Tell me truly - canine thyroid

[Holly_Jeanne]

Ok, I have two 13 yo dogs who had their annual this past weekend. At the time, the vet recommended a thyroid test (as well as retesting for heartworms and a fecal) for one of them. I’ve had some unusual expenses recently so I asked if it really was recommended for a 13 yo dog. Now mind you, the dog weights about the same as she has every year when we’ve come in. She’s a bit overweight but not hugely and she has gained a small amount (maybe 1 pound) but I also added canned food to her diet. Vet says that “13 is not a disease” and that the test is only “$52” and the treatment is only “12/month.” Well, that’s fine but I’ve got a 21 year old horse on two meds for equine metabolic syndrome, a cat on twice weekly fluids for kidney issues (diagnosed 4 years ago- been on fluids for 2 1/2), and another cat on prescription c/d so it’s kind of starting to add up. I told her to go ahead. They called yesterday and said she needed to be on meds.

Today I picked up the meds and found out the results were normal/low so not too far off but a little low. They also told me I’d need to come back in for a follow-up test in 4-6 weeks. So my question is, does thyroid treatment really improve the quality of life of an older dog? If so, I will certainly do it but I want the real scoop. I miss my old vet who would say, yes you should do this or, not really worth it. I guess I’m really mostly annoyed that the vet didn’t tell me about the $52 follow-up test when I asked about the cost. So, any experience out there?

[StGermain]

I had my old malamute at the vet for an ear infection. As she was walking through the waiting room, the vet said, “Oh, that’s a thyroid dog! You can tell by the look in his eyes and the fatty deposits between his toes.” They ran a thyroid panel and he was very low. On thyroid supplements he lost 1/4 of his body weight (went from 112 lbs to 80), his activity level increased, and he seemed an all-around happier dog. it was worth it to me, but his was very severe. I thought his lethargy was old age, when it was just a thyroid imbalance.

StG

[Holly_Jeanne]

Interesting! Glad it helped your dog. That’s a little why I’m confused. My dog is very active for 13 and only slightly overweight.

[LauraKY]

A million times yes. You can get the meds from your pharmacy for the $4 prescription. Just make sure they fill veterinary meds.

Low thyroid can also put them at risk for infections.

[SquishTheBunny]

Yes yes yes. Activity generally increases, and your 13 year old dog will feel 8

But…that being said, if values were normal - but the low end of normal, a repeat test (around 6 weeks or so) is probably warranted as you want to ensure you have a controlled thyroid with the medications. Generally once controlled, you should check thyroid function every 6 months. In the reality of all things that could go wrong with an older dog, this is probably the cheapest so thank your dog hehe.

[Horsegal984]

The advice we would give a client like you who is concerned about costs and who’s pet was low normal is pretty simple. Try supplementing for 1-2 months. If you don’t notice a change then (taper) and stop mess. If they seem to be helping spend the money for a retest to make sure you are at an appropriate dose.

I am a big believer in the difference adequate thyroid levels can make since finding out how much better I feel with mine controlled. However that doesn’t mean that giving every animal thyroid medications is the right thing for them either. ;-).

[Roxyllsk]

My 14 year old sheltie started having some weird symptoms - hair coat thinning, muscle loss, etc … I was not happy with my original vet, so I took this dog to another vet recommended by a good friend. They suggested their geriatric panel to start with
($350), then see what we come up with and go from there. This consisted of a lot of different tests, including thyroid.

Well, my dog’s thyriod was not working at all. So we put him on meds and retested him a month later, then every 6 months to make sure the levels were correct.

The meds worked like a charm. His haircoat improved, his attitude improved, and you could just tell he was feeling better. I wish we had figured it out sooner !

He stayed on these meds for he rest of his life.

If your dog thyroid is just below the low end of normal, what does your vet think about not medicating but retesting every 6 months ? If they think that is a reasonble solution, then maybe try that.

Low thyroid is one of the easiest and inexpensive things to take care of for a dog, and treating it can make the dog’s quality of life so much better.

[wendy]

why did the vet suggest the thyroid test in the first place if the dog is completely asymptomatic? asymptomatic + within normal range test results suggests to me the dog doesn’t need meds and may actually be harmed by them.

[Trakehner]

With prescription in hand, head to one of the internet drug sellers (a bunch are in Canada)…your pill cost will drop to almost nothing.

I had a boxer at 12 she started getting a bit heavier vs. her solid muscle self and was getting bilateral hyperpigmentation (darker hair of both sides)…thyroid. The vets, who are real pad the bill types, recommended a full panel (No way) Thyroid panel (OK). What a surprise…she needed thyroxine. Worked like a charm and she lived another 2.5 years…that is a methusula aged Boxer.

