When Yuki turned 2 years old, he started to change.  Nothing drastic, but a subtle and on-going change.  He started becoming less interested in play.  His nose started changing from black to a pink/fleshy color.  He started to put on weight, though his diet hadn't changed.  I mentioned all of this to his Vet, and after an exam I was told that he was just an "adult" now and he had just calmed down out of his puppy stage.  The nose change was explained as being just something that happens, sometimes, in certain breeds.  This didn't really sit well with me, but what could I do?  He had no real symptoms of anything so I just moved on.

Earlier this year, Yuki started losing his fur.  In the beginning it looked like a bad shed.  His undercoat shed worse than ever before and, by mid-summer, he had no undercoat left at all.  I called up the Vet and asked if it was something that should be looked at.  I was told to wait a few weeks to see if it was, indeed, just a bad shed.  And so I waited.  It didn't seem right to me, but again he was without other symptoms.  He plays with Ellie and loves his walks and is just a generally happy little guy.

He started losing his top coat, and fast, and I was sick of waiting.  I got him in to see the Vet earlier this week.  She took one look at him and couldn't believe it was Yuki.  His weight is down a couple of pounds since she last saw him (which is a good thing), but his fur is almost completely gone in some areas.  His belly is practically bare and he's losing his pants (yes, Eskimo Dogs have the nice fluffy pants just like corgis!)  She drew blood and gave him a thorough exam.

Turns out, my instincts have been right since I first noticed that nose changing color last year.  My poor Yookers has hypothyroidism.  :(  It's certainly not the worst problem to have, but I'm a little frustrated that it took his hair falling out to finally get a diagnosis.  Apparently he displays very classic signs and was only missing the typical ear infections that accompany the condition.  We pick up his medication tomorrow and I've been told that everything should reverse itself.  His fur will grow back, his nose will most likely change back to all black and his weight will go back to normal.  I've also been warned that his energy levels will go back up, but that would be more than welcome!

I'm a little mad at myself for not trusting my instincts more about this.  I just knew there was something wrong, but I didn't have any way to really prove it.  It's sort of like knowing that you're sick even though you don't have the symptoms yet.  You feel like a crazy person if you just say you "know" something isn't right.  All the same, though, I really wish I had tried to get the Vet to do...something, I guess. 

At least he will be getting medication now.  And, with any luck, he'll have his fur back before it gets bitter cold in January.  If not, I guess I'll be buying a Yuki-sized sweater for him to wear.  ;)  He is enjoying the extra hugs and kisses (and couch privileges), though!