How do I trim down a 6 year old Golden Retriever with hypothyroidism.?
I am thrilled to be adopting Grace from a divorcing friend. She weighs 80+ pounds and is a real sweetheart. I know the basics of less food, more exercise and no treats or table food. Is there a diet I should put her on? I am pretty busy with 4 kids but I could cook for her once a week if it will make her healthier and live longer. How do I know if her synthroid dose is correct since she is still so big? What about canned versus kibbles? I think she has been on limitless Purina Dog Chow since she comes from a home with 4 other dogs. Thanks!!
My friend is bringing her to me (10 hour drive) in 2 weeks. OF COURSE, I will take her to the vet but I need to know what to report since will not have the history for her. My friend has been distracted with other problems so I think the dog’s care has been put on the back burner.
She doesn’t need to be on a special diet, no. She just needs to fed appropriately for the weight she should be, which means that you are going to need to measure her food carefully and remember to include whatever treats you give her in your calculations. Whether you feed her once a day or twice a day is up to you as long as you don’t exceed her daily calorie requirements. More exercise helps as well.
Your vet will do blood work periodically to check that the medication dose is still correct. The dosage needed will vary over time. Hypothyroidism is a very common issue in dogs and is usually easy to treat.
If you can ask your friend to bring her records, that would be helpful. If she can’t manage that, knowing who the dog’s previous vet was and having permission for your vet to access those records would be helpful.
You will absolutely need her rabies certificate however. Make sure your friend brings that or you won’t be able to license her. Without a valid rabies cert, if she were ever to bite someone, she’d be quarrantined. You can avoid all that with her current rabies cert.
Hypothyroidism in German Shepherds – Hypothyroidism in gsd’s
