Cammie - Doxy just diagnosed (Vetoryl)

[Cammiesmom]

New to forum. Apologize for jumping in like this. Don't know how to initiate post. Hope your little one is still doing well. Rescued a female doxy in May, 2015. She was confined to a crate 24/7 for don't know how many years. She had not been spayed. Noticed dry skin, excessive thirst and hunger, pot belly and lack of potty training but thought it was poor to non existent care. Then did some research and thought it might be Cushings. Subsequently has medical emergency with pooch-don't know her age- somewhere between 9 and 11 years. Emergency vet also suggested possibility of Cushings. Her tests indicate pituitary cushings. All of my dogs are on a home cooked diet and looking to find if there is a particular diet for a cushings dog. Right now she is fed twice a day, cooked chicken or salmon; green beans, zucchini, yellow squash and carrots with a treat of s slice of cooked sweet potato. Not sure I'm doing the right thing and would love feed back. She weighs 11 lbs and just started on Vetoryl.

[labblab]

Welcome to you and Cammie! Bless you for rescuing this little girl and giving her the care she needs. Others will also be by to greet you and to offer out more info, but I just wanted you to know that I have taken the liberty of moving your post so as to create a thread that is your very own. This way, it will be much easier for our members to reply to you directly.

Can you tell us more about the medical emergency that prompted you to head in to the vet, and that launched the Cushing's testing? Also, how much Vetoryl is Cammie taking? Given a weight of 11 pounds, I am hoping it is not a dose larger than 10 mg., since current dosing recommendations are to begin using a formula of approx. 1 mg. per pound. Dosing recommendations used to be higher, and many vets are unaware of the downward changes. However, the risk of unwanted side effects seem to be lower when the starting doses are lower, as well.

So any additional info you care to share with us will be great. I don't really have knowledge about home cooking, so I'll leave that conversation to others. Unless you prefer to home cook, though, it is not necessary to do so for a Cushpup. Regardless of the type of food, we usually offer the general recommendation of moderate levels of good quality protein, and lower levels of fat (low fat due to an apparent vulnerability to pancreatitis).

Once again, welcome to you both.
Marianne

[Roxie]

I will let the others answer because I am no expert but thank you so much for rescuing that poor Doxy! And good luck!

[Cammiesmom]

Cammie gets 10 mg per day of Vetoryl- 1 pill. Haven't seen any results yet. Her emergency medical visit was caused by ingestion of a 75 mg Rimadyl tab. I have four rescues, the larger a mastiff boxer mix. He had had a tooth pulled the day before and this was for discomfort. Cam is very quick and gobbled it down when I accidentally dropped it. I panicked and was afraid that large a dose might harm her which resulted in seeking emergency medical intervention. She was fine but the Vet upon examination suggested Cushings. Since we already suspected the possibility the testing was done and diagnosed. She is on only her first round of Vetoryl and will be tested at the end of this first 30 period to make sure of the appropriate dose.

[molly muffin]

Hi and welcome. Oh those little ones can be awfully quick to get something that drops can't they.

What you are making sounds yummy to me. :) As Marianne said, good quality moderate protein and lower fat, which this sounds like it is seems to work well for cushing dogs.

So 10mg when she weighs 11lbs is right where the recommendation from Dechra (the manufacturer) is to start them.

Let us know how she is doing.

[Cammiesmom]

Thank you. I feel more confident that I doing what is best for Cammie. I am noticing that she doesn't seem as thirsty as she did prior to starting Vetoryl. She's only been on it for 12 days. Do you think she will ever get her coat back (it's not bad but it would be nice. What was interesting to me was that when she came to us, her back end seemed weak and we attributed it to having been locked up in a small space in filth for such a long time; but in just a matter of a month or so you'd never know that she had ever been anything but free to come and go. She's a tiny dog- I think she would be considered a "tween" based on body length and weight. Her incontinence has lessened in the days since she started the Vetoryl And, she seems to be TRYING to let me know when she needs to go out. Living in Florida I can usually leave the door open- fully fenced yard, screened patio with doggie doors) but with the cooler weather we have been having and also having rescued tropical birds, haven't been able to leave doors open as much. I can live with it. But Cammie does not seem to be debilitated in the least! In fact she acts like a puppy rather than a mature 8 or 9 year old!

[Haleth]

*waves*

Just chiming in that I know of a veterinary nutritionist who does dietary consults for homemade diets for dogs with medical conditions. In fact she's not the only one, so Google can show you others, if you like:

https://www.petdiets.com/Consultation

Her recipes are designed to be nutritionally complete, following the most recent research, yet also fit dogs who need to have certain aspects of their diet changed to fit their medical needs. I know people who have used her services and were quite happy with the results.

[Harley PoMMom]

Do you think she will ever get her coat back (it's not bad but it would be nice.

Improvement in their coat takes a while to see and we have had members whose dogs grew a completely different coat from what they had before, so don't be surprised if that happens. ;)

I had Monica Segal formulate meals for my boys, she also has a forum where you can ask questions regarding your dog's diet: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/K9Kitchen/info

[Cammiesmom]

Thank you for your replies and suggestions for assistance with Cam's diet. I will definitely explore the options. What is interesting to me is that her fluid intake never seemed that over the top. It seemed somewhat high for such a small dog. However, my canine experience prior to Cammie was/is with digs 30 lbs and up. I have a larger than usual Boston Terrier, a Catahoula and a Mastiff mix in my "pack". They get along famously with no food aggression or other "personality" problems. They are all fed a homemade diet with no other apparent heLth problems other than advancing age. Anyway, my mini pooch seems to be handling the Vetoryl well and actually acts more like a puppy than a middle aged lady! It makes me wonder if, had she not been mistreated in her previous home, whether or not she would have developed this disease.