Is Your Dog On Thyroid Medication? Here’s What You Need To Know

Hypothyroidism occurs when thyroid glands become under-active. They are unable to secrete adequate quantities of thyroid hormone. As thyroid glands regulate your dog's metabolism, the under active thyroid signifies a slower metabolism than normal.If given proper care, any hypothyroid dog could enjoy a perfectly normal life and spend its days in good health. Thyroid disorders have genetic predisposition. Allergies and environmental factors play significant roles too.

If you suspect that your best friend suffers from hypothyroidism, it will have a few or many symptoms associated with this condition. The list of symptoms include:

• Depression: There could also be notable behavioral changes like anxiety, seizures, aggression, compulsiveness and head tilting
• Gain in weight: This happens even as your dog eats the same amount of food
• Energy deficiency: Your dog will sleep more and exercise less. It will have almost no interest in playing and in any other physical activities.
• Cannot tolerate the cold. The heart rate is slow
• Changes to the skin: The organ becomes dry and loses hair. There are bacterial infections. Hair becomes thick and discolored.

This disorder is not much seen in toy and miniature breed of dogs. It is seen mostly in medium and larger dogs. Both female and male canines suffer from hyperthyroidism at an equal rate. It is seen that this disorder is more prevalent in spayed females compared to unspayed females. A few dog breeds are particularly predisposed to this disorder, like Cocker spaniels, greyhounds, Labrador and golden retrievers, Airedale terriers, Irish setters and Doberman Pinschers.

• A few medications like some specific corticosteroids
• Near absence of exercise could play a decisive role in thyroid hormone production

A majority of dogs usually develop hypothyroidism at any age from four years to 10 years old.

Multiple methods can be employed to measure your dog's thyroid health. These are usually done through the blood through tests starting with T like free T4, T3, TSH and AAT3 among others. In case your canine has autoimmune hypothyroidism - your dog will have elevated AAT4 along with AA3 levels- it is imperative to put your pet on synthetic thyroid pill. The canine must take this medication all through her life.The problem is that by the time a blood test can measure auto-antibodies, the damage to the thyroid has already been done. The only solution at that point is to go for synthetic hormone replacement. However, in case of an absence of autoimmune disorder, it is a good idea to try the stimulation of remaining thyroid tissue so that they function again.