[animaldoc]

[QUOTE=wendy;7074443]
why did the vet suggest the thyroid test in the first place if the dog is completely asymptomatic? asymptomatic + within normal range test results suggests to me the dog doesn’t need meds and may actually be harmed by them.[/QUOTE]
I agree - thyroid testing is not a screening test, it is only helpful in the presence of clinical signs. What was done? Just a T4? If you get a borderline T4 in an symptomatic dog you need to run a free T4 (by equilibrium dialysis) and TSH to determine what to do from there. Hard enough to interpret in dogs that have clinical signs. You also have to remember that “normal” for a diagnostic lab may not be normal for each individual patient - a small % will be outside the ranges reported by the lab.
I wouldn’t treat a dog with low normal T4 and no clinical signs (I have one - T4 was accidentally ordered when I ran senior bloodwork prior to her dental, came back low normal and free T4 ED and TSH were normal), but you can always recheck in 4-6 months if you think there is something going on.

[SquishTheBunny]

Wendy, Im not sure if you are familliar with hypothyroidism, but its a common disease in certain breeds. Obesity, even mild, is generally one of the most significant symptoms especially for Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers. The OP DID say her dog was overweight and may have gained a tiny bit of weight. I would assume this is why her vet wanted to at least check for it, as its possible the dog IS symptomatic. I dont think testing for thyroid in larger breed dogs of a certain age is ever a bad thing. Excellent way to trend geriatric wellness.

Unless the thyroid is WAY out of control you rarely see many other symptoms. Its much easier on the dog to treat when the thyroid is only slightly out of range, than waiting until its so far off the charts. This way, they can use a much lower dose of the medication rather than waiting until the animal is really sick and hitting them with a high dose.

I dont agree that every dog with boarderline results should be treated, as there are outliers. The OP didnt really state whether or not the numbers were actually LOW or NORMAL, to me it sounded like they were either at the low end of normal (which I would NOT treat for, but retest in 6 weeks), or they were LOW but with numbers close to the normal cutoff. Its in my opinion not to treat right now, but to retest later to CONFIRM the numbers. I had a dog, very skinny greyhound who tested slightly low. On recheck a few weeks later her numbers were normal. If you get two boarderline lows, then you have indication that your dog IS or is trending towards hypothyroidism.

The thing with mild hyperthyroidism is that often no one knows they have it until they treat for it and notice a difference.

Im sure they vets isnt trying to do harm, but to potentially catch a case before it becomes worse based on breed signalment and classic hypothyroidism signs.

[Rallycairn]

Huge difference for my Cairn, who lived to be 18 and just a few mos. shy of 19. His activity level improved. His skin (he was prone to summertime terrier itchies) improved dramatically/never had summer allergies again; coat quality improved. I think even his dry eye seemed better/he produced more tears, but that’s just casual observation.

The meds even straight from the vet were quite inexpensive. He was on thyrozine for about the last 2 years, maybe 3. Probably 3 now I think about it.

[ShadowsMom]

Not treating hypothyroidism can cause pancreatitis…and a host of other nasty diseases. As a human with treated hypothyroidism, I’d never not treat it in any animal I owned. Just get it tested again in 6 months to see if it is still needed.

[BuddyRoo]

Hypothyroidism in dogs is so danged cheap and easy to treat that it wouldn’t make sense to me NOT to go that route.

Typically the symptoms people notice are the usual slow, fat, hair loss, pigmentation in light dogs,etc.

So easy to treat and so easy to assess. Not a high dollar issue.

[LittleblackMorgan]

Yup. Got a 10 year old boxer on meds since she was 7. It makes a huge difference in her energy. And weight, and her coat. Since the thyroid crapped out, she sheds a ton when off meds and gets dandruff.
Fwiw, I bring her to the vet every 6 months for an old dog check up. Her dosage went up once in 2 years.

[LauraKY]

My vet routinely checks the thyroid on a senior panel…starting at 7 years. Quite a few pharmacies have $4 pet prescriptions for certain generic meds. Kroger does for one…and there are others.

[RaeHughes]

Am just going through this with my 6-year old BC bitch. Not really traditionally symptomatic for thyroid but it was a “maybe” as she was showing some unusual behaviour and not as energetic as she should have been. the standard thyroid test came back as borderline low. We did the Free T4 (which certainly was not free!!!). It was again borderline. Instead of completing the next level of testing, we are medicating at a low level. She has stopped itching (a gentle brush of your fingers was enough to set her to ecstacy), her coat is starting to shed out from last coat change (!!) and she is more energetic than what she has been. She has an appointment this week for her next blood test to see how she is handling the change internally.