ROTT N CHATTER, October 1992, Volume 1 Number 3

 

                 WHAT'S SO BIG ABOUT THE LITTLE THYROID?

 

   This small gland is a hormone producer that affects many parts of the

body.  When certain diseases or ailments are suspected in a dog, testing for

a thyroid imbalance can often lead to a more accurate diagnosis and better

treatment.  The little thyroid is more often than not one of the guilty

culprits.  Edward Baker, VMD, refers to the thyroid as "the body's chief

engineer".

   This important little gland consists of two oval bodies located in either

side of the neck.  There are also tiny parts of thyroid tissue in other

areas of the chest and even around the heart.

   There are two forms of thyroid homone secreted by the thyroid gland: T3

(triiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxine).  T3 is usable thyroid homone while T4

must first pass through the liver and other tissues before it can become T3,

the usable thyroid.

   Here is where it begins to get complicated, folks, but I'll do the best I

can to simplify it.  The thyroid gland itself is regulated by two different

hormones, TRH and TSH.  Now, if T4 gets too low, (remember it's not usable

yet when it starts traveling around the body) the brain tells the TRH, "Hey,

wake up, go get TSH and tell him to get to work!"  Now TRH knows that TSH

'hangs out' at the nearby Pituitary gland, and so heads straight there to

find him.  Well, as soon as TSH hears about the thyroid shortage he races to

the thyroid gland and stimulates it to get busy and produce more thyroid

hormone.  Hence, TSH stands for THYROID STIMULATED HORMONE while TRH, being

the first one released into 'active duty', is the THYROID RELEASING HORMONE.

   As a consequence of all this, Hypothyroidism (the shortage of usable

thyroid in the body) is usually the condition seen when a thyroid imbalance

is suspected.  Hypothyroidism is becoming all too common in our breed and

all of our dogs should be tested.

   Why do skin problems seem to go hand in hand with thyroid imbalances?  In

order for our dogs to have healthy skin and coats, the cells that make up

the body must be healthy and multiply.  It is not fully understood, but

thyroid hormone is essential in regulating the metabolism of each individual

cell.  Whenever the cells cannot function efficiently, one of the visible

results is the skin will loose it's elasticity, and can ulitmately result in

dry, crusty, scaly skin.  The end result can be a dog with a very sparse

coat and a dull, almost hardened gray skin that will have an obnoxious odor.

 

A dog left untreated will be miserable with uncontrollable itching all over

and will further damage itself by chewing to the point of producing raw and

oozing sores, a setting ideal for bacterial infections.

   It is found to be a fact that hypothyroidism is definately associated

with reduced resistance and a greater susceptibility to bacterial

infections.  So, if your dog develops any type of skin ailment or a wound

that does not seem to respond readily to treatment, you might want to check

for a thyroid deficiency.

 

                                        jan cooper