Canine Cushings Disease

My grandfather's schnauzer who I inherited a few months back has Cushing's. She's 11. I had been suspicious for several years because she developed the "pot belly," and very different poor hair coat and skin. My grandpa, before he passed away, took all the information into his vet that I gave him, but the vet didn't do much either b/c her bloodwork was fairly normal or he didn't think she had it. She now has the weak rear legs too and she's blind. However her bloodwork still isn't that unsual and she doesn't have the urinary issues that Cushing's dogs typically have. Since I've had her, she's lost weight but has maintained the "pot belly" and her skin is in tip top shape, however her hair coat, although as healthy as it's been in years, is not what it was prior to the disease.

Our wonderful little Yorkie mix, Andy, died of Cushings.
We had another dog plus 2 cats in the household but I noticed that the water dish was always empty. We went through a very unhappy time with losing Whiplash(14 1/2 yr. old dog), Mildew (13 yr. old cat) and Rusty (17 yr.old
cat) within a short period of time of each other. It was time for Andy to have his teeth cleaned. My vet did the blood work to see how healthy he was and that was when we found out about the Cushings. When he asked me if he drank a lot of water I told him that I was always filling the water dish up. With all of the other animals in the house, I never thought that he was doing all of the drinking.
He was on pills for 2 years....then he passed away. He was only 9 years old.
Andy was the perfect little dog. It will be 4 years this March and he is still missed.
Another sad story. One of the young girls that worked at the local Kroger store near where we live was diagnosed with Cushings at the same time as Andy. She passed away not too long after her surgery. She was a wonderful young woman. Surgery is not done on dogs with Cushings.
Andy was very over weight in his middle section. He was lucky that he didn't lose his hair but it was really dull. He was always nervous.

you know, all of the dogs i have known of who had this disease were schnauzers, i hear this is something that breed is more prone to. one schnauzer was having all these symptoms (but remember, this also mimics diabetes) and the vet did not test blood sugar, but just put the dog on insulin. (dumb, i know, but this was many years ago, before we know all we do now) anyhow, dog never got any better, second vet tested for cushings, that was what he had. he died shortly after. the only other breed i have seen who had it was a westie, i wonder if certain breeds are more prone to this?

Our sweet, sweet dog Lexi passed away this past April from Cushing's. Her main symptom was excessive water drinking and a few liver problems. She died at the age of 12 with almost no warning... She was fine one day, and two days later she was gone. The vet said the Cushing's had a lot to do with it. She had been diagnosed several years before she died, and the suddenness with which the disease took her made her passing so much harder, since we never expected it. At least her 12 years were wonderful ones.

I love Lolli to pieces, but I will always miss my Lexi girl.

I can't believe that Mommy just logged in to see if others had experience with "Cushings" because I was just diagnosed. Today I had the Low Dose Dex test to see if it's in the pituitary or the adrenal gland. Mom's read a whole bunch about it on the internet but wants to hear from others that have been through it.

Andy's was in his pituitary gland. I searched the internet everyday hoping to find something that would tell me that it would go away....I never found it. One of the saddest things for us was when he would look at us with a look on his face asking, "Mom, why do I feel this way"? Andy was the neighborhood dog. Everybody loved him. Our vet and his staff were very caring and understanding. I have Andy's ashes. He had it for 2 years and died at the young age of 9. My heart goes out to you. Good luck and give Gia extra love.

I think Schnuazers are one of the more commonly affected breeds...we had several come into HSI with it. I don't know why though. Probably something to do with breeding dogs that are suseptible to the disease without knowing that they will have it in late adulthood. My vet had said that even if Maggi has it there aren't very many good treatments and sometimes it just makes the dog feel worse. Luckily, Maggi doesn't have the bladder issues...she may eventually, but right now she doesn't. I need to get her into to update her bloodwork again and see if anything has changed...it's been a few months and she's finally settled in our house.

We had a beagle who died of complications related to Cushings Disease a year and a half ago. We didn't know anything was wrong until she started having seizures. The vet diagnosed her and she was on medication for probably 3 years before she died. The seizures were the worst part for us b/c we never knew when they were going to happen. In the end, the seizures wouldn't stop and caused her body to start shutting down so we had her put to sleep. It was such a hard decision b/c one day she was fine and 3 days later, she was gone. But she was a wonderful dog who lived good life and I'll never forget her.