Biotin for Dogs, Horses, Cats and other Pets: Benefits & Uses

Have you thought of trying biotin for dogs, horses, cats and other pets? Is it effective in improving nails, hair, coat or fur? Can it help in treating skin conditions such as skin-induced allergies in dogs? Read on find out

Biotin for Dogs-Allergies, Hair and Nails

There is evidence that biotin can help a couple of health issues that may be affecting your dog.

Absence of this b vitamin can lead to skin conditions including;

Dry, flaky skin
Dull or thin coat
Excessive shedding
Intense scratching or biting at the skin leading to bald areas

Biotin can help in improving the growth rate of your dog’s hair, it plays a role in maintaining healthy and strong claws or nails and it also may help dogs with allergies.

Allergies

It is a primary importance to treat your dog if it suffers from allergies to food, particles in the air or other allergens.

Pet allergies can range from mild to potentially harmful, and a significant number of canines develop allergic reactions over the course of their lifetimes.

If your dog suffers from allergies affecting the skin you should consider a B vitamin or biotin treatment programme to help in relieving its symptoms and increase the overall quality of life of your dog.

Biotin is often combined with fatty acids in a supplement form to address canine skin conditions caused by allergies. It also reduces the appearance of skin lesions and keeps the fur strong and healthy.

Biotin is usually available through a prescription; it is therefore advisable to speak with a veterinarian about the possibility of addressing your pet’s symptoms with it.

Biotin is available as either a pill supplement or in powder form which you can mix with your pet’s food or water. B vitamins are water soluble and therefore do not constitute any risk of toxic build up in your pet’s system and it also impossible to over-administer biotin to your pet.

Excessive doses will not help to control your pet’s symptoms any more effectively because the supplement is costly. You should follow the product and the veterinary instructions before you administer biotin to your dog.

With a combination of environmental modification and biotin supplements, you may be at a better position to reduce your pet’s allergy-induced skin conditions and improve both the health and happiness of your pet.

Biotin is not effective for every dog and allergy but the biotin side effects are minimal.

Biotin for dogs’ hair growth and nails

Biotin is an essential B vitamin and enzyme that helps in synthesizing fatty acids and metabolizing carbohydrates and proteins. Veterinarians agree that biotin supplementation improves the coat and skin quality and corrects nail problems.

In fact, in one collaborative clinical study that was made up of small-animal veterinary surgeons, it was concluded that this vitamin works wonders for dog’s fur and nails.

In the study, dogs with fur and skin conditions were treated with biotin (approximately 5 mg biotin/10 kg body weight/day) for 3 to 5 weeks. In total 119 cases could be treated which were reported to show symptoms such as dull coat, brittle hair, loss of hair, scaly skin, pruritus or dermatitis

In 60% of the cases all symptoms were reported to be cured after the biotin treatment and in a further 31% an improvement was noted; in only 9% no effect was recorded. All breeds responded but to a variable extent: e.g. in Poodles the response was lower (no response in 6 out of 11 cases) than in Alsatians where all improved and 14 out of 29 were completely cured.

When hair loss occurs in dogs, it should be a major concern for you, the owner. The causes for hair loss can be difficult to identify which can even matter worse. Additional symptoms for example soreness and inflammation can also be very painful and distressing for your dog.

If you are concerned with about irregular amounts of hair loss or if you notice unusual patterns of loss, it is important that a diagnosis should be made as soon as possible. In addition to prescribed treatment, consider supplementing your dog with biotin.

Biotin is clinically proven to accelerate the production of the proteins that hair and claws are made from thus, promoting noticeable increased growth.

One of the best brands of b7 is Biotin-max. This supplement provides the same therapeutic dose used scientific trials to guarantee the maximum result for your pet.

Your dog cannot manufacture biotin for itself and it should therefore obtain the small quantities required from the diet or possibly from the micro-organisms in the gut. Scientific research has confirmed that when biotin is present in its normal concentration, hair and nail growth is substantially accelerated.

biotin for dogs horses cats pets — Biotin supplements

Feeding your dog with biotin for hair growth and nails

You should feed your dog with one capsule per day for every 10kg of your pet’s weight. A 20kg dog would need 2 capsules per day. You can feed the capsules whole, often with a treat, or you can alternatively open them and sprinkle the tasteless white powder onto or into your pet’s food. Once or twice a day it will make no difference.

You should start to see changes after a couple of weeks. You should also remember that both hair and nail are dead tissues and so you must give time for stronger hair and nail especially to grow from the inside out. You should continue the treatment for as long as you require and once you notice positive results you can stop using the supplement.

Biotin also plays an important role in growth, digestion, and muscle formation and in enabling the body use of glucose as a source of energy. It may also play a role in litter size of some animals.

