Hyperthyroidism

[Punkygirl0101]

I think Bradley may have hyperthyroidism. He is a 9 1/2 year old dachshund mix.He has always been overweight, he has recently lost weight cause I have had all the fat dogs on a diet..and all are doing really good on it and losing weight nicely. He also used to have really, really bad skin. It was flaky, he scratched a LOT, it was dry and dull. He also had bald spots due to the scratching. It was always red. We had him tested before to try and figure out what his allergies were (hes allergic to vaccines, and corn), but never did figure it out. Last year when I switched them to a higher quality food, his problems went away. His hair grew back, his fur grew in nicely too! And soft. He didn't scratch anymore.. His stomach is very dark though, and patchy looking. And today he fell over on his side (he does have arthritis though). He was fine after a few minutes, and I think maybe he got light headed and was a bit dehydrated (He was in my mom's room for 12 hours, there was water when she left for work, and then 2 hours after she left for work and I got up and went to go let her dogs outside, there was not anymore water..so they must have drank a lot of water due to the heat) Brad was laying on the floor, and got up really quick and started walking to the back door, but then fell over on his side. I immediately picked him up and he was fine after that, and he has been drinking plenty of fluids. I don't know if I am just a paranoid dog mom..but his breathing seems heavy to me. He is going to the vet tomorrow and I am going to get tests done, and have them test for hyperthyroidism.. I think he may have it, the symptoms sound dead on.

[Swiftwind]

Harley has hypothyroidism but his symptoms sound a bit different to Brad's. Before he was medicated for his condition, he had a very 'blocky/brick' appearance to him. We put him on diets etc but he didn't lose the weight and his body remained the same shape. He started to lose patches of fur, mainly at the base of his tail (and it later progressed to his whole tail being bare), but his skin was not red or flaky, if I remember correctly, it was a bit leathery though.

He lost a LOT of energy, found it extremely difficult to climb stairs etc and was pretty much like an old man. Harley was about 6 or 7 at this time, so very unusual behaviour.

Anyway, I'd be really interested to hear what the results are from the test, when you get them back.

[Punkygirl0101]

We had to have Brad euthanized today. I just cannot believe I lost another baby. His liver was enlarged to 3 times the size it should be. The vet determined it was cancer. Brad was having a lot of trouble breathing because his liver was pushing into his diaphragm. There was nothing we could do, and he was in a lot of pain and was having to push hard for every breath. We made the difficult decision to have him euthanized and not let him suffer anymore. I am going through a lot right now. I have had Brad since I was 9 years old. It hasn't hit me completely yet. I didn't expect to come home without him. Sometimes I have to think what I did to deserve this, but I know every dog has its time. My babies are all going to pass on someday. I really miss him.

[Doglover1988]

Aww poor boy! I'm so sorry! You made the right choice. I'm so sorry that you lost two so close together, I lost Zoe and my cat Oliver very close together. It makes me sad too that I will loose all my girls someday but it's worth it to me to have them in my lives.

[Swiftwind]

Oh no, Mel! I'm so sorry to hear that you had to put Brad down, but I do think it was the best decision for him. It's not nice to see your animals suffering, either. At least you found out about his condition now rather than later.