SUNLIGHT & CANINE FERTILITY

You and your house dogs will benefit from this simple guideline: Through the production of melatonin, pineal gland plays a master role in immune system's ability to respond virological or environmental challenge. There is also mounting evidence that melatonin suppresses development tumors and may actually reconstitute bone marrow integrity. It has dramatically increased life span reproductive mice. By way ladies, tablets before bedtime aid prevention breast cancer. cancer rates are soaring. I'm not saying there's connection between our insistence on turning night into day (and vice versa for workers) but re-read Dr. Brainard's research above re Try the unthinkable – avoid TV for an hour before bedtime.  The flickering light and bursts of sound emitted by your TV disrupts the body's cooling and calming down process necessary for a good night's sleep.  It probably does your lap dog and the one dozing at your feet no good either.  Read a relaxing book instead, especially a text book...

Since 1992 I’ve written about the adverse effect on melatonin production caused by behavior such as leaving the light on in a sleeping child’s room.  The same applies to the kennel. Turn off the lights! Don’t leave the light on for a new mom. Trust me, she can “see” every puppy...

SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder

SAD affects dogs too.  "This discovery will have an immediate impact on the therapeutic use of light for treating winter depression and circadian disorders", said Dr. Brainard, professor of neurology at Jefferson Medical College University.  It's called Seasonal Affective Disorder because depression occurs more during the winter months when the sun's rays are weakest and we're inside out of the cold!   SAD mechanics are simple. Light must enter the eyes in order to stimulate the hypothalamus, pineal gland, and the pituitary gland, the body's master hormone-secreting factory.  Some animals hibernate during the winter when the sun's rays are the weakest.

Dr. Brainard and others are studying an even newer hypothesis: Over-exposure to light at night can disrupt the production of melatonin and disturb circadian rhythms in a way that raises the risk of breast cancer in women. Epidemiological studies have found an increased breast cancer incidence in women who work night shifts.

Your dream of a special litter from your sheltered bitch can turn into a nightmare of confusing heat cycles (see ref #1).  One of the main consequences of light deprivation is cessation of normal reproduction.

Are we all agreed that mutts conceive easily? Our sheltered (read that again, sheltered, i.e. inside, out of the sun!) show dogs need wine, soft music, and a lot of prayers in order to get pregnant. Does that have to do with genetics or is it because purebreds are more pampered, living in high-rise apartments or inside kennels, thus dogs have more thyroid problems than ever before? It’s not just that they diagnose it more. The incidence is much higher and it is increasing yearly. Why is that? You know. You just read about sunlight and how it enters through the iris, stimulates the pineal gland, and sets off hormone production. Where are the fertile and prolific mutts, farm dogs, and hunting dogs? They are outside. Trotting around the neighborhood or living in a “dog lot” until time to hunt. Even most (shudder) puppy mill dogs get sunlight in those rabbit-hutch cages!  But our treasured house dogs, how much bright, unfiltered sunlight do they get?

Kennel Lighting - If you have a kennel building, install large south-facing windows or skylights, Ott-lights or a similar FULL SPECTRUM lighting system. (Note: such lighting is now easily obtainable and reasonably priced)  Do not use fluorescent lighting - barely detectable strobes can cause serious mental, emotional, and hormonal imbalance. Use natural-spectrum incandescent bulbs.

During long summer days when they most need to be outside soaking up sunlight, modern dogs will spend a lot of time inside (in air conditioning), and in many kennels, that is a double whammy because that is where they are also exposed to florescent lighting.

Numerous studies have revealed the hazards of fluorescent tubes, all of which emit electromagnetic energy and unnatural light rays. People who work under such lights are being damaged in ways that may one day be compared to the revelations re "asbestos" and “miner’s lung.”  Today children are protected from lead but instead they grow up in fluorescent-lighted classrooms and wearing sunglasses when they are outside, assuring that the pineal gland receives inadequate amounts of light. Delinquency and juvenile violence rates are soaring...... A connection? Read on..

I know this is about dogs but... Cats are naturally prolific and aggressive breeders.  Stud cats kept under fluorescent lights in a basement or inside cattery stop siring.  Put a queen in full spectrum lighting and she'll begin calling in the dead of winter, something felines never do! Conversely, put her in a darkened basement and she'll stop cycling. Cats are used as an example because they "call" constantly during during spring and early summer. i.e. during longer seasonal daylight hours.

