My dog Jezebelle's coat usually blows out in the spring. This year, she didn't start shedding until mid-July, and I am still plucking tufts of fur from her coat and grooming daily.
I have had two horses with equine Cushings and one of the classic symptoms of the disease in horses is delayed shedding, or no shedding at all. That is what happened with my horses. I tested them when shedding issues arose and bingo, both had Cushings. In horses it's a simple blood test for ACTH, no stimulation.
My vet is chalking up the delayed shedding to the dog getting older (she's a 12 year old mixed breed, guessing some golden retriever). We ran blood tests and nothing came back abnormal except kidney function decreasing, which I can see that being a function of age.
In 2016, when Jezebelle was having problems drinking water (she had swallowed a stylus) and was dehydrated, the vet ran a blood panel on her. That came back as maybe Addison's. But after hydrating the dog and re-doing the test, the values came back normal.
She may be panting more than my other dog, and her back looks a little swayed to me.
Should I be concerned that she may have canine Cushings despite the blood tests not showing anything to indicate that? Again, my main concern stems from the delayed shedding.
Thank you for whatever insights you can provide.
Karin