Nicki
Moderator
An Internet friend of mine has two Cavaliers, one of them, Arne, is battling with Cushings. Arne is a very handsome 11 year old B&T.
I asked her if I could share his story to help others to be aware of what to look for - it was a condition I knew little about, and it may help someone in the future.
Symptoms of Cushing's disease can be vague and varied and tend to appear gradually and progressively.
Common symptoms include:
increased/excessive water consumption, increased/excessive appetite
appearance of food stealing/guarding, begging, etc.
sagging, bloated, pot-bellied appearance
loss of muscle mass, giving the appearance of weight loss
exercise intolerance, lethargy, general or hind-leg weakness
new reluctance to jump on furniture or people
thinning hair or baldness on torso
thin, wrinkled, fragile, and/or darkly pigmented skin
hard, calcified lumps in the skin
susceptibility to infections (especially skin and urinary)
diabetes, pancreatitis, seizures
It is the increased water intake and urination or the coat changes which prompt an owner to take action.
Relatively young dogs can suffer from this too so if your dog appears to be getting "old" before its time it may not be the aging process that is causing it.
I asked her if I could share his story to help others to be aware of what to look for - it was a condition I knew little about, and it may help someone in the future.
Symptoms of Cushing's disease can be vague and varied and tend to appear gradually and progressively.
Common symptoms include:
increased/excessive water consumption, increased/excessive appetite
appearance of food stealing/guarding, begging, etc.
sagging, bloated, pot-bellied appearance
loss of muscle mass, giving the appearance of weight loss
exercise intolerance, lethargy, general or hind-leg weakness
new reluctance to jump on furniture or people
thinning hair or baldness on torso
thin, wrinkled, fragile, and/or darkly pigmented skin
hard, calcified lumps in the skin
susceptibility to infections (especially skin and urinary)
diabetes, pancreatitis, seizures
It is the increased water intake and urination or the coat changes which prompt an owner to take action.
Relatively young dogs can suffer from this too so if your dog appears to be getting "old" before its time it may not be the aging process that is causing it.