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Thyroid problems:

When it comes to diseases in dogs, sometimes the thyroid goes un-noticed.  A dog’s thyroid gland is in layman’s terms, located in the throat.  Similar to humans, it encompasses a very important hormone that stimulates the metabolism.  The dog thyroid serves several functions: it increases the heart speed, blood pressure, body temperature, and the central nervous system’s activity.  And again, similar to humans there’s hypo or hyper thyroid as the major issues with a dog’s thyroid.

When it comes to a dog’s thyroid and hypothyroidism, there’s a deficient level of thyroid hormones. As such, the dog is slow, lethargic, plus it has thick skin, and dry hair.   Conversely, with hyperthyroidism as it relates to the dog’s thyroid, the metabolism is faster and there’s rapid weight loss, a fast pulse, not to mention fast breathing, fast everything.  While a healthy dog’s thyroid intends to keep the metabolism in balance, neither hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism are healthy. 

As for the symptoms? This is the hard part. Determining thyroid disease in dogs may be challenging to diagnose. First, as the owner you may notice a variety of things happening which don’t make sense.  A dog may gain a significant amount of weight in a short period of time, it may be lethargic, or it may have hair loss.  Plus, the veterinarian may not think the dog’s thyroid is out of sync since it’s a mystery. Dog’s thyroid disease may be inherited or it may not; it can be present for no apparent reason.  There is a dog thyroid test which veterinarians can conduct if there are outward symptoms for instance if a pet has gained weight.  Basically, blood is taken and sent to a lab which conducts the dog thyroid test. 

As for the good news? Treatment awaits.  Typically treatment for dog thyroid disease results in daily doses of a specific hormone.  After the dog has been taking treatments for several weeks, the veterinarian should do a check up on your dog to see how effective the treatment is. For instance, the dog’s thyroid and hormonal levels may be more normal. 

At The Dog Bowl, nothing is more important than your pets’ safety and well being.  For more information about thyroid disease in dogs The Dog Bowl suggests you contact your local veterinarian for professional assistance.