Worried about Alfie - again!

[spanielcrazy]

Alfie just seems to be getting grumpier and grumpier.
 He seems a little slower in his movements . His coat is greasy and he is sleeping a lot. He is only 4 years old but looks and acts like a 14 year old dog!

Alfie is putting on huge amounts of weight despite the fact he is on AG Light and I weigh all his meals, (and he is not even finishing what I put down for him!) and he now looks REALLY fat! He's gained 1.5kg in the last 2 months 

This sounds like classic hypothyroid to me. If he were my dog, I would insist on a T3/T4  full thyroid panel.(http://offa.org/thygrade.html)  Most of the time, if it is done at all, it is just the T3, which can give a false normal. I would even--before the results come back--insist on trying him on thyroid medication to see if it helps. If it is thyroid, you should see almost dramatic results in no more than 2 week(if not days  )

Alfie is showing enough other symptoms that even if he can grow coat like no tomorrow, I'd bet the farm on thyroid  Hope you get it sorted soon! 

[Mrs K]

No advice, just superabsorbant shoulders at the ready  i hope you have more success at vets on Monday 

[Tori]

Oh Steff i am so sorry to read your difficulties and i'm sending lots of love to you all! Xx   

the generally, as spanielcrazy has said, vets only do a basic t4 thyroid test. We've just had our old welshie diagnosised as hypo and you would NEVER  had guessed by looking at her, but only because she was getting complications with he  on going skin it was recommended. Also i have recently found you can not just go by the t4 alone but have to read it with some others, which i know alot of vets don't know to do, believe me i checked!
also make sure it includes TSH as well.
 
Cushings could be another also Addison's came to mind.

Best of luck monday, thinking of you Xx

[Tori]

Forgot to say Sasha's t4 was even that low but on the cusp of low in normal range.
And that she has been on medication for 2mth now and is looking fab! Before hand we used to say how old she had suddenly become, but she is almost 12, now she has gone back to having many stupid half hours and bouncing around at times like a puppy. Xx

[supergirl]

Sorry to hear about Alfie - its just such a worry.  Hope the new vet can get to the bottom of it, as once you know what the problem is it will be much easier to understand his behaviour.  Good Luck for Monday

[Jane S]

Dr Jean Dodds is the leading expert on canine thyroid conditions - it's possible to send samples to her lab for testing (the tests she runs are far more comprehensive than normal so might be worth considering for Alfie):

http://www.hemopet.org/services.html (instructions for overseas samples at bottom of page)

[stuffster]

Forgot to say Sasha's t4 was even that low but on the cusp of low in normal range.
And that she has been on medication for 2mth now and is looking fab! Before hand we used to say how old she had suddenly become, but she is almost 12, now she has gone back to having many stupid half hours and bouncing around at times like a puppy. Xx

Oh thats such fantastic news. Im so pleased to hear Sasha is doing well    

The vet did T4 and TSH tests but definitely didnt do "FreeT4" or T3    (basically because he had made up his mind that it isnt thyroid!! )

I am hoping and praying that it IS thyroid, because then it could be treatable, but obviously trying not to get my hopes up.

Thanks for some great links and ideas.

[spanielcrazy]

Forgot to say Sasha's t4 was even that low but on the cusp of low in normal range.

That's very often the case, as there is a range of scores within "normal", yet the dogs can still be showing symptoms, and have an excellent response to the meds. While often it depends on the skill or intuition of the vet reading the results, it makes me wonder about the testing parameters

If you are able to send a sample to Jean Dodds (in the link Jane gave) I wouldn't hesitate. She is absolutely brilliant, she is one of the first professionals to research and sound the warning about annual vaccines; she is the go-to person for blood disorders and how to read the results of blood samples, and probably knows more about hypothyroidism than anyone. She has pushed veterinary medicine so far forward!  (Can you tell I'm a fan?  )

BTW, before he went on meds, Jordies thyroid was practically non functioning (my vet was shocked at the test results; I wasn't, not with his symptoms--very similar to Alfies) yet he grew tons of coat  (in the parts that didn't have lesions on it)

Keep us posted and good luck at the vet! 

[Hurtwood Dogs]

OH Steff, you and Alfie have HUGE hugs from me, I feel like crying for you 

Spaniel Crazy and others have given great advice, it does sound like there is a medical problem just hope something comes to light with the new vet. Shout on here or PM me anytime you need to let off steam 

Hannah xxx

[tillyson]

no advice to give just wanted to send you )))))Hugs(((((( and hope this new vet can help 

[BabyB]

No advice, but I'm glad you're seeing another vet as your current one sounds a bit of a numpty IMO.

[Mudmagnets]

So sorry to hear about Alfie - positive vibes on their way, hope your new vet comes up with the solution -  and cure A.S.A.P

[stuffster]

No advice, but I'm glad you're seeing another vet as your current one sounds a bit of a numpty IMO.

  Too right! Trouble is I do design work for him, and I see his wife everyday as our kids go to school together! I just had to email him to tell him I was transferring Alfie to a different vets, as they need to get the history from him, so Im not looking forward to seeing his wife tomorrow!! And Im pretty sure I wont be getting any design work from them again! Ah well, Alfie's wellbeing must come first.

When I spoke to the new vets this morning they seemed so lovely. We've got an appt for Fri 12th to see the vet, but his wife is the practice manager and just sounded so fab. She said if Alfie deteriorates in the meantime they will fit us in sooner than that. 

[BabyB]

If you're happy with the current vet and how he deals with Purdey can you not keep Purdey registered there and just transfer Alfie across?

I still think my numpty comment was right though, but it might placate him until you sort Alfie and what could be a thyroid problem.  Just a thought