Ebet Toy Manchesters, Manchester Terriers

Over the years I have shared my painful experiences with hypothyroidism in an effort to help educate other pet owners. Although this discussion is difficult for me because it brings up criticism from many folks involved with purebred dogs, and many difficult memories, I hope that it might help you to understand if your pet might have a health issue that you should be aware of.

Our family has always had purebred dogs, and growing up we had a toy poodle (Sissy) that had seizures. I was only 8 years old when we had to make the difficult decision to put her on Phenobarbital for her seizures. I wonder now if hypothyroidism was really the culprit.

I purchased my first "show prospect", Comet in 1994. This led to a second purchase of Bunny in 1996. Both Bunny and Comet are Miniature Pinschers and I quickly found how difficult and competitive that breed is for an owner/handler. Still I pushed on. I produced a grand total of 4 litters of Miniature Pinschers, with my last litter in 1997. I kept 2 of those puppies myself, Scarlett and Bobby. Their Mother is Bunny.

In the year 2000, I was like most pet owners and I had my beloved Miniature Pinschers who were my babies and only dogs. Comet, Bunny, Scarlett and Bobby. We enjoyed a great life with a huge yard and lots of squirrels to chase.

I figured that Bunny was slowing down a bit, and we were probably feeding her too much, so I cut back on her dog food and slimmed her down.

Then she started losing her hair. I took her to the vet, and he treated her for a bacterial skin infection, with antibiotics, and things improved.

Then it happened again. After repeating this cycle over and over, my vet referred me to a dermatology vet in Jacksonville. I spent $100 per visit, with him taking skin scrapings, prescribing more antibiotics, special shampoos, and see ya next month! This went on for several months. She also had a peculiar smell that would alert me to the onset of a new infection.

We tried a food trial thinking there must be something she was allergic to. I tried every special diet food out there, including feeding her raw, and making her food myself. Nothing helped. Each food trial lasted 3 months.

Meanwhile Bunny was itchy. I mean chewed her feet raw, frantic, could not sleep itchy. Bunny sleeps in bed next to me, typically underneath me for warmth. She was so restless and itchy that neither of us got any sleep. She managed to make her feet bleed, and scratched her ears so hard, I was afraid she'd make them bleed also. She was miserable and I was heartsick that I could not do anything for her. for 3 years, I went through this vicious cycle of waiting for her to get sick, then pumping her full of antibiotics.

I got mad, and got on the internet for help. I spent countless thousands of hours digging around trying to come up with some possible reason why this dog was having so many bacterial skin infections, and yeast infections. I needed to figure out what the vets could not or would not.....WHY.

I discovered a website that described a huge variety of symptoms of hypothyroidism. I took Bunny to the vet and asked for a thyroid test and BINGO. That was the culprit all along. On Sept 30, 2003 I started Bunny on thyrozine and she has been a much healthier dog since. I was mad and betrayed that not one single vet ever bothered to LOOK for a cause. I am telling you this to help give you the tools to investigate what can be a fairly easy to treat problem.

Bunny is not a totally healthy dog and never will be. I might have been able to halt the progress of this disease had she been diagnosed early. But with inexpensive medication, she's happy, energetic and still sleeps next to me at night.

Bunny has now been diagnosed with a condition called Sebaceous Adenitis. This is an odd skin disease which has no known cause or cure. There seems to be little information on this, but here are a couple of links.

Treatment includes weekly soaks in oil followed by baths. It's pretty upsetting for both of us, but it has made a dramatic difference in her skin and coat.

Just when I thought life was good and everything was settled, Bunny's daughter, Scarlett began to have focal motor seizures. She was still able to respond to me, but her face, and neck would twitch significantly to one side. Based on my research and a carefully documented account of her seizures, I went to the vet and asked for a thyroid test. She tested 1.1 which falls in the Borderline or low normal range. I showed my vet all of the research that I had obtained online, and she agreed to do a thyrozine trial for 3 months. Scarlett has remained seizure free since December 2003 and has been on thyrozine ever since.

Scarlett has now been diagnosed with discoid lupus erythematosus. Commonly called "Collie Nose"

I had tested Scarlett's brother Bobby also in 2003, and he also scored in the Borderline category. In 2003 he had no symptoms. In the middle of 2006 he began to act very frightened and nervous whenever there was a loud noise, or I used the printer. This was NOT like him, so I went and had him re-tested. Sure enough, he was then low and needed to be treated with thyrozine.

So as we can see, there are numerous manifestations of a low thyroid. Sometimes low normal needs to be treated. My dogs have 3 very different, distinct symptoms, but many dogs do not show any outward signs of hypothyroidism.

Manchesters are no different than Min Pins.. Do not think that just because my 3 were Min Pins that Manchesters do not also have this problem. Hypothyroidism is the #1 health issue in all breeds of dogs.