Biotin for Horses-Hooves and Hair(mane)

Biotin plays a role in maintaining strong healthy coats and hooves in horses. If you check the ingredients in most horse hoof supplement in the market, biotin is listed as one of the ingredients.

Did you know the use of biotin for human nails was first discovered when horses were effectively treated with biotin to correct problems with the horses’ hooves becoming brittle and cracking?

Dry, brittle hooves and cracked feet the best candidates for biotin supplementation in horses. Biotin has also been seen to improve hoof condition in horses that pull shoes often, horses with chronic, recurrent laminitis and those with generally bad feet.

biotin for horse hooves hair — B7 is good for horse hooves and hair

Is there evidence that biotin works for horses?

According to thehorse.com, only a handful of studies have been performed in horses to determine the effect of biotin, and not one has been published in this millennium.

The most recent study was published in 1998 by a group of Scottish scientists from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at The University of Edinburgh. This experiment included four pairs of ponies that were apparently healthy and void of hoof capsular defects. The four ponies in the treatment group were fed 0.12 mg/kg of biotin–equivalent to approximately 60 mg of biotin per horse per day. After five months of biotin supplementation, the scientists observed a 15% increase in the treated ponies’ hoof growth rates. The hoof capsule grew 35.34 mm in the treated ponies compared to only 30.69 mm in the control group.

Equally positive results were reported by South African researchers in 1992. This group found significant improvements in hoof hardness and growth rates in 24 riding horses fed 15 mg of biotin for 10 months.

“Not all studies on biotin report positive results,” reports Williams. “After feeding 20 mg of biotin daily for nine months, no improvement in the rate of growth of the hoof was found in a Swiss study published in 1995.”

Sources

The best source of biotin for your horse is pasture but good quality forage can also provide your horse with biotin. Horses can derive most of their biotin requirement from the fermentation of forages by the microbial population in the hind gut.

Grains such as oat, barley and soybean meal provide moderate concentrations of biotin and the lowest levels are found in corn. Biotin is similar to other B vitamins and it is essential in the conversion of feedstuffs to energy so that horses can grow, work and reproduce. Biotin is found in every cell in the body and is an essential coenzyme in carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism.

How to feed biotin to horses

Horses without the added stresses of growth, hard work or poor skin and hoof condition generally receive enough biotin in their forage and grains. Biotin deficiency in horses is prevented by giving your horse the right amount of biotin found in better feeds and produced by microbial fermentation of forage.

In horses with higher biotin demands supplements typically offer 5 to 25mg of biotin per daily serving. Research has shown that in order to achieve improvement in hoof health, a horse should consume a minimum of 15mg of biotin per day for 6-8 months to see improvement.

Biotin has a relatively short life once it has been mixed with other ingredients, particularly oils and other fats so feeding a supplement with added ingredients is the best alternative.

It is also important to remember that a horse’s hoof takes a year to grow out so you need to be patient when you give biotin supplementation to your horse. If you notice an improvement within eight to fifteen months, the horse will need to remain on biotin the rest of its life to maintain improved hoof condition.

You should also be sure to consider all sources of biotin when calculating how much biotin is in your horse’s diet and if you are feeding more than one supplement you should read the label of each supplement to determine the overall amount of biotin that your horse is receiving.

Pure biotin for horses

Pure biotin is available in Tubs and it contains a 2% feed grade with fully vitamin activity. It is also available in 300g pure biotin without fillers which is recommended for healthy hooves, skin and coat and also supports a normal metabolic system.

Forms of biotin available for horses

Biotin powder for horses

Biotin 800 powder for horses with Yucca is a highly palatable extra strength supplement (800mg/lb or 50mg/oz biotin) formulated to optimize hoof, quality, skin condition and coat of horses.

Biotin plus is also another powder which contains methionine, MSM, zinc and calcium to maintain healthy hooves. According to research, supplementary biotin is recommended for supporting hoof health. It provides 15mg of biotin daily, ideal for everyday maintenance of healthy hooves.

Benefits of Biotin for Cats, Rabbits, Birds

Just like in dogs and horses, biotin plays an important role in maintaining healthy skin and hair in cats, rabbits as well as birds. As mentioned earlier symptoms of deficiency symptoms include weak nails and unhealthy hair, fur or coat.

More Interesting Biotin Information

Sources

http://www.vetinfo.com/treating-dog-allergies-biotin.html
naturalwellness.com/products/dog-skin-and-coat-supplement
http://m.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?articleid/
https://equinenutritionnerd.com/2014/02/04/biotin/
http://thehealthhorsecompany.co.uk/pure-biotin/
https://www.jefferspet.com/products/biotin-800-powder
naf.equine.eu/uk/hooves/biotin-plus