Hypo Active Thyroid

[Rain]

So, one of my dad's dogs - Sadie - has put on an extreme amount of weight the past 4 months. Agilitydog helped us out with dog food and setting her up with the Canidae Senior/overweight diet. She's been on this new food for about 6 weeks. My dad has also reduced the amount of kibble she is fed. 1/2 cup morning and night for a dog that should weight between 35-40 lbs.

Over the past two weeks, I've been warning my dad that Sadie looks like she's swollen, since she's gained so much weight so quickly. I mean this dog is FAT. She's starting to waddle from the extra weight. The dog walker and myself took my dad's dogs (Sadie & Jazz) along with my two dogs on a 2 mile walk through the park. We had to drag Sadie home because she just couldn't walk anymore. She was limping the next day.

So this small series of events finally provoked my dad into getting a full blood panel on Sadie. She currently weighs over 60 pounds! She had gain over 15 pounds since her last weigh in 2 months ago. So, the blood panel came back positive for Hypo Active Thyroid. From my dad said, the vet was surprised at how bad her Thyroid was.

So, what can you guys tell me about Hypo Active Thyroids? Sadie will be put on medicine, but wont it take awhile to get the dosage right? Will the weight start to come off once she is on the correct dosage? How much damage has been done for the months she was untreated and the mass amount of weight gain?

[AtomicSkies]

i had a pom with a thyroid issue...i forget if it was hyper or hypo...he didnt gain weight but he lost all the hair on his body except his undercoat...once he was put on pills he was fine his hair grew back and all was well

[Dauxside]

Hypothyroidism -- An underactive thyroid.
Hyperthyroidism -- An overactive thyroid.

Symptoms of hypothyroidism usually go along with a slowdown in metabolism, and can include fatigue, weight gain, and depression, among others.

[Rain]

Originally Posted by Dauxside

Hypothyroidism -- An underactive thyroid.
Hyperthyroidism -- An overactive thyroid.

Symptoms of hypothyroidism usually go along with a slowdown in metabolism, and can include fatigue, weight gain, and depression, among others.

Depression? Really? I never really thought about dogs getting depressed. Hmm..

[bdrcol22]

Hey Rain...
My Lucy I used to have had hypo thyroidism... Which is pretty common in spayed BCs over 6. Anyhow, it should not take too long to get her on the correct dose, But she will need follow up blood work in a couple months, to make sure. You will not see results overnight, but usually within 3-4 weeks you start to see energy increase, skin and coat improve... Be warned, she may shed more bad coat out before the good coat comes back in. And the weight will drop. I will still keep her on the diet that she is on, to help faciltate weight loss.. Is she built like Jazz.. If so a healthy weight for her would be 35-40 pounds, so she has quite a bit to lose.

Luckily, there will be little long term damage..Once corrected the dogs tend to be fine. Lucy went right back into her performance career with little trouble. If untreated, hypothyroidism can cause a lot of problems, but I think you will be in good shape!

[bdrcol22]

Originally Posted by Rain

Depression? Really? I never really thought about dogs getting depressed. Hmm..

The hypothyroid dogs that I have seen that exhibit this symptom typically do it in a form of aggression.. When I worked at the vets office, if someone came in with a heavy dog that at 5-6 years old had a sudden personality change, we would usually check their thyroid... And we were often right on the money.

[Rain]

Originally Posted by bdrcol22

Hey Rain...
My Lucy I used to have had hypo thyroidism... Which is pretty common in spayed BCs over 6. Anyhow, it should not take too long to get her on the correct dose, But she will need follow up blood work in a couple months, to make sure. You will not see results overnight, but usually within 3-4 weeks you start to see energy increase, skin and coat improve... Be warned, she may shed more bad coat out before the good coat comes back in. And the weight will drop. I will still keep her on the diet that she is on, to help faciltate weight loss.. Is she built like Jazz.. If so a healthy weight for her would be 35-40 pounds, so she has quite a bit to lose.

Luckily, there will be little long term damage..Once corrected the dogs tend to be fine. Lucy went right back into her performance career with little trouble. If untreated, hypothyroidism can cause a lot of problems, but I think you will be in good shape!

She is built like Jazz. Small, slim legs, dainty head... all the structure for a slight built medium sized dog. Just add an additional 10 lbs to Jazz, and that's Sadie. Sadie was a rescue dog, so we don't know what she is or her history. She looks like a small GSD or a Malinois mix. My dad swears up and down she is a pure bred Malinois, but she's not. Body type is incorrect, and she has the wrong head type for a Malinois.

[bdrcol22]

So I would shot for 35-40 pounds... Would probably be about right!

[Rain]

She's gotta lose about 1/3 of her body weight.

[bdrcol22]

Originally Posted by Dauxside

Hypothyroidism -- An underactive thyroid.
Hyperthyroidism -- An overactive thyroid.

Symptoms of hypothyroidism usually go along with a slowdown in metabolism, and can include fatigue, weight gain, and depression, among others.

Also like to point out that while hypothyroidism is pretty common in dogs, hyperthyroidism is pretty rare... But you do see lots of hyperthyroidism in cats, and little hypothyroidism..