[Piccolina]

As I mentioned in the "Health Thread", I took Dolcina to the Vet for an eye infection :blinknly to find out that she has..... a thyroid condition :smcry:at age 3.

She is a retiree from Diamond Maltese, I got her on Jan 19 2010. She was at the time 2 1/2 years old and had just given birth to a pup, before being sold to me.

At the time, the breeder told me over the phone that she weight between
4-4.5lbs, but when I got her, withing 10 days I had her weight checked and she was 5.6 1/2lbs.

I then called the breeder for an explanation and he said: "oh, she just had a puppy and we fed her cottage cheese...put her on a diet".:blush:

Yesterday, at the vet, after an extensive blood test, I find out she has a serious thyroid condition. I say "serious" because the vet is conducting a second more intrusive test which results I'll get on Monday.

Dolcina is now 7.2 lbs at 3 years old and only 6 months after she left the breeder.

My question is: don't you think the breed knew about it (the thyroid condition I mean)?

Before sending her to me he supposedly "did all the tests" and "she passed".

I am very tempted to call the breeder:exploding: but what am I going to gain?

What would you do?

He gave me only 1 month warranty and :hysteric: a lifetime to worry.

 

[Nikki's Mom]

Ask the breeder for a copy of her medical records. I don't think that is an unreasonable request if your dog has health problems.

 

[k/c mom]

I would not attempt to second guess what the breeder knew or didn't know. I don't think it is fair for any of us to publicly do that.

My first Malt Rosebud had hypothyroidism diagnosed at about 3 years old. Did the vet give you a name for the condition that she has?

 

[silverhaven]

Well even with a longer warranty, it usually would be for a replacement pup and you would already be in love with her, so it wouldn't help too much. I think you should contact the breeder anyway. He does need to know these things. You could certainly ask if he had any idea about it, but don't think you could prove either way. I don't think a TSH test is standard, but I am sure someone else would know better than me on that.

I would likely just deal with it knowing she was my baby now, particularly as I don't think it is necessarily a genetic disorder, but has many causes including vaccines and diet.

 

[MaryH]

I would hold off on calling the breeder until you get test results back and know what you are dealing with. What is the "intrusive" test that your vet is doing? Generally a thyroid test is a blood draw. And if I wanted a thyroid panel done on one of my dogs I would ask my vet to send the blood for testing either to Michigan State Vet School (Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health) or to Dr. Jean Dodds at HemoPet (HEMOPET.HTM). If your dog is diagnosed with hypothyroidism the good news is that most dogs respond readily to treatment, Soloxine, which is a pill. The initial dosage is based on weight, the dog starts the medication, has periodic blood draws early on to monitor levels, until dosage and frequency are adjusted appropriately. Symptoms (like weight gain, hair loss, lethargy, etc.) generally resolve themselves once the appropriate dosage and frequency are determined. The dog will require medication for life but the medication is very inexpensive and the pills are small and easily administered.

What tests did the breeder do and did you get the test results? When I place a dog, whether a puppy or a rescue, I provide the new owner with a complete medical history, including any test results that I have received from my vet. I also sign a release form for my vet, authorizing him to provide copies of all medical records to the new owner's vet.

 

[Hunter's Mom]

I don't knot if thyroid is genetic or not but if you ask the vet and he says yes then I would contact the breeder since you stated she just had a puppy and I would think the breeder might want to check the puppy out.

 

[sheila's malt]

I would't care how much she weighed. I would just help her get the medicial attention she needs and love her to death.

 

[iheartbisou]

I would ask the breeder for her medical records too. I'm surprised they weren't already given to you. Did they say why she was being retired at 2.5?

I'm sorry to hear about this and I wish you the best of luck!

 

[Piccolina]

I would ask the breeder for her medical records too. I'm surprised they weren't already given to you. Did they say why she was being retired at 2.5?

I'm sorry to hear about this and I wish you the best of luck!

:wub:I think it's a very good idea:aktion033:

That's what I'll do, without saying anything to the breeder in regards to the thyroid condition. I'll just ask the breeder for Dolcina's medical record and THEN, I will determine if the condition was pre-existing or not.

