New here - suspect Cushing's in 4.5 yr old beagle mix

[JoniMom]

Hi Lori,

Thanks so much for the reply. Her last cortisol was this past winter, and the vet reported all was in normal range - I didn't ask, and they don't automatically give the test results like my old vet used to - I can request them, but I've fallen out of habit as things with Joni just seemed well controlled and on the path so to say. Relative to the allergy, she eats Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream formula (https://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.co...avored-salmon/) with a food topper we make at home with ground turkey, coconut oil, and vegetables including carrots and peas, and sometimes spinach, and butternut squash. Occasionally, like when staying at daycare, we'll pack her The Honest Kitchen's slow cooked stews - the chicken one or turkey one. But again, she only gets these on occasion - not everyday. Finally, she does get a treat every day after taking her medications - she gets either a greenie dental chew, or a dentastix chew. We usually do greenie's but sometimes have dentastix as a back up. I'm just writing all of this out to see if anything sends alarm bells off as a likely suspect? If we were to try changing something up, what you might suggest we change first to see if it makes a difference? It is just so odd to us as it came on so suddenly and she's been on a consistent diet now for a long while. But I did read last night that allergies can appear at anytime, and can be formed around an ingredient that was once / previously tolerated. Even created because of regular feeding of a certain ingredient ... oy. I just wish we could make her more comfortable too - her arms and legs are just increasingly red and inflamed and angry. I worry she will create a problem on top of a problem. Vet can't see us till Saturday. Thanks for any insights. Shelley

[labblab]

Hello, Shelley, and welcome back to you and Joni although I’m surely sorry you’re having problems. I’m glad you’ll be having your vet visit today, and hopefully Joni can quickly get some relief from whatever it is that’s causing the itching. Everything you’re feeding her sounds great, so I wouldn’t know any specific item to question at this time. But your vet may suggest that you stop everything for the moment, and switch solely to a hypoallergenic food for the time being in order to see if food may indeed be the culprit. We’ll just have to see.

Since her itching is mostly on her legs, one crazy thought I had was to wonder whether she’s getting into any grass or weeds outdoors on her off-leash walks that might be prompting a reaction, especially if the ground cover has been treated with any chemicals or pesticides. As I say, just a thought.

And regardless of the cause of her itching, I’m really glad she’s having her cortisol level checked. It’s not uncommon for dogs to require dosing changes while taking trilostane, and a fluctuation in her cortisol may be contributing in some way. At any rate, it’ll be good to have that checked, no matter what.

Please do let us know what you find out today, and please also give Joni a big hug for us, as well!

Marianne

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi Shelley,

I'm wondering how Joni's itching is doing? I have a boy, Bud, who has allergies to any poultry - chicken, turkey, duck - as well as beef and lamb. When he eats any of those his skin starts breaking down and he licks and scratches constantly. I have been working for about 2 years to figure out what he does react to and those are all so far. He is eating a salmon, grain-free food - no poultry at all. And that is not easy to find because they use chicken fats in most kibbles even when they are other protein based. So if you haven't found what is causing her itching, I would start by eliminating all poultry from the diet. Find a novel protein, meaning one she had never had before, and start feeding that to see if it helps. We also use a spray called Betagen with an anti-fungal mixed in who's name I cannot recall at the moment but her vet should be able to help with an antifungal. I spray that on the inflamed areas as needed. It really does help Bud.

Bud's sores are not limited to his legs tho so Marianne may have hit the nail on the head with something he is coming into contact with outside. But just in case I wanted to share our experiences with you and Joni.

Hope to hear from you soon!
Hugs,
Leslie