| Our dog Lucky was slowly becoming different than | | | | Depression - Yes, Lucky was for sure depressed. |
| our other dogs. She was over weight even though she | | | | Most dogs who are affected are in the mid to large |
| ate less than the other dogs and really didn't seem to | | | | sized breed category. Lucky is a mid sized dog. It is |
| care that much about food. She was also very | | | | also hereditary. But in this case Katie is her mom, and |
| depressed acting. We could just see it in her eyes. | | | | Katie is the happiest, most perfect dog there could be. |
| She seemed very sad. Lucky did not like to play like | | | | We also know who Lucky's dad was. He too was a |
| the other dogs did. She pretty much just sat on the | | | | very happy dog. So with lucky it must have skipped a |
| porch and watched the other dogs while they played. | | | | generation. |
| We took her to the vet, and he decided to do a blood | | | | It can happen to both male and female dogs. But it |
| test on her to see if her thyroid was producing enough | | | | happens to spayed females more than unspayed |
| thyroid hormone. The thyroid hormone is what | | | | females. And Lucky was spayed. And the problem did |
| regulates metabolism. Her test showed she was only | | | | not start happening until after that. However, a low |
| borderline low. But the vet gave us some thyroid pills | | | | thyroid problem doesn't start happening usually until a |
| anyway and told us to give her half a dose each day | | | | dog is over 4 years old. Lucky was spayed about one |
| for a month. | | | | year old and we started noticing a change in her about |
| The results are detailed below. | | | | a year later. |
| Here are some symptoms which might indicate your | | | | After we had given Lucky the pills for a month, we |
| dog has a thyroid problem: | | | | started seeing a behavior change. She actually |
| Very lazy acting and not wanting to play -Lucky had | | | | WANTED to play once in a while! As we kept giving |
| this symptom | | | | them to her she started losing some weight too. The |
| Weight gain with no added interest in food - Lucky | | | | vet said we might try stopping them for a while and |
| definitely had this symptom | | | | see how it goes. Apparently, sometimes the pills do |
| Dry skin - Lucky's coat was dry and very coarse | | | | some kind of a jump start on things and they keep |
| feeling compared to our other dogs | | | | going correctly. He was right...for a while anyway. She |
| Hair loss (especially in the tail area) - Lucky had a large | | | | did continue to improve and lose weight without the |
| bald spot on the top of her tail | | | | pills. However, after about 6 months, we see the old, |
| Bacteria infections - She did not have this symptom | | | | depressed Lucky coming back. So we have started to |
| Problems with the cold - Well, all of our dogs seem to | | | | give the pills again to her. |
| dislike the cold | | | | As near as we can tell from researching the subject |
| A slow pulse rate - We never checked her for that | | | | on the Internet and talking with our Vet, there are few |
| Strange behavior or compulsions - Lucky was (and still | | | | side effects associated with thyroid pills. So we will |
| is) our dog with the strangest behavior | | | | probably continue now giving them to her on a regular |
| Aggression - Yes, Lucky is the one dog of our four | | | | basis. |
| we don't trust around very tiny children without close | | | | Please write to us if you have any questions about this |
| supervision | | | | or if you would like to share your story. |