Dorothy's Story submitted by Candice Stacy

Our Manchester Terrier, Dorothy, was a healthy dog when we adopted her at two years of age. She never had any major health issues until she was seven. At that time she became very itchy literally overnight. She woke us up in the middle of the night with frantic scratching. We hurried to her vet the next morning. Her regular vet started her on antihistamines. Allergies were suspected. After weeks of this poor dog tearing herself to pieces by continual scratching we were referred to a vet dermatologist.

By this time we were wrapping her chest (the most affected area) in bandages and dressing her in baby shirts, just to keep her from scratching herself raw. The vet dermatologist agreed with our regular vet that some sort of allergies were involved. He suggested extensive testing to determine what was causing her reaction. He began with a simple blood test that showed she was allergic to many things, including human dander. He sent us home with all kinds of instructions, anti-dander sprays, etc. We were to return in a week to have the extensive allergy testing completed. Needless to say this was costing hundreds of dollars, our dog was still suffering and we were at our wits end.

I posted our distressful story on Chesterpets, a Yahoo group to which we belong. That is when we were blessed by a suggestion from Elizabeth Treese who had had a similar experience with her Min Pin Bunny. Elizabeth suggested that we have Dorothy tested for hypothyroidism. We went back to our regular vet that very day and through a simple blood test found out that, yes, Dorothy was suffering from hypothyroidism. One of the side affects of this condition is itchy skin. We started her on medication (levothyroxine) and within a week she was healing.

We never completed the allergy testing. There was no need. She has had no other skin problems in the last 3 years. We have her thyroid levels checked regularly. She takes two pills a day. The medication is very affordable. I would encourage anyone who has a dog with skin issues to have the thyroid levels checked. It could save you and your dog needless distress.

Candice Stacy

The lovely Miss Dorothy today

Sammie's Story submitted by Mona Freeman

I purchased Sammie when he was four months old. A week after getting him, Sammie had a terrifying fright caused by a young juvenile and he began to anxiously scrutinize any young person. Later he became fear aggressive to any male and eventually to females. It was suggested by Elizabeth Treese, that I should contact Dr. Dodds who performed blood tests and determined Sammie’s thyroid was not working properly. He is now on medication twice a day. She felt the medication could alleviate some of Sammie’s fear aggressive tendencies.

The veterinarian’s office has removed the aggressive warning from his file. Anyone at the vet’s office can work with Sammie now.

Sammie is still quite cold and has thinning hair around the ears, chest and top of his head. I will be requesting Dr. Dodds to recheck Sammie’s thyroid levels again in the near future.

Sammie today

Tira's Story submitted by Patti Lee

My 3 year old Standard Manchester Terrier, Tira, has just been diagnosed with Hypothyroidism by our very alert vet. We took her in because of skin irritation on her tummy and in a matter of minutes the vet said “this dog has thyroid issues, we could take a lot of unreliable and costly tests before we start treatment, but I would rather start her on the medication monitor her every few days for a couple of weeks and see if she responds, then confirm with tests at that time”. It’s only been a few weeks and we are already seeing improvement!

I have been education myself since her diagnosis, and feel so very lucky that the skin issues were her only major symptom to date; no neurological problems, no behavioral issues etc.. She is however very large (tall & heavy) by the breed standards, she is almost 19” H and 43 lbs; our vet explained that in and of itself, this should not be considered a “warning” of hypothyroidism, breed standard are only that, and should not be seen as a measure of whether your dog is “normal” or “acceptable, however, it certainly was a factor he considered in his diagnosis.

I feel it is important that we educate owners of purebred dogs that if your dog does grow to become significantly large for its breed, keep an eye open for this disorder and it any of the symptoms appear get to the vet and investigate. If this is caught early there is no reason for your dog or you to suffer; if treated and monitored on a regular basis, a dog with this disorder should live to a ripe old age!

Patti Lee

Vancouver, BC Canada

Sluggishness · Obesity · Skin disease · Cold intolerant · Hair loss · Weakness · Poor coat ·

If your dog shows any of these symptoms please have your vet run a thyroid panel.

weakness / stiffness / laryngeal paralysis / facial paralysis / tragic expression / knuckling or dragging feet / muscle wasting / megaesophagus / head tilt / drooping eyelids

seizures / mental dullness / exercise intolerance / neurologic signs polyneuropathy / lethargy / weight gain / cold intolerance / mood swings hyperexcitability / stunted growth / chronic infections

dry, scaly skin and dandruff / coarse, dull coat / bilateral symmetrical hair loss / rat tail, puppy coat / hyperpigmentation / seborrhea or greasy skin pyoderma or skin infections / myxedema / chronic offensive skin odor

infertility of either sex / lack of libido / testicular atrophy / hypospermia aspermia / prolonged interestrus interval / absence of heat cycles / silent heats / pseudopregnancy / weak, dying or stillborn pups

bleeding / bone marrow failure / low red blood cells / low white blood cells / low platelets

corneal lipid deposits / corneal ulceration / uveitis Keratococonjunctivitis / sicca or dry eye / infections of eyelid glands (Meibomian gland)

lgA deficiency / loss of smell (dysosmia) / loss of taste / glycosuria / chronic active hepatitis / other endocrinopathies adrenal, pancreatic, parathyroid

Since openly discussing this issue with many pet owners, we have discovered a large number of Manchesters with hypothyroidism, and I think it's just the tip of the iceberg. There are many symptoms of the disease that many Manchester breeders/fanciers just think is "part of the breed".

