Macedonian Veterinary Review

Short Communication

Clinical signs and behavior in dogs with hypothyroidism

Elena Mitrevska *

Irena Celeska

Miroslav Kjosevski

Elena Atanaskova Petrov

Mac Vet Rev 2023; 46 (2): 185 - 191

10.2478/macvetrev-2023-0021

Received: 24 March 2023

Received in revised form: 19 May 2023

Accepted: 12 June 2023

Available Online First: 27 June 2023

Published on: 15 October 2023

Correspondence: Elena Mitrevska, e.mitrevska@fvm.ukim.edu.mk

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Abstract

This descriptive study aims to examine the behavior of dogs diagnosed with hypothyroidism and the potential effect of hormonal treatment. Eight client-owned dogs with clinical hypothyroidism were evaluated using an adapted C-BARQ questionnaire, clinical description, and hematological analysis. Six of the dogs’ behavior was monitored for four months after the treatment initiation. The study found that excitation, whining, and urinating when left alone were frequently observed. Attention-seeking was also a common behavior reported by the owners. The biochemical analysis before the treatment had revealed elevated cholesterol, triglycerides, and alkaline phosphatase levels in the majority of dogs. The study emphasizes the need for prospective studies using a larger sample size to gain further insight into the relationship between hypothyroidism and behavior in dogs. Monitoring changes in behavior over time can provide insight into how thyroid dysregulation may contribute to the onset of certain behavioral patterns. Functional brain imaging and pathohistological brain analysis in dogs with long-term hypothyroidism are also required to confirm the effects of hypothyroidism on canine brain function.

Keywords: Canine hypothyroidism, behavior, clinical presentation, endocrinology, hematology

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Copyright

© 2023 Mitrevska E. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declared that they have no potential lict of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Citation Information

Macedonian Veterinary Review. Volume 46, Issue 2, Pages 185-191, e-ISSN 1857-7415, p-ISSN 1409-7621, DOI: 10.2478/macvetrev-2023-0021