1 of our boxers is about 9 ish ( rescue and not sure of exact age ) She has had cruciate op followed 1 week later by bloat causing removal of her spleen, she also blacks out for no reason and just drops to the ground, then comes round and carries on as if nothing has happened ( vet has put her on heart tabs for this ). She is a real fighter but recently she started to lose her hair and her skin began turning black. This has developed rapidly to cover a good third of her body, and despite having a high dose of steroids and ABs and every cream and potion known to man nothing has stopped the spread. It constantly irritates her and she nibbles and licks all the time, she even had a collar to prevent this but it drove her mad. Latest test show that her thyroid is virtually non existant, so a few days ago she started on the thyroid meds ( as well as still taking the ABs and steroids and heart tabs ) Please does anyone know how quickly the thyroid meds begin to take effect, will it be noticeable in a week or is it something that takes a long time to improve things.
Glad to hear from anyone else who has experienced this problem as it breaks my heart to see her so uncomfortable. ( thank heavens for petplan )

I've not had one get that bad, but i am really hot on thyroids in dogs :-P

It'll probably take a while to work if her thyroid has deteriorated this far.  When Soli was diagnosed her fur had gone ever so slightly sparse round her neck and shoulders and was going a bit ginger, I think it took a good few weeks at least for the difference to be really noticeable - the hair had to regrow and that does take time.

By the sounds of things she could have been hypothyroid for a long time.
It may even have been the thyroid that has been affecting the heart.
As the thyroid can cause the heart to enlarge and can sometimes show similar
symptoms with the heart as cardioymopathy.
A good vet would have blood tested for this as well whilst going through tests when
you'd initially got the feinting etc.

After a few weeks on the thyroid meds you should notice a big difference in her demeanor.
It will take a while for the skin and coat to come back to full condition it can also be
helped if you bathe her with a vet grade evening primrose oil shampoo as that's nourishes
the skin from the outside. (Groomers from Newbury do this)

There will be big improvements once they get the dosage right for your girl.
:)

One of mine is hypothyroid. She didn't regrow the fur that was clipped when she was spayed, and she gained a lot of weight despite getting less than half the portions she used to get. It took about a month before we noticed the fur growing back and the weight starting to go. About 8 months later aged 10 she became a Champion and she still looks absolutely fantastic (and is shown and does well) now aged 11. The only thing we notice these days is she moults more than usual. The medication really has worked wonders.

Thanks for the replies, it makes me feel as though there is a light at the end of the tunnel instead of being surrounded by darkness and not knowing what to do for my girl. Over the years I have coped and learnt about many doggy illnesses but have never had to deal with hypothyroid issues before, so this is all new to me. Knowing that she should improve in a few weeks has made me feel so much better about things and just maybe her heart problems will improve as well.
It is reassuring to know that others have been through this and their dear doggies have improved so well, so thank you all for letting me know.

When my Am Cocker was put on Soloxine, his behaviour improved within a week (he showed aggression towards my dogs as a symptom) and his physical symptoms took almost two years to completely subside (recurring skin infections...) though a drastic improvement was vibible within a few weeks.

When my lurcher was put on Soloxine, again, his general behaviour and energy levels improved very quickly... he didn't really have other symptoms, so don't know how long it took in general.

MY girl (2.5 yrs RR) has been on Soloxine 0.8 for 3 mths
somethings happened fast, her ears (black crusty pinnae) healed to near soft and perfect
her temper improved
Her constant shivering stopped, appetite improved (despite being dreadful eater she gained weight) now she is eating more but dropping about 3 kgs to near ideal weight
But her skin is still irritated despite Piriton
Her activity level is still awful she has to be dragged out on a lead walk and just ambles on a field walk.

Other thing worrying me is she drags her hind paws on walks...

Vet wonders if something else is also affecting her, I just live in fear of it as she has a file at the vets the size of Encyclopedia BRittanica

It is good to hear improvements continue though, reassuring too...