1. Thinning hair on any part of the dog's body. Many dogs have thin or no hair on the backs of their ears, backs of their legs, and necks. Many folks think that this is just evident within a "few bloodlines", but I say that it may be a sign of a bigger problem in all bloodlines.

2. Dogs that routinely dig under covers to sleep or like to lay on top of heat ducts. Many ,many breeds are heat-seeking objects and like to snuggle under the covers. But since putting my 3 Miniature Pinschers on thyroxine, they no longer sleep under the covers with us all night long. They get hot and come crawling out panting. This is a much more normal reaction.

3. Dogs that are suddenly overweight without any change to their diets. Ok I'm as guilty as the next person of giving my dogs too many treats at times. But when a dog suddenly balloons out for no apparent reason, I would suspect thyroid.

4. Dog/people aggression. According to the research online, this can be a manifestation of hypothyroidism.

Thyroid testing varies in price from vet to vet. You can get a full thyroid panel for around $50-$80. This should include the TgAA which will indicate whether or not this is hereditary. Thyroid medication is also inexpensive. It typically costs less than $10 a month for medication.

Why should I care if it's hereditary if my dog is not used for breeding? You may not, but the breeder of that dog should be made aware, and do something about it!

What we as breeders can be and should be doing is testing the dogs we use in our breeding program. The best available technology for early detection of autoimmune (hereditary) thyroiditis in dogs is a sensitive assay for Thyroglobulin Autoantibody (TgAA). This test was developed in 2000 by Oxford Laboratories and is used by responsible breeders, veterinarians and researchers who are dedicated to addressing the canine world’s most common disease.

Thyroid levels are listed below to aid in comparisons: (free T4)

Low

below 0.8 ug/dl

Borderline

0.8-1.5 ug/dl

Normal

1.6-5.0 ug/dl

High

above 5.0 ug/dl

Oxford labs has a lot of information on their website about the disease and how and when to test for it. You can determine if a dog becomes hypothyroid due to heredity with a TgAA test. As of now, there is no DNA test for this disease. But it is generally accepted that the TgAA test is the only clear way to determine heredity. Dogs with a positive TgAA should not be bred--they can pass along the disease to their offspring. The TgAA test can detect Autoimmune (hereditary) Thyroiditis up to 2 years before symptoms are present.

There have been surveys conducted to determine the incidence of hypothyroidism in Manchesters. My feeling is that since so few of the breeders in this breed actually test, that this survey cannot be accurate as to the numbers of affected dogs. How will breeders know if they have a problem unless they test for it? That is not to say that sometimes dogs do not show any signs of the disease until after they are retired from a breeding program. But according to Oxford Labs, if a dog reaches age 5 and does not have a positive TgAA one can assume the dog will not become hypothyroid due to heredity.

Dogs (and people) can have a low thyroid due to factors other than heredity. As long as there is no heredity factor, there is no reason not to use that dog for breeding--unless they have serious medical issues such as Bunny or Scarlett. Dogs must be tested for TgAA before they are given thyroid medication in order for the test to be accurate. Once placed on thyroid medication, you must take the dog off the medication for 6 weeks in order to get an accurate result. I am not willing to take Bunny, Scarlett and Bobby off their medication to determine heredity. None of these dogs are being used for breeding, and they would become very ill if I took them off their meds. Had I been aware of the significance of the TgAA test I would have run a panel before starting their medication. Now it is too late.

I am now using Michigan State for my thyroid screening. Dr Jean Dodds also will perform the full thyroid function test. Michigan State reports (anonymously) to the OFA database where hopefully we will be able to see how this disease impacts the breed. Dr Dodds is a private vet who does not share her results, Your vet can submit blood serum to Michigan State or you can submit it yourself.

I have only recently added TgAA to my routine health screening. I was doing a different type of test (free T4) to determine thyroid values, and have since learned a lot more about this disease. I am sure as I learn the results of all of my dogs testing, that some tough decisions will have to be made.

How will you know if you don't test? You won't. Many dogs remain without symptoms until after they are used in a breeding program. TgAA will show up even if they aren't showing any signs.

Do not roll your eyes and say "I don't have a problem with that", or "She's just looking for things that are not there". Show me full thyroid panels on the dogs in your breeding program before you throw rocks at these ideas. I think you will be shocked at the results of your testing. This problem is out there, and not wanting to know the answer won't help the breed. Just because you do not want to know, does not make it go away. At the very least, please run a full thyroid panel on your breeding stock at ages 2 and 4. We can manage this disease if an effort is made by the breeders, just like we have managed Von Willebrands disease.

Technology has given us a crystal ball of sorts. How could you NOT want to know?