Serum tT4, fT4 and TSH concentrations in German Shepherd dogs depending on age and type of work

Serum concentration of thyroid hormones in healthy dogs varies according to age, sex, breed or professional activity. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of both age and dogs' work involvement on TSH and thyroid hormones values. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), total thyroxine (tT4) and free thyroxine (fT4) were tested in the serum of 57 healthy, German Shepherd dogs. The dogs were divided into study groups according to age: dogs aged 3 to 6 years (A), dogs over the age of 6 years (B) and involvement: police-working dogs (C) and accompanying animals (D). Mean values of TSH, tT4 and fT4 ranged from 0.19 to 0.31 ng/ml, 15.58 to 17.25 nmol/L and 11.83 to 17.89 pmol/L, respectively. The highest values of TSH were in group B and the lowest were in group A, while there was an inverse dependence in case of fT4 concentration. The highest mean values of tT4 were in dogs in group C and the lowest in group B. There were statistically significant differences in TSH (p=0.007) and fT4 (p=0.003) concentrations between the age groups. The results indicate that a dog's age is an important factor in the case of thyroid profile results interpretation.