Blaze's Increased "Bitchy" Is Now Understood

DobeMomToo · 06-03-2008, 10:22 AM

Blaze has seemed more cranky than usual over the last couple of months and her water intake has soared.

We took her to her vet and we now know the problem. On her last blood test (9 months ago) she was on the low end of normal for thyroid function. Her test results from blood work done last Friday came back yesterday and confirmed at 7 she is now dealing with "hypothyroidism." She makes number 2 out of 5.

Now her fatigue when playing the beloved "izbee" makes sense, as well as her temperament changes. It also explains her newly found love for the water bucket.

Effective today, Blaze starts with thyroid supplementation.

waiting · 06-03-2008, 10:33 AM

good news to hear you found out what it was causing her behaviour

DobeMomToo · 06-03-2008, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waiting

good news to hear you found out what it was causing her behaviour

Exactly! We suspected hypothyroidism but weight has maintained at a normal level and her coat remains stellar. But, the lab work last time made us go there first when she suddenly became a walking wench-o-rama.

Shelby showed weight loss and then weight gain, and her coat became dull. But she never got cranky. Just goes to show each one is different.

**BackInBlack** · 06-03-2008, 11:53 AM

When Rommel was diagnosed hypothyroid he had a beautiful coat and was at a very good weight. Other than being slightly lazy (he sleeps in every morning..you cant DRAG him out of bed) he didnt really show any symptoms.

I am glad that you found out what the problem was! At least thyroid is an easy fix with supplementation!

DobeMomToo · 06-03-2008, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BackInBlack

When Rommel was diagnosed hypothyroid he had a beautiful coat and was at a very good weight. Other than being slightly lazy (he sleeps in every morning..you cant DRAG him out of bed) he didnt really show any symptoms.

I am glad that you found out what the problem was! At least thyroid is an easy fix with supplementation!

Absolutely, BinB. I dread her going through what Shelby did though! She started losing hair on her ear tips once the meds were started. You'd touch her and clumps would fall off. Scared the CRAP outta me! But once she stablized, that stopped.

ZoeDog · 06-03-2008, 01:49 PM

Great news that it's diagnosed. Zoe too is on thyroid meds. When we moved from Fla to Pa she never grew a coat, and was cold and lethargic all the time. She was freezing. One week on meds and she started growing hair where she never had hair and it really changed her disposition. BLAZE WILL BE JUST FINE !

You are a great loving dobe mom !

Scarlett · 06-12-2008, 08:59 PM

i'm starting to have suspicions that my girl might have a thyroid problem. looking back in hindsight, her attitude has been off since last november. sometimes she has somewhat of a "lost" look on her face. then the hair started thinning down around her hinds and then the thinning moved up her body. now i'm noticing it under her neck. she also doesn't seem all that excited about food either. she'll eat it but, it may take her 2 hours or so to take down a her meal portion.

i had her at the vet last month for some vaccinations and mention to the vet my concerns and she said that it's tough to diagnose at her age (she's roughly 15 months old). But does anyone know if that's necessarily true? that's you can't really diagnose a dog with this until after the age of 2 or 3? they did give me some v3 caps to supplement with to hopefully work with the skin and hair care but after a month, i'm not seeing any changes (in fact, it looks like she losing more hair). i've got another vet appointment in about a month for some more vaccinations and planning on asking for another opinion from one of the other vets but if anyone has any thoughts on this to help me understand a little better, i'd appreciate it.