Hypothyroidism In Dogs
There are certain diseases that dog’s can have during their lives that can cause many issues in their overall health. With hypothyroidism in dogs their endocrine system tends to suffer the most. The endocrine system regulates things like temperature, weight, memory, muscles, and a few other things. We are going to explore the symptoms of hypothyroid disorder in dogs including symptoms, causes, and treatment to help dog owners to better understand what their dog may be going through.
Most dog breeds have certain [spin]innate|inherited[spin] health problems associated with that specific breed. Be on the lookout for skin tumors, heart murmurs, digestive problems, hypothyroidism (sluggish thyroid gland which can result in weight gain), progressive axonopathy (debilitating disease of the nervous system, becoming rare), canine hip dysplasia (genetic based looseness in the hip joint that can lead to arthritis pain and lameness) and cornea ulcers. White boxers can be deaf. This disease list is an informative guideline only. Other diseases may also be significant threats, please contact your veterinarian for a complete list.
Canine hypothyroidism is the condition that results from break down of the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland produces insufficient quantity of the thyroid hormone called as thyroxin. This situation is also developed from the pituitary deficiency, but it is generally due to some abnormality in thyroid gland by birth (called as congenital/deformity) anomaly.
The dog breeds that are most commonly affected by hypothyroid include Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Dachshunds, Cocker Spaniels, Boxers, Doberman Pinschers, and Greyhounds. In some cases these breeds may be affected by the counterpart, which is hyperthyroidism. You should also know there are two types of hypothyroid disorder in dogs. First autoimmune thyroiditis is where the immune system actually attacks the thyroid gland; in the other case you have lymphocytic thyroiditis which is where the gland fails to produce enough of the thyroid hormone to regulate the body. You will find that in each case the symptoms and treatment will be the same. Treating hypothyroidism.
Symptoms of hypothyroid disorder can be a little difficult to diagnose by the unsuspecting owner as there are several reasons some of these symptoms may occur. The first in the short list of symptoms is hair and skin changes. You will start to notice that your dog is shedding more. There are inadequate levels of thyroid hormone for hair to grow which means it will begin to grow sporadically over the body and they will lose hair. Most areas that are affected by this hair loss are the legs, and back.
The most common treatment for hypothyroid is a medication that will synthesize the actual thyroid hormone the dog is not producing. The vet will have to work with the dosage until they get it on the proper level, but the dog can live a relatively normal life by taking the medication every day. In some cases medication for a few months may be enough to help regulate the thyroid into producing the hormone again, but most dogs will be on medication for life. They should be tested every six months to make sure the thyroid levels have not changed or if they have to change medication appropriately.
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