Hypothyroid Remedies for Dogs, Pets

For the hypothyroid, you may want to try Lugols iodine, 1-2 drops in their water. It is essential mineral that animals as well as people are missing. We are treating our cats right now w/ iodine. its a wonder.

Hey Annie!

You don't mention if your dog is hyper or hypo, but the weight gain suggests hypothyroid so please take a peek here: http://peterdobias.com/blogs/blog/11014981-holistic-treatment-of-hypothyroidism-in-dogs

Grain based diets appear to be a major factor so a switch to RAW or meat based may do wonders.

While I do not normally send folks off site, there is too much info in the article to share here. Please read up and report back.

Thanks!

My personal opinion is now the vets are trying replacement hormone therapy on dogs! It is somewhat inhuman enough for humans to take replacement hormone. Because when this is done the dog is on an umbilical cord of vet's med for the rest of his life. So in my opinion, I would give my dog the iodine anyway and maybe mixed into his food some vitamin A capsules twice a week. Both iodine, and the vitamin A will cause the body to produce the "soloxine", which is nothing more than a thyroid hormone. The issue of thyroid problems is some vitamin A, iodine, magnesium, sea salt, humic acid should correct most of the problems itself. I have never seen fishes on hormone therapy yet, maybe because the business is not lucrative enough to create a remedy when most fishes are treated with just the pH, control the algae, add some tiny "blackwater" (humic acid), and simpler things pet owners don't realize, can go along way. Again I am really happy to hear of Charlie's improvement, especially when you bathe him. I know what it's like when that happens!

Iodine for Hypothyroidism? I have my Akita/malmute mix on Soloxine, for the hair and fur thats thinning and hot spots. (rat tail) I also added in 2mg of Melatonin, as per my vet- Now, after 3 months of this junk, hes been on antibiotics for the last 2 months, which seems to be easing the hotspots, that I have also been spraying with acv/water @50% each. He also has an area of maybe 4x6 inches, where the hair completely denuded, and is light pink. This seems different in color and more dramatic than the hot spots. But rarely itches or seems uncomfortable. I believe that he will have to live on the antibiotic and the other junk.

Does anyone Know the correct dosage of Iodine, for a 90 lb, 9 year old dog. ( or an alternative for treating hypothyroidism/skin issues). Except for the recent addition of Proin, for slight "leaks", he is in great shape. Also just switched to a lamb protein based dogfood. Can you give Iodine w/soloxine? He already gets ACV, as do I every day. (1-2 caps). Any help would be wonderful. Many thanks for the best site on the internet, and the most "giving" bunch of folks, especially Ted. Happy new year to all,
Frank

Hello, I have a 55 lb Rhodesian Ridgeback mix whom I just adore, he had a thyroid profile done last week and the results should be back(sent to MSU) in a few days. I don't want to use any synthetic hormones as I know once you do there is no going off them. From what I have read the meds that are usually prescribed are filtered through the liver. My dog Sam has issues with his liver not being able to filter toxins and has had mulitiple seizures. He get acupuncture and prescribtion herbs to control the seizures and has been seizure free for almost 2 years (July).

I stumbled across this website when researching cysts (he has those now and I found a natural remedy to try for that). I read about iodine, mag., sea salt, and humic acid, Vit A as options. Sam gets Kelp which contains Iodine, and he gets mag daily and has been on these for a few years now. Sam is fed high quality dog food (dry with some canned to hide herb taste) and he gets a mulitude of supplements daily and he is an active 9 1/2 year old dog. He is not overweight like many dogs with hypothyroidism. Again he is not been dx yet, but he has two thin fur spots and started being dog aggressive. I will be surprised if his thyroid isn't off. I was wondering what is the recommended amt of each of these supplements and where do you get humic acid? (what is it?). Thank you from Debbie and her dog Sam

My 9 year old golden retriever developed 2 bald spots on his back in places where he couldn't scratch (he did not seem itchy), the skin had turned black in those spots and he also had thining fur in a T shape on his back towards the tail. I looked it up and they seemed to be symptoms of hypothyroidism. Before taking him to the vet I tried Ted's suggestions, added kelp powder, lugol's solution, vitamin C, vitamin A, humic acid, plus thyroid granule, L-tyrosine, astragarus, selenium and coconut oil to his food. In 2 months his fur grew back, the T shaped thinning spot disappeared and the black color from the bald spots lightened everyday. I am hypothyroid as well and am on synthroid for life and I did not want that for my dog.

