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Dog ate vitamin D

Species: Dog
Breed: Australian Shepherd
Age: 1-2 years
Dog just ate two 5,000 iu Vitamin D capsules. Anything I need to worry about/watch for, or do immediately?




Online vet, Dr. Marie

Dr. Marie replied:

Hi there. I'm going to look this up for you and should have a response within a few minutes. But first, do you know roughly how much your dog weighs?

Thanks!


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Disclaimer: Although Dr. Marie is a qualified veterinarian, the information found on this site is not meant to replace the advice of your own veterinarian. AskAVetQuestion.com and Dr. Marie do not accept any responsibility for any loss, damage, injury, death, or disease which may arise from reliance on information contained on this site. Do not use information found on this site for diagnosing or treating your pet. Anything you read here is for information only.

Customer reply:

35 lbs.


Online vet, Dr. Marie

Dr. Marie replied:

OK. It was difficult for me to find this information. Here is some math so that we can figure out how worried we need to be.

1,000 IU of Vitamin D = 0.025 mg which means that 5,000 IU of vitamin D = 0.125mg.

If Loki weighs 35 lbs this is the same as 15.9kg.

So, this means her dose that she ate was 0.125/15.9 mg/kg which works out to 0.008 mg/kg.

We start to worry about a dog when they eat more than 0.1mg/kg of Vitamin D. We can see life threatening effects at 0.5mg/kg.

Fortunately at 0.008 mg/kg Loki really shouldn't have any toxic effects at all.

When your vet is open tomorrow I would highly advise giving them a call so that they can confirm this for you. I can't legally make a diagnosis online without knowing Loki.

If the level was higher then the concern would be that this will increase calcium levels and can affect the kidneys. If this were my case though I wouldn't be advising any monitoring or treatment.

Hope that helps!

Dr. Marie.



Customer reply:

Dr Marie, I think we each made a mistake.

She ate TWO capsules (I did say two in my original question.) So the dosage would've been twice your math. But I also double checked the bottle, and was thinking wrong, they were 10,000 iu capsules, so she actually took in 20,000 iu, which I believe works out to .03 mg/ per kg of bodyweight.

Thank you for the information. Knowing what's generally considered toxic is good, and glad to know we're nowhere near that. I'll call my usual vet in the morning and confirm there's nothing else I should do.

Please let me know if that changes your thoughts at all.

Thanks!


Online vet, Dr. Marie

Dr. Marie replied:

Oh, yes you did mention that there were two capsules! And so let me repeat the math and see if I come up with the same number. :)

1,000 IU = .025mg, so 20,000 IU = 20x0.025 which is 0.5mg.

0.5mg/15.9kg = .03mg/kg.

Yes, you have good math skills. :) And yes, I still feel that Loki is safe.



Customer reply:

Excellent! Glad we both came up with the same math! :) I appreciate the quick response!


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Dr. MarieDr. Marie is a veterinarian who practices in a busy animal hospital in Ottawa, Ontario. She created Ask A Vet Question as a resource for good, accurate veterinary advice online. Dr. Marie treats dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, and rats. She has been a vet since 1999.

Is an online vet visit just as good as a trip to your veterinarian? No! But, many times, asking an online veterinarian a question can help save you money. While Dr. Marie can't officially diagnose your pet or prescribe medications, she can often advise you on whether a vet visit is necessary. You can also ask Dr. Marie for a second opinion on your pet's condition.