Low Thyroid Causes Many Problems Maggie Blutreich, CPDT, reporting

There's a good chance that your mental picture of a dog diagnosed with "low thyroid" is a lethargic, overweight critter. You might also remember some breeds so labeled that exhibit hair loss, oily malodorous skin. Your mental file cabinet might not include sudden, otherwise unexplained behavior changes, including aggression, as results of hypothyroidism.
When our Henry Dalmatian became ever more pugnacious toward our other dogs, we assumed that he was a grumpy old man at age eleven plus. A few months later Henry began to growl and snap at us when asked to do simple everyday things: go outside, come inside. We paid little attention to the hair loss on his tail. Older Dalmatians are notorious for such "wag and bang" marks.
We had begun to think Henry's "time" had come. Thankfully, an unrelated bout of stomach upset necessitated a trip to the veterinarian where we did a complete physical examination including the thyroid profile blood tests mentioned below. Henry's results came back on the low side; we began thyroid supplement medication.
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The following comes from the files of Barbara D. Brill, the Aggressive Behavior Discussion List:
"Hypothyroidism is extremely common in purebred dogs. There is a link between hypothyroidism and aggression! In one study, W. Jean Dodds, DVM and Linda P. Aronson, DVM says Thyroid dysfunction was found in 62% of the aggressive dogs, 77% of seizuring dogs, 47% of fearful dogs, and 31% of hyperactive dogs. Learn more from
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/behaviorandthyroid.htm

Medical Causes of Aggression in Dogs, by Dr. Nicholas Dodman
http://petplace.com/articles/artShow.asp?artID=1807
The good news is that there is a diagnostic blood test to detect
hypothyroidism. The tests to ask your veterinarian to run are T3, T4, Free T3 & T4, T3 & T4 Auto antibodies. It is called the Thyroid Antibody DST Profile. The blood sample should be sent to a major university veterinary college laboratory for evaluation, or you may wish to consider sending the blood sample to Dr. Jean Dodds, who has been published widely in the veterinary journals on this subject and who has been very helpful to clients. For more information about the test, go to: http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/testinst.html
Here is a URL for all of the labs around the world which do the thyroid antibody DST profile. " http://www.oxfordlabs.com/vetlabs.htm
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A more in depth discussion on this topic is available from the June 2005, Volume 8, Number 6 issue of The Whole Dog Journal. http://www.whole-dog-journal.com In an article entitled "Help for Hypothyroidism, Mood Swings and Unexplained Aggression Can Be Caused by Low Thyroid" writer, Shannon Wilkinson, offers information for breeds most at risk of hypothyroidism:
"More than 70 percent of the 140 breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club recognize hypothyroidism as a major health concern. Dogs of all breeds (and mixes) can be affected. The complete list of the 100 most affected breeds can be viewed at http://www.offa.org/thystatbreed.html?view-2 "
In that same article, a side bar offers the pet owner "What You Can Do .... *If your dog suddenly begins exhibiting odd behavior changes (especially aggression), ask your vet to order a complete thyroid panel ...as part of a thorough physical examination. * Compare the results with the chart of normal values for a similar dog developed by Dr. W. Jean Dodds. * Ask your vet to prescribe thyroid medication for your dog if the test results are even marginally low. The medication is inexpensive and positive results, if they are going to occur, will occur fairly quickly -- within weeks."
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As for Henry Dalmatian, thanks to those simple blood tests and inexpensive daily thyroid medication, he was able to live a longer and happier life.
Maggie Blutreich, CPDT