It is much more common for dogs to get hypothyroidism then for cats. When a dog has hypothyroidism it means that they are not getting enough of the hormones from the thyroid and they are not being produced the way that they should be.

There are a lot of dogs that go untreated for Hypothyroidism and can suffer for years with it causing a lot of skin problems and weight gain. In some cases Hypothyroidism might be caused from atrophy with the tissue that is connected with the thyroid. It can result in infiltration with that tissue from fat and sometimes by cancer. Hypothyroidism might be associated with other medications that are being used or either from other diseases that the dog might have. It is not very common but sometimes dogs can have congenital hypothyroidism .

Most dogs develop hypothyroidism between 4 to around 10 years of age. It is not very common for dogs to develop hypothyroidism under the age of 4 years old but sometimes they do. The miniature breed with dogs usually never develops hypothyroidism. It is more common with bigger dog breeds. Some of the breeds include the Dachshund, Golden Retriever, and Miniature Schnauzer.