# Thyroid problem?



## Enzos_Mom (Apr 8, 2010)

Enzo has always been on the thin side. Everyone always comments that I should feed him more, give him more tables scraps, give him more treats, etc. I feel like he's at a healthy weight, but what is concerning me is that I have to feed him at least 4 cups a day to maintain his weight. It's been like this on every food that he's been on - even the "premium" foods, such as Fromm (what he's on now) and Blue Buffalo. At what point should I be worried that it's not just a high metabolism and ask my vet to run some tests on his thyroid? I've added a picture of Enzo that was taken a few weeks ago when he went swimming - his fur is so curly sometimes that it's easier to see his body when he's soaking wet. Does he look too thin to you??


----------



## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

He looks fine to me. 
Ike's weight fluctuates a bit during the year depending on his activity level, being a bit thinner during the summer months.

Enzo is not yet done growing either, he's using those calories he's taking in to grow and build muscle.


----------



## Enzos_Mom (Apr 8, 2010)

I thought he looked fine, too, but when SO many people are commenting on how skinny he is, it's easy to second guess myself. His littermate that my fiance's brother owns is 78 lbs as of yesterday. Enzo is 65.5 lbs. I commented to Jeff's aunt that Ryu was looking a little chubby and her response was "At least he doesn't look deathly skinny like your dog!". I tried explaining to her that the extra weight was bad for his joint development and that Enzo is at a healthy weight, but she just wouldn't hear it. It really confused me, though, because the vet (Enzo and Ryu go to the same one) said that Ryu's weight was right on track. They're the same height, so if he's on the right track, then Enzo would be really skinny.

ETA: This is Ryu.










And this is a picture of the boys together. Enzo is on the left and Ryu is on the right.


----------



## nixietink (Apr 3, 2008)

That's how Vito is and he is actually hypothyroid (which is supposed to make them gain weight). We get comments on how skinny he is all the time. 

Enzo looks fine, not too skinny. I doubt he has any thyroid problems. He is just growing. 

Don't worry so much.


----------



## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

I think Enzo looks fine. As far as the amount of food goes, there was a period of time when Creed and Hilton were each eating 6 cups of Canidae per day. It was a lot of food, but any less and they got really skinny. They were very active and very muscular, so between their activity level and still growing, they really needed those calories.

As an adult now, Creed eats about 4 cups of food a day.


----------



## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

From the angle of the pic, Enzo's littermate's body looks longer, which would cause him to weigh more. He also looks sway backed where Enzo's top line is nice and straight. My Sam had a long body which caused him to be sway backed also. If both are 9 months old, they're not done growing yet so I wouldn't compare them with more than a grain of salt.


----------



## Enzos_Mom (Apr 8, 2010)

We weren't very informed when we got them and they were from a BYB. Now that I am a little more knowledgeable about what to look for in a breeder, I worry constantly about all of the things that could be wrong because his parents didn't have clearances and things like that. I constantly worry about his hips, too, which is why I try really hard to keep him lean. I'm a little bit of an overprotective doggie-momma.


----------



## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

It's not at all uncommon for adolescent males to be on the thin side. He's only 9 months, right? Once he matures, he'll fill out some and be a good looking boy! I'd much rather my dog look like him than his brother (the brother looks fat in those pictures).


----------



## Bob Dylan (Mar 31, 2009)

I think Enzo looks fine, my vet likes my crew on the thin side rather than the heavy side. The extra weight is not good for any dog IMO.


----------



## goldensrbest (Dec 20, 2007)

There has been alot on here about thyroid, getting it tested, for several things, i got my two checked, my older dogs, all was fine, i wonder if this is being over done?


----------



## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

I think Enzo looks great and he is young and all young growing dogs are usually on the thin side.
You can have him tested if you choose though.. make sure they do a full thyroid panel and send it either to Michigan St. or Dr. Jean Dodds.


----------



## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

goldensrbest said:


> There has been alot on here about thyroid, getting it tested, for several things, i got my two checked, my older dogs, all was fine, i wonder if this is being over done?


Not sure what you mean by being over done? Thyroid disease is an issue with our breed, and thyroid disease can have many and varied symptoms. It's never wrong to check the thyroid even in a seemingly perfectly healthy dog. The only thing that checking the thyroid hurts is the owner's pocketbook! And a lot of people don't think twice about wasting $100 on stuff that doesn't give them the valuable information that a thyroid test provides.

Perhaps you mean that people think thyroid disease is more common in our breed than it actually is? Well, you may be right. The majority of golden retrievers will never have thyroid disease, but a large enough protion of them will that it isn't a bad thing to know that thyroid could possibly be a a cause of a dog's symptoms.


----------



## goldensrbest (Dec 20, 2007)

No, what i mean is that it is talked about on here alot, if someone says their dog has ear infections, for one, get the thyroid checked, my lab has ear infections, we tried many medications, for years now, so at her senior check up, i had it checked, all is fine, i wonder if it has become a catch word, of sorts.


----------



## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

With golden, I think thyroid problems should always be a concern. We have had 4 full goldens, 2 of which had low thyroid.Just about the time he turned 4 cooter displayed all the classic symptoms of low thyroid, tests showed he was low thyroid and he was put on l8 soloxine twice a day. Meds and diet soon got him back to his old thinner self with beautiful coat, lots of energy.

Several yeears late Buck, the younger brother, was to have a dental about the time he turned 10 . I had a fullpanel done--and he was low thyroid. He did not have one single symptom and we were all shocked. He had to be put on 1 1/2 of the l8 oloxine twice a day. Odd the one with the much lower thyroid didn't show any symptons.

KayCee and Hunter were littermates and neither ever developed thyroid problems. KayCee did have a weight problem and I had her checked yearly for low thyroid, but she was always fine.

Where KayCee culd look at one extra kibble of food and put on a pound, Hunter stayed 77-70 pounds his entire 4 years (he was killed by the 6 month heartworm preventative injection, ProHeart6 2 months after he turned 4). He was long and lean and we called him the long lean playing machine. 

We had a neighbor with a golden and Bo was so thin I worried about him. But he was healthy as a horse, very active. It was just he was tall, long rangy legs and thin.

I don't think it hurts a thing in the world to have your dogs checked for thyroid every year....even without displaying a single symptom. Buck didn't and his wea very low til he got on meds. And he was just past 10 when his showed up.

Honey is our adopted golden mix, tho most take her for full golden and she always test normal thyroid.


----------



## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

Your dog looks GREAT! How much exercise does he get? That will determine how much food he needs.
People often think a FIT dog is too "skinny" because they are used to seeing fat Goldens and think that is normal. My vet often tells me how he loves to see my dogs because they are nice and lean. He once told me that 85-90% of the dogs he sees are overweight. A lean dog is going to have a lot of health advantages over a fat dog.
That being said it will never hurt to have a thyroid test done if you have concerns. Two of my 3 Goldens are hypothyroid which can lead to excessive weight gain.


----------



## ladyhawk (Mar 9, 2010)

Your boy looks great. To me, his brother looks a bit on the heavy side for a pup.


----------

