At The Critters & Me we try to stay informed about the latest trends and issues in canine health. Lately we have become aware that more and more canine health issues are being linked to the thyroid. In humans, women especially, in recent years, have been dealing more and more with hyper and hypothyroid problems. In dogs we are learning many of the issues that are being experienced can be traced back to thyroid dysfunction of one type or another. Autoimmune thyroid disease may also induce immune-mediated diseases affecting other tissues and organs, especially the bone marrow, liver, adrenal gland, pancreas, skin, kidney, joints, bowel, and central nervous system. To provide our customers and readers with some information on this subject we have included a link to an article by Dr. Jean Dodds. The article may be a bit too technical for most but does present some interesting and important findings on the subject of thyroid dysfunction in dogs and may be a useful reference article.
We are introducing this topic because we feel that thyroid problems will be a larger problem in the future as it is one of the consequences in the early spay/neuter programs currently be employed at the shelters. There are so many issues from hypothyroid in dogs that are commonly not recognized by veterinarians and preliminary testing. T4 tests alone may not be sufficient to determine the level of thyroid functioning and should probably be accompanied by Free T4 tests at a minimum. All too often test results in the low normal range will be ignored when in fact they may be contributing to other problems for the animal. Low thyroid levels in a dog should be taken seriously so that they do not lead to other immune or endocrine related health issues. Serious low thyroid issues can be dealt with by using thyroid replacement therapy. In cases of low normal thyroid levels Standard Process Canine Thyroid Support can be very effective in building the levels back to normal. Hyperthyroid in cats is another issue that is often overlooked or improperly treated. Standard Process products can also be used to support the thyroid in cats.
Also consider taking a look at a Youtube interview with Dr. Dodds on the pros and cons of harnesses and collars. In particularly she explains why she prefers harnesses over collars due to the damage that collars can cause to a dog’s thyroid.
Collars vs. Harnesses: A longstanding controversial topic
And so that cats are not excluded from the thyroid discussion we are also including a link to an article on hyperthyroidism in cats. This is a very good article by Dr. Karen Becker and is an excellent overview. Hyperthyroidism: The Growing Epidemic that Can Make Your Cat Extra Hungry
Please see the Link below for Dr. Dodd’s article entitled: