HEALTH NEWS---THYROID PROBLEMS
(Copyright © 2001-2002 Linda K. Lawrie. All rights reserved.)

Does your/your foster dog have some of the following?

1. Unexplained weight gain
2. Thin or "coarse" coat
3. Greasy skin/coat (even right after a bath)
4. Regurgitates his/her food (different than vomiting -- time factor)
(other megaesophagus symptoms)
5. Aggressiveness
6. Slow heart beat
7. Possible seizures
8. Stiffness
9. Cold intolerance
10. Lethargy
11. Hyperexcitability
12. Chronic offensive skin odor

(and the list goes on and on and on!)

If the dog exhibits one or more of the above, he/she could have thyroid deficiency!  (Commonly called hypothyroid).  Note particularly 10 and 11 in the previous list -- both lethargy AND hyperexcitability could be symptoms (in different dogs, presumably).

Detection of the condition is a test most veterinarians are probably already familiar with -- but they may not be familiar with all the possible symptoms.

Treatment is really simple -- a relatively inexpensive synthetic thyroid hormone replacement is administered to the dog twice per day (usually for the rest of his life).  Symptoms, for the most part, are overcome.  There will be periodic checks to make sure the prescription is doing the job.

Some true examples:

1.  To illustrate how quickly this can be overcome:  Our Oliver (now at the bridge) seemed like he gained weight one winter but we weren't really over feeding him.  Also, he seemed to get cold that winter and the real kicker was his coat -- seemed thin.  At his annual checkup, the vet checked his thyroid.  Yep, too low.  2 months later -- he had lost the weight and his coat was now luxurious.

2.  Wills, our adopted GRRRR "foster" dog, came into rescue as a stray and REALLY thin.  (42 pounds on a normal to big GR frame)  He had some other problems (including ehrilicia and Rocky Mtn Spotted Fever) but even after these were cleared up....  He regurgitated his food.  His coat was greasy immediately after a bath.  He smelled!  He was stiff in his back.  And his first visit to our vet, his heart rate was at the very low end of normal.  (Most dogs get excited in the vet's office.)  At the time, I was only familiar with the typical symptoms (see Oliver story above) -- but I searched the web and well...  Wills is hypothyroid too.

I go short of recommending that all GRRRR intakes be screened for hypothyroid -- but it is a common problem in Golden Retrievers AND with less than perfect breeding is probably one of the problems that surfaces readily.

Some web sites for further information (and symptoms! -- yes the above is only a partial list):

Jean Dodd's Article
http://216.247.27.191/health/thyroid_disease.html

Article about testing:
http://www.f-v-s.com/newsletters/vol1no2scratching.htm

Another article:
http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=195