It was fall of 2012 when I realized that Toby was a land monster compared to other Italian Greyhounds after I took him to his first breed-specific playdate.
Several people suggested to me then that he might have thyroid issues, but at the time his more pressing problem was a bad tooth. Sure enough, once we had his tooth removed, a lot of inflammation throughout his body subsided and he got less chubby.
On his most recent vet visit, the doctor brought up his thyroid and recommended that we do some blood tests. I had always thought that the thin fur on his head and back were the result of alopecia, which is quite common in the blue Italian Greyhounds, but the vet thought that his thyroid was the culprit for that as well.
Sure enough, he tested low and we started him on thyroid medication. Almost immediately, his fur began to fill in as his extra weight started to drop off.
He's still a bit heavier than he might be, but he's looking much better. He's about to go up to a slightly higher dose of his meds, so that should help his coat grow in even more than it already has.
The only downside of the thyroid medication is that it seems to have increased his energy levels. That's fine during the day, but less fine when he pops up like a jack-in-the-box every time he hears a noise all night long.
Still, I'm glad he's looking and feeling so much better. He's my boy!
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