Sickness and health disorders are not limited to humans only.
Your pet can also get sick and be diagnosed with diseases that you can’t even pronounce.
Hypothyroidism is a malfunction of the thyroid gland.
The gland eventually begins to perform below the required minimum and is unable to emit a sufficient amount of thyroid hormone.
To save your dog you just have to identify symptoms for hypothyroidism as soon as possible.
Symptoms to watch for canine hypothyroidism
When your dog begins to quickly get tired on the usual long walks or is shedding off a lot of hair particularly on the tail then you better start getting worried. You can only be aware of such inconsistent behaviors only if you keep close observation.
Your dog may also look for warm places to lie down and he just doesn’t want to play with you anymore. Don’t mistake this as him sulking for some reason.
This is life threatening and your dog will die without you noticing any irregularities in behavior, Scary huh?
You may also see that your dog is putting on weight despite a loss of appetite.
You may also notice infections of the skin or his skin may begin to discolor and thicken in places where he has lost hair.
Now that we know what the symptoms are it makes it easier to do something in time before hypothyroidism takes complete control over your dog.
Another helpful strategy for canine hypothyroidism is identifying the dogs prone to the condition. These are mostly big dogs. Dogs such as Greyhounds, Golden Retrievers, Dachshunds, and Irish setters are prone to the disease.
Don’t get me wrong these are not the only dogs that are susceptible but this is just to mention a few. So if your dog is small or does not share the same features with the above mentioned type of dogs then you can worry not. But if it is then better keep your guard.
Take your dog for regular checkups to the vet if you know you will not be able to watch it 24/7 to see anything out of the ordinary.
It’s also wise to take it to the vet so they can test for hypothyroidism especially when it falls into the category of breeds that are more prone to it.
They will use what they call a Baseline T4 Test. Dogs with a malfunction of thyroid gland will have a T4 hormone that is at its lowest level.
The dog is a man’s best friend, so it’s about time you took his health into consideration. [Dog health care]