Hi, one of our Boxer boys kept collapsing so the vets done various tests heart scan,x rays bloods but not tested for thyroid,all came back as ok,the vet suggested we see a cardiologist so this was done she suggested he wore a ECG machine for 24 hrs this was done with the readings that came back as a healthy heart for a 11 boxer,the vet asked if he had a thyroid test done as dogs can collapse with thyroid problems which he hadn't so this was done it came back as the lowest reading the vet had seen so he was put on thyroxin. His levels never stabilised but he was with us til he was nearly 13 then had a tumor on his spleen.out of 6 boxers he was the only one that had trouble with his thyroid good luck with your girl x

Blimey debby1, your poor boy!   I suspect thyroid for everything (a tad obsessed with it for people and dogs lol!) so matter how unlikely, it's one of those things that when it goes wrong can affect every system and function in the body - as I well know, with my own going fritzy.

JaneBUK - has your vet run a full panel recently (not just T4 or TSH)?  It sounds like she is still hypothyroid and the meds aren't enough.  Could be she needs more to be healthy in herself (i.e. possibly needs above average thyroid levels as an individual), or if he's only looking at her T4 or TSH, there's something else going on that he's not picking up.  I'm having this problem with Remy - his T4 is normal, last test his meds were reduced because it was too high - but he is still obviously hypothyroid, same as your girl he is lethargic and does drag his feet a little bit sometimes (I have heard of this being a symptom).  It's a battle just to keep his weight stable (and he's been on a diet for 5 years - taken me 4 years to get 10kg off him).

I am saving up to get a full panel done by Dr Dodds - I reckon there's something else at play, such as a conversion problem (inert T4 to usable T3) or an uptake problem at cellular level, something like that (although I'm more familiar with the human mechanics of it so guessing a bit).  I'm hoping with all the info and Dr Dodds' knowledge we can get to the bottom of it so he can enjoy life a bit more (and enjoy more than 30 minutes of plodding along before he is knackered).

Yes thanks for the info
I'm also asking my vet to perform the blood test when due next time and send to Hemopet
I'd really like to spay her, her weight is ideal now
I'd like her to be at full health first though

Dragging back feet can be signs of neurological deficits as well. Sounds likeyoumight be heading for a MRI scan as well as a full blood work up. Skin could be something as simple as mange, demodex can take a hold when systems are weakened needs a skin slide doing. Personally would get all the issues sorted then spay as a GA isn't advisable when poorly.

I've been trying to get her healthy enough to spay for 18 mths <head spins>
The hind drag is a worry but am trying not to jump to awful conclusions...

She is tested regulary (monthly) for thyroid but though her levels are over slightly reducing her fmor 0.8 soloxine to 0.6 her symptoms were more pronounced again,esp exercise...
She is only 2.5 yrs and really never runs, just walks and trots, she is a sight hound, but never ....chases

Just to update.
Vet is doing full blood panel, plus xray of chest, hips and spine...
We await results on Monday night...

Just to say that one of mine is hypothyroid too, and by the time he was fully diagnosed, some of his readings were so low they couldn't be measured. After some successful weeks on Soloxine where he lost weight, had better capacity for exercise, and became much happier, he then started to have some side effects (looked miserable again, and was drooling and suffering bouts of sickness). It took a time to convince the vets that it was the meds, but they changed him onto Levothyroxine, and he is really stable on this. His coat has improved dramatically although he still gets the occasional red lesion on his underbelly/groin area, but these dry up quickly with no need for creams/steroids etc..

> she started to lose her hair and her skin began turning black. This has developed rapidly to cover a good third of her body, and despite having a high dose of steroids

> It constantly irritates her and she nibbles and licks all the time,

My friends 5 year old male boxer sounds exactly like this. I told her to ask her vet to check for thyroid problems and they came back clear? The vet appears to be stuck as to what to do and my poor friend is so worried about her boy, he's chewing his feet till they are raw.
Could the vet be wrong or could this be something else?

Just a thought: there's a new book out by Jean Dodds about thyroid problems. Have a look on here.

Has he been checked for Demodectic mange. 

Most dogs are born with this parasite and their immune systems keep it in check and clinical signs only appear if the immunes system is unduly stressed or ineffective. 

There are topical parasitic solutions that are effective against Demodex, but she would need to have them monthly probably permanently unless the stress to the immune system was temporary.