Hypothyroidism in my precious old dog

Hypothyroidism in dogs

In the spring of 2025, my 15 yo American Cocker Spaniel Toto started to lose hair on his back & tail, was often cold & shivery, his skin was dry and flaky, he was getting regular skin infections and he’d got very slow.  Blood tests at the vets revealed hypothyroidism in my precious old dog. All these were actually typical symptoms of Hypothyroidism in dogs.  Unusually he had actually lost weight rather than put it on, which is more normal 🤷‍♀️ The vet put him straight on to Thyforonflav tablets & I moved him from Pure Sensitive dog food to their Pure Renal kidney friendly dog food.  I have a voucher code for Pure dog food to trial, if you are interested, just contact me through my website.  It’s the only kidney dog food that any of my dogs have ever eaten 😀

Hypothyroidism in my precious old dog

Hypothyroidism in dogs is caused by the thyroid gland not producing enough thyroid hormone.  It affects many aspects of a dog’s health, including metabolism, energy levels, and even skin and coat health. The most common symptoms include lethargy, weight gain, hair loss, and skin infections. Over the winter, I had noticed my old dog slowing down, but we put that down simply to his age.  I am so pleased I took him for blood tests & this condition was diagnosed.  It makes me wonder how many other elderly dogs are suffering with this & it goes undiagnosed.

After 4 weeks of being on the thyroid medication & his new kidney friendly dog food, blood tests showed his thyroid & kidney levels were back to the normal levels.  After 8 weeks, the hair on his back has all grown back & his tail is almost there too 🙏 I didn’t expect his tail hair to come back!

Treatment usually involves lifelong medication to replace the missing thyroid hormone – but thankfully, it is quite inexpensive 😀

Thanks to his meds for Hypothyroidism in dogs, my precious old dog Toto had fun with his friends right up to 2 days before he died

Thankfully, the prognosis for Hypothyroidism in dogs with proper treatment is generally good. They can live long, healthy lives with their condition managed.  Toto lived on another 18 months, to aged 16.5yrs and was active up until 2 days before he died.  I let him go because he was just getting done.  He suffered no pain or illness, right up to the end and the vet who came to put him down couldn’t believe his age given the way he still looked.  I am so glad he was on this med for the last year & a half of his life, it gave us so much extra, loving time.