Dog with Hypothyroidism and Food Allergy

Question

Dr Smith,

I recently discovered your web site www.holisticpetinfo.com and feel like I found a gold-mine of information. Thank you.

- Female/spayed, American Staffordshire Terrier, approx 10 years old who was recently (1 month ago) diagnosed with Hypothyroid
- My conventional Vet put her on thyroid medication 2x/day. Honey has also been taking Proin for incontinence for the last ~3 years.
- Honey gets Anchovy/Sardine fish oil as a supplement in her meals.
- As for diet, she is on a kibble diet - I have been experimenting over the last 3 months with Senior and/or low fat kibble diet (Orijen and EVO/Innova brands), never gets table scraps, and gets about 1 small doggie biscuit a day
- Honey has recently gained weight which was one of the reasons we decided to test her thyroid, and was consequently diagnosed w/Hypothyroid
- Has always had a healthy appetite - although over the last year or so, she seems to be somewhat constipated and strains slightly to defecate

My Question:
I would like to see if there may be holistic supplements which would compliment the thyroid medication and help Honey feel more comfortable. In addition to the weight gain, Honey has been excessively licking her feet and in particular the areas on the underside of her wrists down to the top of her pads. She clearly is miserable. What are your thoughts on giving her either or both Thorne Research Immugen and/or Canine Geriatric Basic Nutrients? Or is there something else I should be considering? I've also been hearing lots on Probiotics these days - could she benefit from this as well?

By the way, the reason I've been experimenting with different brands of food is I originally thought her paw-licking could have been food allergy related but since the licking has not subsided, we thought we'd keep looking for food that wasn't contributing to the itchy skin. Now that I've done more research on Hypothyroid, I'm pretty certain the itchy skin is not a result of the food.

Thank you in advance,
Kerry

Response:

Hello Kerry,
Thank you for your inquiry to Holistic Pet Info. You sound to be on the right track with food allergies, but may have offered the incorrect diets. When attempting to change the diet the two most important things to consider are the protein and carbohydrate type. The primary protein allergens for dogs are chicken and beef and for carbs are corn, wheat, rice and soy. You may have tried many, many different brands but if they all contain the allergen your dog has issue with, they would all fail. I highly suggest still trying novel diets along with gastrointestinal supplements. Probiotics work very well for most any medical condition because the majority of the immune system is contained in the GI tract. A healthy GI tract makes for a much healthier body. Gastriplex by Thorne is an excellent probiotic that restores and maintains healthy bacteria.

For hypothyroid support you many try a homeopathic supplement such as Thyro-Pet by Pet Alive. It does not contain thyroid hormones so should not be contraindicated with her medication. Best of luck.
Regards,
Colleen Smith DVM, CVA