?
• JessicaRabbit

  January 2009 edited November -1

  I want Brads take on this one....
  Miko is blowing her coat like a mad woman now.
• lindsayt

  January 2009 edited November -1

  LJ-I wondered about that but I didn't want to fiddle around with too many vitamins that I didn't know the effects of on dogs. It shouldn't hurt if done right....I will look it up in our online medical library, see if there is any research.
  
  Brad? What's your input? Can dogs get SAD if they don't get enough sunlight?
• ljowen123

  January 2009 edited November -1

  That's what I was thinking, but I just don't know enough on this. I do open my shades in my bedroom full so that as much light as possible streams in - Jazz has a perch there, but will only sit there if I'm on the computer - most of the time (during the winter) that's after the sun goes down.
• sunyata

  January 2009 edited November -1

  I get sad if I do not get enough sunlight. And I think Bella and Nola do too. (It has been dreary here for the past week, and they seem to be a bit down.) However, I have no idea what or how to supplement vitamin D with (for the dogs), or even if it has anything to do with Vitamin D. So anyone who has some input, I would love to hear it!
• ljowen123

  January 2009 edited November -1

  I have a friend who has Seasonal Affective Disorder and she takes melatonin for that. I know that people with a lack of exposure to the sun often have a Vitamin D deficiency - I compensate for that by drinking more milk during the winter.
• Sangmort

  January 2009 edited November -1

  Just wanted to say [ & I know this from my iguana ] that UV gets filtered through glass & the screens in windows, so getting sunlight through a window really doesn't do much.
  
  Could you use a UV light maybe? They don't emit heat, just UV...~
• Calia

  January 2009 edited November -1

  We all get vitamin D from sunlight, I think more specifically Vit. D3 but not sure. Either way it is good for the skin and helps in processing calcium. That is why reptiles need UV, and why cats sun bath in the window as well as lick themselves so much. Without Vit. D, depression can occur in people, and even some animals.
  
  And yes, most kinds of glass can filter vitamin D, and other sun related healthy stuff, from getting to you. Just pulling open a shade doesn't quite do it. You can feel the difference when sitting next to a sunny closed window and a sunny open window.
• kojichan

  January 2009 edited November -1

  Is the issue the amount of sunlight or the amount of exposure to cold? If a dog spends the majority of his time indoors (and in rooms with space heaters), I would think that would trigger his body to decide it doesn't need all that extra fur. I've been thinking about this lately, as many of us have noted the mid-winter coat blowing. It's been a colder and snowier winter this year for many of us compared to more recent winters. Maybe that has resulted in even less outdoor exposure and more consistent or widespread use of heaters.
  
  Under such circumstances, it would seem reasonable that this may occur. Lindsay hit on this without realizing it .. "when he returned to live with my mom, he resumed living OUTDOORS about 60% of the time".
• lindsayt

  January 2009 edited January 2009

  I thought about the UV light-I don't want my landlords to think I am growing illicits "I'm really just growing my dog's coat, I swear!"
  
  I think the amount of sunlight must be equally important to exposure to cold weather. My house is cold, no more than 60 degrees, but not cold enough. I don't use space heaters. I know they have done tests with laying hens etc, where some were confinded to lay in 24 hour darkness and others exposed to artificial light 24/7. The dark hens lost bone and layed thin eggs or eggs with no shells (and stopped laying altogether). Maybe that's the vitamin D deficiency effects?
  
  It was just notable to see the difference in coat between Ike and his related kennel mates. Theirs was much thicker and his undercoat seemed sparse, but they had been spending 80% of their time outdoors with direct sunlight in varaible 30-45 degree weather whereas he had remained in a relatively constant temperature indoors with poor lighting. I think there is a correlation is all.
  
  Kojichan-there is merit behind your idea with the cold weather restricting outdoor activity in certain areas of the states and then the dogs being more confined to space/fireplace heated indoors. I can definately see how that could induce an early coat blowing. I remember reading in that hen study, that the 24 hour lighted hens just kept on laying and all year long, so it is definately possible to influence the nature of an animal by altering their environment.
• baanton

  January 2009 edited November -1

  Lindsay: Maybe you have someone in your neighborhood (school kid, or college student, for example) who would be willing to take Ike for a long, active walk right after school each day to supplement your activities with him. Around here our high school students are done about 2:30 and middle school students not long thereafter --- plenty of daylight hours for them. This could be just the thing Ike would thrive on, be good for a kid who's an animal lover, and might be even less expensive than all those supplements, UV lights, etc. (although those sound like good ideas, too, I guess!) I know that being in the great outdoors regardless of temps and weather conditions seems to be something these Nihon doggies all like (except maybe the hot, direct summer sun)...
  
  Hope that's a helpful idea, and best of luck with Ike!
• lindsayt

  January 2009 edited November -1

  Ok, am still working on this. Vitamin D deficiency will cause ricketts in dogs and tooth loss (and broken bones in iguanas), but is most essential to pups and kittens so supplementing growing and young dogs is fine I guess. It's added in dry foods and over supplementing can result in calcium deposists in the arteries/heart. UV lights would be good for reptiles but not healthy dogs.
  
  The other thing, (everyone probably already knows this) I forgot about the artificial lighting. As far as our dogs spending more time indoors, the temperatures may not matter as much as the constant exposure to artificial lights. So when the dogs move indoors more when the weather is crappy, it's the increased exposure to artificial lights (like with the hens) that tricks their bodies into thinking it's summer and the shedding/coat blowing is worsened. I now realize that I have lights on all night when I'm gone! The poor kids never get a break, that would drive me nuts trying to sleep with a light on. I guess it's time to turn them off. I am totally willing and able to get up and take them for a little afternoon walk in what little sun we get here in Seattle. No UV light, that's a little over the top.
  
  Great ideas everyone, I hope I'm on the right track. Thanks for helping me work this out a little more. I'm still curious to hear any other input...
• kojichan

  January 2009 edited January 2009

  Interesting thread for sure. Looks like the amount of sunlight and temperature are the key factors as we've been hitting upon. Check this out... http://www.pethealth101.com/odor/coats_shedding.shtml ==> Here's the key paragraph...
  
  "In addition to dog coat characteristics, many other factors influence dog shedding:
  -sunlight and temperature,
  -health,
  -allergies
  -nutrition,
  -cleanliness,
  -hormones, and
  -pregnancy and lactation.
  
  Sunlight and temperature influence dog shedding because day length triggers growth of a new coat and shedding of the old coat. Some breeds are triggered by sunlight and temperature to shed once every year or two (Northern breeds). Other breeds are triggered to shed twice a year. As dogs move indoors with constant temperatures and limited amounts of natural light, many experience increased continuous dog shedding and decreased annual dog shedding. "