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Canine Thyroid Disease and the Standard PoodleWhat is Canine Thyroid Disease? Canine Thyroid Disease is a disease that dogs, such as Standard Poodles, can get. This can cause many problems for dogs during their life and affect their overall health. When a dog suffers with hypothyroidism, their endocrine system is generally affected. The endocrine system is what regulates things in a dog such as their temperature, muscles, memory, and weight as well as a few other things. There are many different breeds of dogs that are prone to certain diseases but the breeds of dogs that are most commonly the ones that have problems with canine thyroid disease are such breeds as Cocker Spaniels, Boxers, Standard Poodles, Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Greyhounds and Doberman Pinschers. There are commonly two types of canine thyroid disease that can be found in dogs. The first would be autoimmune thyroiditis. This is where a dog's immune system would actually attack their thyroid gland. The second type would be lymphocytic thyroiditis. This is where the dogs gland fails to produce enough thyroid hormone to keep the body regulated. Either way the symptoms in both of these types of canine thyroid disease are the same. SymptomsIt can be difficult for pet owners to diagnose hypothyroidism disorder in their dogs as the symptoms can be caused by many different things. One of the first things that you may notice is a change in your poodle's hair or skin. You may notice that your poodle is shedding. Since there is not enough of the thyroid hormone for hair to grow, you'll first see it grow sporadically on the dogs body and then eventually fall out. You usually see the hair loss start on the back in the legs of the dog. You'll notice the coat will become dull and flaky. As a dog's skin becomes irritated from the disease you may start to notice a black pigment growing on the skin in or around the groin area. Since it's common for dogs to have skin irritations, you need to pay close attention when looking for skin irritations caused by canine thyroid disorder. You'll find that your poodle may have certain itchy spots and start to have allergic reactions as well as infections. You may even find their toenails will become weaker and tend to break off or get infected. Another symptom of this disorder would be infertility. With a female Standard Poodle, their cycle will become erratic. It can be very hard to determine when they will go into heat. You may even find that your dog skips over her cycle altogether and she may even have a false pregnancy. In male dogs you may notice that they have a lowered urge to mate and their sperm levels may be down. Weight gain is also another symptom of hypothyroid disorder in Standard Poodles. This can be a difficult symptom to catch as many owners won't notice a slight weight gain. It is important to keep an eye on your dog's diet as well as exercise he or she is getting. Causes Sadly, it is pretty much undetermined as to how dogs get hypothyroidism. Many believe it to be a genetic disorder, but it does show that some breeds are affected more than others. If you feel your dog may be infected with this, then you need to talk with your veterinarian. Let your veterinarian know the symptoms that you have seen your dog display. Together, you and your vet can determine if this is something your dog is suffering from. Treatment Thankfully, this is a condition that can be treated fairly easy with medication. Unfortunately, your dog will most likely need medication for the rest of his or her life. Medication is the most common treatment as it can help to synthesize the actual thyroid hormone that your dog is not producing. Once your vet has gotten the amount of medication right for your particular poodle, you'll be glad to know that your dog can pretty much live a normal life. In some cases, it has been found that the dog may only need to be on medication for a few months until their body starts to produce a hormone again, but in other cases the medication may be needed for the duration of the dog's life. You should get your dog tested every six months to see where his or her thyroid levels are at. This way the medication can get adjusted accordingly.
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