Thyroid?

[peaceful777]

My parents have a beautiful Irish Setter that is only 6 years old.  He has been playful and a pet with a wonderful personality.  This past several weeks he has barely been eating.  Will not eat dog food at all.  My mother manages to get him to eat a tiny bit chicken and potatoes at night.  He has lost a lot of weight.  He is very lethargic, has diarrea, sleeps constantly and has basically become a dog that seems depressed.  Is this possibly this thyroid or what could cause a dog to change so much like this?  They heard from someone to test him for thyroid would be like 15 hundred dollars so they are only believing that he will have to be put to sleep.  This is so sad.  He could still have many years ahead.  I have read about Thyro-pet meds and wonder what you might recommend!  Please, anything you might be able to offer I would be so grateful for!

[lindapalm]

And , no, I am far from being rich.

[lindapalm]

You asked for advice, and since none of us are vets, we recommended to take the dog to the vets, instead of trying to solve the problem on your own.  It was impossible to know what was wrong with the dog, or to advise about meds. He sounded like a really nice dog, I'm sure your parents are heartbroken  

[peaceful777]

A note to all who indicated that this would not be a huge cost for my parents.  None of you obviously live in Canada.  The Vet was called...the price was extensive.  The dog was sick and had to be put down.  They are heart  broken, but before you are really quick to make judegements about what you think you know...please be sure to be informed.  This was not a situation where they did not love their pet...they loved him deeply.   Because of a number of situations beyond their own control over these past years they are in a place in their senior years that they did not expect to be.  They would have gladly pured resources into their dog if it were available.....they listened to the advice of individuals such as the ones I read here who indicated that it would not cost much...they were WRONG...and they still have no dog.  The bill was MORE than what they feared!  They probably should have just put him down without the tests, but most would consider that cruel...most much be rich!

[jerryclower]

get adrenals checked out

[skydnsr]

I had second thoughts that maybe I was too harsh.  I was pretty blunt.  If I offended the OP, I'm sorry, because that wasn't my intention.  So, if I was out of line in how I said what I said, I apologise.  It is, after all, not even the OP's dog; it is his or her parents' dog.  But it upset me to read about a dog that had been sick for weeks and no one has taken him to the doctor.  Apparently, no one has even called the doctor, because a simple phone call would have been all that it would have taken to find out that a thyroid test does not cost $1500.  So will someone please take that dog to the doctor, and either have him treated or have him put to sleep.

[lindapalm]

Well said, .

[skydnsr]

I don't know where that estimate of $1500 to do a thyroid test came from.  That is crazy.  I'm thinking you should be able to do a simple TSH  test for $100 or less, including the office visit.  If you do the all-out thyroid panel, with every thyroid test known to man, plus a full metabolic (blood chemistry) panel, I wouldn't think even that that would be more than a couple of hundred dollars -- maybe close to $300 tops, with the office visit and complete physical exam.  If the dog has not had routine preventive care, and if you also go ahead and do a stool test and a heartworm test and whatever else the vet thinks he needs to do to diagnose the problem, I'm still thinking all of that shouldn't be more than $300 to $400.  This is based on what I am used to paying where I live in the southern US.  Even around here, some doctors charge more and some charge less than those figures.  But what I stated would be around the average.  So, $1500 for a thyroid test would be completely out of line.  Maybe if your vet is on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, and you have a chauffeur come and pick up the dog and take him to the doctor, it might cost $1500 for thyroid test.  

As far as what is wrong, it could be anything.  I would call the vet that I wanted to use, ask how much is the charge for an office visit and simple physical exam, then take the dog in, and ask the vet what else he wants to do and how much it will cost.  If you want to, you can call around and see who has the cheapest office visit fee.  Usually their other fees will be lower, if the OV fee is lower.  If your parents are already thinking they are going to have to put the dog to sleep, they should at least find out if they can help him, before they let him get to the point that that is the only choice.  If it should happen that they get to the vet's office, and they find out they can't afford the rest of the work-up, then they can go ahead and have him put to sleep right then and there.  They should not let him suffer on until he is at death's door and then only take him in after it is too late to help him.  If the dog is not going to get treatment, he should be put to sleep now.  At least in some states, it is against the law to fail to provide veterinary care for a sick animal.  

[lindapalm]

Your parents owe it to their dog to take him to the vet for a check up and blood tests, he is much too young to be suffering like he is.  They shouldn't listen to others about the cost of tests, but take him in and discuss it with the vet.  If he keeps going like he is, he will possibly die, and it might be something that would be easy to fix.  I wouldn't waste any more time.

[ginger899]

If I were you I would ask the vet to do a complete blood panel test on him. That will cost a lot less than 15 hundred dollars, and there could be lots of reasons why he feels this way that are not necessarily Thyroid problems.
I live in England, not US, but I took my dog for a complete blood panel last summer (including urinalysis, and Addisons) and the cost was approx. £120. So, translate that into dollars, give or take a little here or there....and it's not too costly. Do it. Because the blood tests will show if there is something else going on.