Behavior change-thyroid problem-studies and info needed

[coyotecreek]

Recently, Ive seen a noticiable drop in my Kate's confidence. She has never been super confident and brave..but we worked very hard and she vastly improved. Within the last few months, I have noticed a steady decline in her bravery and just general demenor. she isnt mean or snappy..but almost seems..depressed? and scared all the time. in agility, if the train goes by, I cant work her..she is petrified of the noise..ANY loud noise.

 

When we go to agility, she wont get out of the truck..just sits and shakes all over..

 

I was told to have her thyroid checked..Im curious, has anyone had a dog that exhibited these symptoms and it was their thyroid? Id like to sound half educated when I go to the vet..and I cant seem to find any articles on this anywhere..

 

Personal stories or links to articles are appreciated.

[SQinAZ]

I recently went through something like this with my Border Collie, Beck...but she would shake and pant in my office at various times of the day.

 

After much detective work, it seemed that she had an inner ear infection, and when I would have my computer speakers on, the sounds like an email arriving or an ftp upload finishing would cause pain, which caused the shaking.

 

All I can say is document Kate's behavior and what is happening when she is reacting. You said loud noises bother her, have her ears checked, although Beck's blood work and ears appeared fine in the exams, she did have swollen glands the first vet visit.

 

Hope Kate is okay!

[Liz P]

Behavior problems (loss of confidence, anxiety and fear aggression) are known to be linked to low thyroid levels. Even humans can become paranoid if their levels drop. It's a quick, easy test and the treatment itself is cheap, so it is always worth checking in a dog with a sudden change in behavior.

 

One of my own dogs took part in a study at Tufts. He was fear aggressive towards larger, dark dogs after being attacked by an Akita. Within a month of starting treatment he was quite happily sharing his toy with a German Shepherd at the park.

[coyotecreek]

Thank you both..

 

So I guess it may be an inner ear infection as well? Shes always been noise sensitive..just seems worse lately..

 

Liz, Kate got into a small tussle with another dog in agility about 3 weeks ago. the other dog, a GSD, is alittle reactive. Kate was staked out, as we all do when walking courses..GSD got walked to close to Kate, who was laying down, waiting for me to finish walking the course..GSD lunged at Kate..Kate defended herself. it was over in a blink of an eye..but I think it rattled her severely...these two played together too back in level one.

 

she is also PETRIFIED of the noise the little hammer makes on the metal stakes...in fact, one of the gentlemen in my class, a wonderful kind man, was hammering a stake into the ground..making a loud PING noise (as we are dry here, ground is hard) Kate starting shaking uncontrollably and she is petrified of him now....when we go to the stake bucket, if one stake dings another, she acts like she wants to run.

 

and, as I said..kinda lackluster in agility..still does it..but at times is kinda indifferent to the whole thing. indifferent at home..although she seemed better last night..spent just Sarah and KAte time when I fed and took care of my stock, which I think she enjoyed.

 

Thanks for the insight, I feel alittle more informed on the subject now.

[Northof49]

Whenever you notice a behaviour change that occurs quite quickly, you should always rule out thyroid problems.

 

The other thing to watch for is that you should run a full panel. Also, if the dog is very very stressed when you take the blood, that can give you false low values.

 

Some vets still don't understand that low normal thyroid levels are still usually too low and the dog is actulaly Hypothyroid. For example, if the normal level falls between 10 - 50, and the dog is anywhere below 20, he probably is hypothyroid, even though technically he falls within the "normal" range.