I got my humic acid from bioag.com pet section. Thank you Ted, you are awesome.

To Frank from Plfd, Nj/usa: Try getting you dog tested for yeast infection on fur. That may be what's causing his itch. Threelac will cure it, just go to their site. Also, the Lugol's can tell you how much iodine to give your dog.

I have to share some troubling information on thyroid drugs for pets.

My beloved husky has been on the Lthyroxin drug for years. At times the medicine was reduced because he became weak on it - it was having a reverse reaction, then increased because he needed it.

Recently he has developed incontinence and anemia. I took him off the drug for a week and things cleared up, although I know his thyroid was low. Once I gave him the drug again, within 30 min his gums went greish white, his eyes drooped and he appeared low on energy, he also started being incontinent almost immediately.

I have been giving him a very small amount of sea kelp and something from Pet Alive called Thyyro Pet - but I don't believe the levels I am giving are correct. I have just started this for the obvious alergic reaction to the drug. So I know I need to give things a bit of time. I tried him last night on L-tyrosine at the appropriate dose and again this am but it does not have a good effect on him, he seems lethargic.

Yesterday morning we took him to the vets to have a full blood panel done - this includes vitamin levels - B12 for Folic Acid Anemia, glucose levels, phosphate and a ton of other levels to see what is going on.

I have had to cook for him naturally now for many years. When he started on the drug I had tried all sorts of dog foods - read up on the crap especially the preservatives and animal biproducts and realized I needed to cook for him. I have tried to keep it as balanced as possible but the poor guy is allergic to several things that make it a challenge. For one, he can't eat beef or any type of poultry, we tried him on other meats but the only thing that works is Haddock and eggs. I have hens now so that I can make sure they don't eat things he is allergic to (thus passing down allergens through food). He has several other types of allergies which if I listed would make too much of a story here.

I need to share with your readers that it is critical to get an allergy panel done on their pets - food allergies cause skin, ear and other health issues. It's also critical to know blood levels for so many different things - liver, kidney, calcium, protein, I could go on.

I am having to ad vitamins and have researched a tremendous amount on nutrition. In my research I found that certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies can lead to if not cause hypothryoid - those are Zinc, Folic Acid (also deficiency causes folic acid anemia) and Selenium. There are others of course and I am not a professional, but the first two were very alarming - since I had to keep my boy off red meats and other known allergens, he may not have been getting the proper nutrition needed.

I am constantly trying to find solutions to a perfect balanced diet, the trouble is, there's too much information out there which conflicts. After taking information from several areas I have to draw my own conclusions on what might help.

The vets were a joke and I took him to several. One didn't believe dogs were allergic to anything, another tried to sell me on their canned and bagged foods, even though I specifically said he has known allergies to them, another tried to prescrible his thyroid drug - ten times his dosage - I think he wanted my boy to get very sick so that he could make more money - sick bastard.

I have had to go this alone. Basically requesting a vet draw blood and asking for the tests I think he needs, I am planning on checking anything that is elevated through additional tests once I can control whatever the issue is with diet and nutritional supplements.

If you can offer any help on something that will help his thyroid, please write back to me asap. thanks in advance.

For the hypothyroid dog.... avoid flax seed oil and the supplements/foods that contains flax.

For the home diet preparers... avoid feeding raw goitrogenic vegetables.

And, as always, NO GRAINS!

This is an update to my last post on 3/11

I needed to provide information that may help other pet owners cope with hypothyroid - I was going to write a book because I have much to share but feel selfish withholding if I can help anyone's pet.

I have taken my pup off Lthyroxin. The last pill I gave him, his head started to pulse within 30 min of the pill. The vet suggested he's allergic to the meds. He weighs 70 lbs - the following may help your pet. I came up with everything from extensive research and trial and error but I think I have it down.

He is now on 4 drops of Ashwagandha twice per day (Nature's Answer) Alcohol free. Try and space 8 hours apart. Ashwagandha can lower blood pressure (make sure you check with a vet and observe when trying out anything suggested here). Also be sure to only try one thing at a time - wait a day - if no allergies, add a 2nd and so on. The vitamins are critical - especially B complex with C - I wouldn't wait on those.