Through the production of melatonin, the pineal gland plays a master role in the immune system's ability to respond to virological or environmental challenge. There is also mounting evidence that melatonin suppresses the development of tumors and may actually reconstitute bone marrow integrity. It has also dramatically increased the life span and the reproductive ability of mice. By the way ladies, melatonin tablets before bedtime may aid in the prevention of breast cancer. Breast cancer rates are soaring. I'm not saying there's a connection between that and our insistence on turning night into day (and vice versa for night workers) but re-read Dr. Brainard's research above re breast cancer.

Natural sunlight is vital to your emotional well being – and that of your dog! …. Light must enter the eyes in order to stimulate the hypothalamus, pineal gland, and the pituitary gland, the body's master hormone factory. Another inarguable example: Deprive laying hens of natural sunlight or proper inside lighting and egg production ceases.  Low levels of sunlight and increased exposure to artificial light during naturally “dark” hours interferes with the production of melatonin and interrupts circadian rhythm, which is directly linked to our biological aging clock. reread "SAD" above!

So make sure you get adequate exposure to unfiltered sunlight. Take off those sunglasses, relax, un-stress, and sort out cloud formations for a few precious moments. A daily ten minute health-break basking in life-giving light will insure you don’t become “sad,” summer or winter.”

Don’t be fooled into believing thyroid imbalance is genetic. In 1991 PRESIDENT BUSH was diagnosed with and treated for thyroid imbalance. I'm unclear as to whether or not Mrs. Bush was also treated but both she and her Springer Spaniel had complete thyroid panels run! Are we to believe that the best medical brains in the United States thought that President Bush, his wife, and their dog all inherited the same genetic code? Nah.  But note: all three of them spent most of their daytime hours inside, in artificial light.  Let’s hope George Jr. gets enough sunlight during his early morning runs and time on the ranch.

“Sunlight is necessary for the production of serotonin - the "feel good" substance contained in chocolate and some anti-depressant medications... The daily migration to the city decrees a long pre-dawn trip to the city with an after-dark return, further depriving a large percentage of the population of those precious hours of sunlight… Violent crime is escalating and more people are on anti-depressants than ever.

So make it a point to get out in the sun every day.  No sunglasses.  It is neither necessary nor advisable to look at the sun in order for the rays to enter the iris and 30 minutes in direct sunlight is equivalent to 500 mg. of vitamin D.

Take time to “expose” yourself to the sun. People have done so for thousands of years. Forget about fading the upholstery; open the curtains for that house-dog! Knock out a south-facing wall in the kennel and install a big picture window.

If I’ve failed to convince you of the importance of light, read the Bible or reflect on your particular religious teachings. In all Beliefs of which I am aware, the light and/or specifically the sun, play a paramount role. We are all descended from sun worshipers. "God is Light." "Look East".  Many cultures pray facing East. The Native American teepee faced east but by the early 20th early century, most were in reservation housing and health suffered, including acute depression.

From an anthropological perspective, consider that man evolved with respect for and innate knowledge of the sun. From a cave dweller, he became a cliff dweller, and today, he is just a moving speck within a concrete metropolis. Whereas life span has doubled due to medical advances, overall health has declined. The more we are shaded by modern life, the more importance we should attach to the sun in our daily life. It is not just about worship, myths, and legends.

You’ve got the idea. Dogs have evolved along with Man but they were not meant to live in the dark.  If you apply what you now know about the critical role of sunlight, you will both benefit. As you begin to hear more about how light affects us, just nod and say “I already knew that.”

In closing, I am struck by past cognition. Most of this is extracted from my ShowSight magazine columns of early nineties. Today Zoloft and Ambien are in the top ten of all prescriptions written in the U.S.  The use of “mood elevators” in night workers is at an all time high.  Children who once played outside every day now go from fluorescent light in class rooms to shuttered rooms in the home so they can better see the TV or computer screen. And incredibly, valium and Prozac are now common veterinary prescriptions. Why do dogs need Prozac? Now you know.

So turn out the lights, go to bed when it’s dark, get up with the sun, and live in the light. Now you know what to do for yourself and how to keep your dog off of Valium and other anti-depressants! Be a sun-seeker for your own health and that of your dogs; use natural spectrum bulbs; and avoid fluorescent lighting. Oh, and take off the sunglasses!!

Ref #1 Sunlight, Canine Reproduction, Cancer, part 2

http://www.thedogplace.org/Reproduction/Sunlight-Fertility_Andrews-06.asp #1106