Low Thyroid in Shelties
"My Sheltie is scratching and itchy all over."
"My Sheltie keeps gaining weight"
"My Sheltie has terrible allergies"
"My Sheltie has constant ear infections"
"My Shelties skin and coat look awful"
If any of these sound familiar, your Sheltie may have "Hypothyroidism" or "Low Thyroid".
It is one of the most common ailments in this breed, yet it goes undiagnosed MOST of the time,...
Why? Because a Shelties Thyroid must run "higher" than most other breeds. In other words, a "low normal' reading for a Sheltie Thyroid results is NOT OK.
A Sheltie who tests "Low Normal" can and often does have multiple problems. If you have landed on this page because your Sheltie has many of the symptoms below, and your Sheltie tested "Low Normal" then this is likely the reason.
A low thyroid Sheltie may display some or all of these symptoms:
Overweight Weight gain or the inability to lose weight,ravenous appetite, acts starving all the time. A Sheltie who is overweight and normal diet and exercise don't help,should be checked for low thyroid.
Skin problems. Problems will begin on the rear of the dog, on the lower back and tail. (usually, not always) (Thus the term "Thyroid Tail") When your dog is first experiencing Low Thyroid, you will likely notice hair loss, dry flakey skin on the tail and rear of the dog. It will progress and spread the longer the dog goes without treatment. Dry, itchy, flakey skin. (can have terrible dandruff) The Sheltie may or may not scratch and chew at his skin (depends how infected it is) often mis-diagnosed as an allergy. Mild cases can just involve itchy irritated skin. The more severe cases often have infected, open sores. These dogs often smell bad because of the infection in the skin, or the resulting yeast infection in the skin from Antibiotic use. Low Thyroid hair loss is most often on the trunk of the body and the tail. Thyroid tests should be run on any Sheltie with skin problems.
Ear infections Either bacteria or yeast based. Ongoing or occasional. The lower the thyroid the more chronic the ear infections become. If a Sheltie has gone too long with low thyroid, the ears can thicken and become deformed from constant infection. (Often called Cauliflower Ear) Any ear infection in a Sheltie should be accompanied by a thyroid test. When we have a dog come in with an ear infection, the thyroid is the first thing we check.
Coat problems Low Thyroid Shelties just don't have healthy looking coats. It can vary from thin, short, sparse, fuzzy, and often downy soft fur. Or, there can be only a thin overcoat, with no undercoat. In all cases, a low thyroid Sheltie just does not have a nice thick, long coat. Shelties who have gone years without treatment will often have wide-spread hair loss. (bald spots)
Runny eye or eyes. A clear watery discharge coming from the eye. It is often misdiagnosed as a blocked tear duct. (note: a yellow or green discharge from the eye is not low thyroid.
Behavior problems fearfulness, aggression, grumpy, etc
Seizures!!
Cholesterol deposits (foggy spots) on one or both eyes.
High cholesterol blood test results
Inability to be bred and/or lack of coming into season. OR, if bred, inability to become pregnant.