The same time I give him six drops of Thyropet - also twice per day (PetAlive) - liquid kelp with Nettle (I put both in his food - discussed below).

I give 500 mg of vitamin C two to three times per day (Ascorbic acid - no fillers or other crap).

I also give 50 mg of B complex - (do not purchase with Benzoic Acid - preservative that is toxic to cats and most likely to dogs).

I add the following herbs - 1/4 teaspoon of Olive Leaf (natural antibiotic - also helps thyroid). 1/4 teaspoon of Tumeric - good for arthritis, iron, liver cleanser, etc. 1/4 tsp of Terramin (California Earth Minerals) - includes calcium, iron, magnesium, chronium, selenium, manganese, copper, phosporus, zinc, potassium. If your dog eats dirt - the mineral might be the answer - it's also excellent to put on wounds or tumors. I also give 500 mg of Glucosamin Chondroidan - all human grade - with no fillers or other crap - be aware of vets who sell anything with Sodium Benzoate - a known carcinogen - especially around vitamin C.

I add 3 to six teaspoons of olive oil in his food and every now and then a squeeze of lemon juice.

To help with regular bowl movement in the early am - I give about 1/4 cup of organic apple sauce with a sprinkle of cinnamon (helps balance sugar).

Food - I cook organic oats for am - I add either 1 organic egg or a few ounces of salmon. I give him three meals a day - so lunch may end up being carrots or some fruit -blended pinneaple, apple sauce, peach or banana. Dinner - I cook brown rice - generally with a few ounces of salmon - squash and zuchini, green beans, etc. - try usually to mix it up a little bit.

Snacks - an important one which he craves - I give dates - excellent iron source - don't get the real dry ones (press one between your fingers - if it's squiggy, then it's good).

He still can have days where he's a bit slower, but at 14 he's doing wonderful. He developed a liver/kidney inbalance and he's now on Milk Thistle each day (just 1 capsule).

Other than the thyroid specific above (Ashwagandha and Liquid Kelp) I have four more dogs that eat the same thing - they get used to the different herbs and love their food.

If you have questions or would like to know more, please feel free to email me at safeharbor(at)forthehorses.com

Dog Allergy = Lyme & Ehrlichia

I wanted to reply to Rachel in Nova Scotia with a dog that has red meat & poultry allergy.

Continuing: my large mixed breed went out and in 5 minutes of walk brought in 2 ticks on his face, very small and reddish, midwest. In just 2 to 3 hours, we saw his eye swell almost closed, and one half of his muzzle huge and stiff with swelling (opposite the 2 ticks, strange enough). I pulled them out, and in another hour the whole muzzle was huge...lugol's iodine nipped it one day , he is on day 3 now, 2 drops of 5% in his water. Third day I am giving him 1/2 a human's potassium, magnesium, selenium and zinc to make sure it doesnt zap all his minerals.

Lugols is great stuff for this. I don't know what they have here that he was not already exposed to on west coast, perhaps the rocky mountain bunch from ticks, but whatever it is he is 100% better now and we'll stay on it a week to make sure its completely wiped out. His owner has lyme for many years and quite familiar with its stealth capacities.

Try cleaning ears with 1 part organic apple cider vinegar to 3 parts lukewarm distilled water, and give him a bath with the same, will pH balance his ears and skin, Arnica will help with the hematoma on ear, don't let Vet mess with it, will go down with the arnica and time, keep ears clean. My Rottie had one and went down on its own, no wrinkle.

If the hormones are BIO-IDENTICAL then it's ok. It is the use of hormones that are not identical to the animal or human when you have problems. Bio-Identical hormones are amazing! Please research to find out more. Big pharma wants to scare us into not using them..

