Little Horace our Westie

[Julieray]

I have a 14 year old Westie and he has just been diagnosed with Cushing. He was today playing with our other dog and looked as if he’d lost his balance and staggered. I have read a few articles that have said he shouldn’t get too excited. Does anyone know if just playing would cause him to get dizzy.

Thank you.

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi Julie, welcome to you and Horace! :)

Excitement shouldn't be an issue for the most part. If a cush pup has a growing pituitary tumor, called a macroadenoma, then that might come into play. BUT most tumors in cush pups with the pituitary form remain microscopic and cause nothing more than the typical cush signs, which are:

he most common symptoms include:
• increased/excessive water consumption (polydipsia)
• increased/excessive urination (polyuria)
• urinary accidents in previously housetrained dogs
• increased/excessive appetite (polyphagia)
• appearance of food stealing/guarding, begging, trash dumping, etc.
• sagging, bloated, pot-bellied appearance
• weight gain or its appearance, due to fat redistribution
• loss of muscle mass, giving the appearance of weight loss
• bony, skull-like appearance of head
• exercise intolerance, lethargy, general or hind-leg weakness
• new reluctance to jump on furniture or people
• excess panting, seeking cool surfaces to rest on
• symmetrically thinning hair or baldness (alopecia) on torso
• other coat changes like dullness, dryness
• slow regrowth of hair after clipping
• thin, wrinkled, fragile, and/or darkly pigmented skin
• easily damaged/bruised skin that heals slowly
• hard, calcified lumps in the skin (calcinosis cutis)
• susceptibility to infections (especially skin and urinary)
• diabetes, pancreatitis, seizures

You will notice that exercise intolerance is one of the signs listed so that may be what you saw in your sweet boy.

Can you tell us more about Horace? How did the diagnosis come about? What signs were you seeing or did the vet see that prompted testing in the first place? What tests were done? It would help us a great deal if you would get copies of all the testing done and post those results here. We only need to see the abnormal results from the test that shows things like CHOL, BUN, T4, ALP, and so on. Please include the normal ranges and the little letters that follow the normal ranges for each value posted.

Does Horace have any other health issues that you know of? He is taking any medications and if so what for?

Has he started treatment for Cushing's? Which drug is he taking if so? What is the dose and how often does he get it? How much does Horace weigh?

Are you tired of questions yet? :D:D We really aren't nosy - the answer to these questions will help us give you the most meaningful feedback. ;)

I'm glad you found us and look forward to learning more about your sweet Horace soon.
Hugs,
Leslie

[molly muffin]

Hello and welcome to you and Horace.

No excitement shouldn't cause any issues. Does his back legs seem wobbly? Sometimes if a dog does have cushings, then they have a hind leg weakness.

Can you tell us what his symptoms are, how he was diagnosed (the test and the test results) are there any values out of range on his blood work? If so could you post them and the normal range?

All this information will help us to give better feedback.