Low Thyroid in young sheepdogs
Pirate went for his check up and got rave reviews. He weighs 90 pounds, but the vet was happy with that, since he is a big boy and she could feel his ribs easily. Everything checked out perfectly. I asked her to run a thyroid panel because of everything I've read here. She said there were two types. One they do right there and one that is sent to Mich. State. We agreed to do the one they run, since he has no symptoms and it would be just from screening purposes. Well...I just got a call and he did test low. Their equipment can only read the lowest of .5 (I think that's right). It can't go lower. And that is where he tested. She was very surprised since he's asymptomatic. Saturday morning we are going again, and they will draw for the Michigan State test, which will take about 2 weeks to get results. I'm so confused! She's so confused! How can he be so healthy? Does this happen often? Should I be concerned, or is this easily correctable? When (and if) he does go on meds, will his darling personality change? I want to thank all of you for encouraging me to get this done, even though I didn't think it was necessary. Thank you. |
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debcram wrote: [i]When (and if) he does go on meds, will his darling personality
change? If he becomes more assertive then Kiera won't be able to "take advantage" of him anymore  |
Oh no!!!  Does that mean no more back humping??????? |
| Thank you, Deborah.
Dixie had a full bloodwork and was found with low thyroid, also. She does not have any of the normal symtoms and from what my vet could decipher from the other results she should NOT be reading low. We put her on meds, but on a dose way less than what she should have. She is already very active and we didn't want her climbing the wall  (Low thyroid often cause lethargy..no problem there!)
The meds are cheap, and we've tested her since and she is in the "normal" range, but still on the low end. Thyroid function affects so amy other areas we feel that if we can get THAT in order everything else may fall into place.....She has improved in other areas so much that it is hard to say if the meds have helped, but they certainly haven't hurt! I was reading somewhere about a relationship between thyroid and immune system disorders....all very interesting stuff. For me the T4 screening is relatively inexpensive..$35 or something, with a full panel around $80 or so. |
| Actually Dixie has all the symtpoms of thyroid problems. It doesn't always make a dog lethargic... In some it is thought to be linked to various forms of aggression as well.
Thyroid most definitely has a huge impact on the immune system. Dixie's skin problems are hallmark thyroid disfunction symtptoms, in and of themselves, as well as the fact that mange like Dixie's is usually caused by immune system problems. All dogs have mites. A dog with a healthy immune system is simply able to keep them under control. |
| A regular T4 is a screening and a low reading may not mean that meds are required. There are other reasons that the T4 reading could be low, so further testing should be done if it is suspected.
These are some of the more common symptoms, and how Dixie measured up. Then there are other symptoms, like the agression that was mentioned. The dog may have some symptoms, or none, but still have problems. A test is worth it, just in case. lethargy - NO weight gain - NO. She started to gain once she was on the meds. cold intolerance - NO. chronic infections - YES. SUSPECTED YEAST. dry scaly skin and dandruff - NO. coarse, dull coat - NO bilaterally symmetrical hair loss - NO chronic offensive skin odor - NO infertility of either sex - UNKNOWN neuromuscular problems - NO cardiac abnormalities (bradycardia, cardiac arrhythmia's, and cardiomyopathys - NO gastrointestinal disorders - NO ocular diseases - YES. SUSPECTED ALLERGIES/YEAST |
| Here are some links...
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-ang ... isease.htm http://www.uskbtc.com/article.php/90 Is she being given anything to treat low thyroid levels? It may helps with her skin condition. |
Bosley's mom wrote: Dixie had a full bloodwork and was found with low thyroid, also. We put her on meds, but on a dose way less than what she should have. The meds are cheap, and we've tested her since and she is in the "normal" range, but still on the low end. She's been on them for about 4 months, now. Her skin condition is kind of hard to explain, because it is a number of different problems. It is not dry and scaley, like a low thyroid dog could be, except in some areas where she itches...sometimes. And she got these small bumps that are not itchy...and some round, raised circles (don't say ringworm because it is not that), and then her fur is not growing back in some spots where she had very bad open sores and scabbing...And she sometimes still flare-ups and gets areas red and raw....The only big difference I see since the meds is the reduced infections, but there was a change in dog food and HP vitamins all around the same time... But Deborah, is Pirate lethargic at all? Dry skin? Any of the above? |
| Just sticking my two cents in. From research I've done on my fibromyalgia, thyroid levels are much more complex in humans than doctors really understand. This causes me to think that veterinarians may not understand all the factors as well.
Apparently, there are more available thyroid tests that aren't performed on humans because insurance wouldn't deem them necessary. Thus, most doctors aren't aware of them. I don't claim to understand all the tests, but humans are only tested for a few of them (T4 and TSH). There's one for T3 which if the body works properly converts into T4. |
| Pirate is very active and hasn't had any skin issues at all. He coat is really nice and not dry or scaly. This is why the vet and I were both so surprised by his results. Maybe this is new for him, and we caught it before its could do any harm to him. All I can say, I'm glad we did the test. It was realitively inexpensive (for vet work) and well worth it. I highly recommend it even in apparently non effected dogs. |
| Ditto. Chewie and his genetic relatives have had it done. |
| Hannah has a thyroid problem and gets soloxine 2x a day. She is now 6 and has had it for 2 or 3 years, I'm not really sure. I think it was discovered in the normal course of blood work.
The only skin issues she has, is she is prone to hotspots and also tumors & cysts that have to have surgery. The vet said probably genetics are at fault for that. She is a large girl but both of her parents were over 100#'s. I personally try to do everything I can to prevent or diagnose any problems so I can have the privilege of having her around as long as possible  She doesn't have my heart she IS my heart. |
| My boys have been on thyroid meds for over a year and are doing fine. Luke has more hair loss, Rosco has the dandruff/flaky skin. I also give them omega 3 and 6 twice daily to help with dry skin. |
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