I just found out my 3.5 yr old is hypothyroid. I'm torn because I don't to put her on synthetic medication but I hate seeing her like this. I decided to give her kelp for the iodine deficiency but I'm not sure if she has hypothyroidism as a result of iodine deficiency. I do know that it has done wonders for her in the last couple of months of taking it. coat just shines no more flakey skin and dullness. The plaque on her teeth is also clearing up with the help of a raw knuckle bone once a week. I also give her a little colloidal silver for inflammation, bacteria, viruses, fungus, parasites etc...for all around good health. I have also researched and found that virgin coconut oil is very beneficial for the thyroid and hormones so I am going to try that as well. There will be a few things I will try before I resort to pharmacuticals that eventually create other health issues. Its just too bad our fur babies can't tell us how they feel .:-(

Hey Solis,

Please read up about hypothyroidism in dogs:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2097&aid=449

Taken from the above source:

"The thyroid gland is a small gland that is situated close to the larynx (voice box) in the neck. It is regulated by the small pituitary gland that is located at the base of the brain. Normally, the pituitary gland produces a hormone called TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone). This hormone tells the thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormone. The amount of TSH produced is dependent on the amount of thyroid hormone in the blood. The pituitary gland responds to the blood level of thyroid hormone by producing more TSH if the thyroid hormone level is low, and less TSH if the thyroid hormone level is high.

Hypothyroidism results from the impaired production and secretion of thyroid hormones. More than 95% of all cases occur as a result of destruction of the thyroid gland. Most hypothyroidism is due to thyroid gland destruction that is suspected to be caused by the dog's own immune system killing the cells of the thyroid gland. Hypothyroidism may also be a result of atrophy of the thyroid tissue and resultant infiltration of the tissue by fat, or by a cancer. Hypothyroidism can also be associated with the presence of other diseases and the use of certain medications. Rare cases of congenital hypothyroidism have been diagnosed, as well."

Have you had an actual diagnosis of hypothyroid from your vet via blood test? This condition in your dog is very likely NOT caused by iodine deficiency, so while boosting iodine may help, in the long run you may simple be spinning your wheels and delaying proper treatment to your dog, which certainly cannot feel good for your dog. This condition responds very well to the synthetic T4 used to treat it, and if you tried this medication and got poor results you might consider seeing your vet once again and have the dose you administered adjusted.

Ted, you mention Vitamin A 2x a week. What iu amount would you recommend for a 55 lb dog? Been a fan of this site for years. Thank you!

Dear Brandi: Did you ever ask yourself where your dog has gotten this from?

It is terrible what you and your dog had to go through. I am not going to elaborate again about vaccinations but only want to tell you that this is the most single devastating procedure you can submit your pet (or by the way also any humans) too. I have written so many replies on this website that I don't do this anymore since I hardly get any feedback and don't know if the message is understood. Please, go to the following website as a start and start researching vaccine damages:

http://mythicaldanes.com/healthtraining/vaccsCO.html

and also check out the pages on earthclinics section on vaccination damages. This should open your eyes. If you don't stop vaccinating your dog he will never ever get well!!!

Since he got so many different meds already I don't know if it will work. But you can try the homoeopathic remedy for vaccination damages called Thuja C30 1 time 1 tablet or 5 globuli or better yet find yourself a homoeopathic vet. They can really help and are a lot cheaper (and less dangerous) than any vet. Your dog has to be detoxicated from all those "legal" poisons he has gotten into his system.

Good luck and if you want more info just write.

Marianne

Brandi - I have done everything you have done. My dog is living with a comfy cone on his head 24/7, just to keep him from making himself bleed. The steroids only worked for 3 weeks, and I know they are not good for him. So here I read page after page looking for a miracle cure, so my dog can be happy and normal. This is the one thing the vet has not tested for. I intend to make the appointment on my next day off. I would be nice to have my dog sleep all night as well as live without a cone around his head.

My newfie has been diagnosed with underactive thyroid. and is on solexine twice a day plus generic brand for arthritis pain. A strict diet of metabolic food source for dogs to loose weight. No changes in 4 months, no loss of weight, maybe a bit more active but nothing to right home about! What's going on? Is this not enough time to show change? Feeling very frustrated.

Hey Toni!

You might try upping the exercise to help burn off the extra weight. Even if you have addressed the thyroid and increased the metabolic rate, the weight won't shed without a bit of extra help via increased exercise - no running, just extra walking to get the weight back to where it should be. It may also help to cut the caloric intake - which can be challenging for some dogs. Cut back on the portion size to reduce calories and add back in cooked green beans for bulk so your dog feels full after a meal. This trick has helped a few hypothyroid dogs that I know.

If you have increased the exercise and cut back on the calories and the weight still won't melt off, check with your vet to see if the medication dose needs to be adjusted.