Zak's post

Just a quick update on one of our four-legged family members...
Well, a few days and a few (many) bucks later, he seems to be doing much better. Turns out it was probably just plain old diarrhea, most likely from eating an old rawhide. He's not quite back to normal with his diet, and he's still taking some antibiotics (just in case), but he'll be just fine.
But...in the course of all the tests we did find out that it may not be entirely our fault that he's fat. For some reason, the doctor decided to run a test on his thyroid function. Guess what? We have a hypothyroid dog. Go figure....for those of you who may be unfamiliar with the condition I'll fill you in, as I am intimately familiar with it.
In short, the thyroid gland isn't working properly and doesn't produce enough thyroid hormone. It can start out of the blue or be triggered by stress, but usually there is a predisposition. There can be several causes for this, but the result is the same. Without enough thyroid hormone, almost every system in the body is affected. The metabolism slows down, the brain getting foggy, and depression sets in. A drastic personality change can occur and it's no fun for anyone. We've been saying for a few months that Zak seems to be getting worse and worse about listening to us, maybe this is the reason for that too.
Anyway, he'll have to start taking medication and it'll probably take a while to get the dose dialed in. Medically, he'll be just fine. Good thing he doesn't mind taking pills because he'll be talking them everyday from now on. Me and the dog...