As to why she was being retired: the breeder said that she was breed twice with a ceserian cut and they could not continue to breed her for that reason.
She is a tiny little dog, very compact, short legs, short body, and should be no more than 4 lbs, and is now 7.2 lbs, can you imagine how fat she is? That's why I suspected that something is not quite right:huh: with her.

 

[poochie2]

I would let the breeder become aware since you just only got her 6 months ago and ask for her records.
I just looked online at some websites if you google thyroid issues in dogs and it says that this is genetic and that the symptoms are weight gain, lethargy and coat changes and also scratching. It also goes on to say that with meds it is very treatable.

 

[maltlovereileen]

I just wanted to let you know how sorry I am to hear about her health problems... I hope you can get them under control and that they don't get too expensive...

About the breeder, not sure what to tell you. I think you got some good advice from Suzan and Mary...hopefully, you will get copies of the vet records to look to blood panel results for clues, etc

 

[Miss_Annie]

*hugs*

 

[Piccolina]

:smcry:I am just so sadden that my new pup already has a health problem.

Last year I had to put to sleep my precious Piccolina for whom I am still:crying:crying:

She too had thyroid condition as well as lymphoma.

I thought I am starting a new with a healthy:tenderup, only to find out that she has a thyroid condition too and at such tender age.....
.......and on Monday, the vet will have more news for me:brownbag: .......and who knows what else he will have to tell me since he is doing a "more profound blood tests" - results on Monday.

 

[allheart]

Hang in there sweetheart and prayers for your baby. If it were me, right now, my main focus would be, on your precious girl and staying in close contact with the vet. Hopefully, it is something that can be tended to with postive results. Once you know your little girls entire health issue, I would then ask my vet, if this would effect any of the pups she has had. If the vet says yes, then I would inform the breeder.

What would be probably very helpful to your current vet, is to have any past medical history on your little girl. So perhaps, you could call your breeder now, asking for her medical records as soon as possible, so your current vet has a good base to work off of. I wouldn't mention about any issues she may have now, as you still are in the testing phase.

I am so sorry and hoping this is something, as I said that can be easily tended to without it being intrusive to your little girl.

 

[almitra]

I am so sorry you are dealing with this,but def let the breeder know what's going on when you have full information and know what the treatement options are. This is not an unheard of condition and can be managed. ((Hugs)) to you both.

 

[njdrake]

I'm so sorry Dolcina is having health problems. I think you've had some good advice on here and I hope things go well on Monday with her new testing. One thing I would want is all the medical records from the previous vet so my vet would have that information. When I'm out of town and have to take one of my dogs to the vet I always get a copy for my vet at home. I want her to know everything there is to know and have it in their file.
Keep us posted.
:grouphug:

 

[Piccolina]

:ThankYou: all for your support.


Sammy:smcry:

 

[Snowbody]

Sammy - I was looking at your old posts and saw that Dolcina fainted in April. Do you know if they checked her thyroid then in all the blood tests? Do you have the results from that trip to the hospital to share with your vet? As I recall all her bloods looked good at that time but wondering if there's a connection. So sorry you and Dolcina are having to go through this. I'm praying that she'll be okay.:grouphug:

 

[jmm]

Unless the breeder did a thyroid panel they would not have known. And if the dog has an idiopathic hypothyroid problem then it may not have shown at all even if it was done.
OFA: Thyroid Classification

Thyroid problems are very common in Maltese and very easy to treat. I have never heard of doing any testing other than a blood draw, so I would be curious what your vet it up to.

I would relax and enjoy getting the weight off my otherwise healthy dog!

 

[Lacie's Mom]

When I was breeding Lhasas, 2 of my females ended up with hypothyroidism. The first indication to me was how dry and brittle their coats were. As MaryH and jmm have stated, the only tests for hypothryoidism are T3 and T4 blood panels. A regular blood panel won't reveal this problem.

Once you begin giving her the medication, she should be fine. Both of the Lhasas I mentioned lived to be 16 years old with no other health issues.