Hey folks. Just searching for information and a supportive group to share my concerns with.
I'm the proud dad of an awesome boxer dog, Kobe (pronounced Kobay). He'll be six in September. I don't know for sure if he has Cushing's but I took him in to a vet with many of the symptoms I'm now reading are common with Cushing's and after some blood work, the vet informed me that he had an elevated marker that along with the symptoms I described could indicate Cushing's. He's now scheduled to go back in 11 days for an all day (8 hour) long test. And not a cheap test at that. :-\
Needless to say I'm super worried. Like most pet parents my boy and I are very attached to one another, and I don't want to lose him any earlier than a boxer would normally live.
The most prominent symptom that increasingly got my attention was that he was drinking a lot more. He was always a very thirsty dog, but over the last 2 or 3 months not only I but other family members noticed he was spending a lot more time at his water dish, and often drinking until it was empty and I'd have to refill it for him. That and he was sleeping a lot more and was very low on energy (normally being an energetic dog).
I chalked it up to the warm weather, his getting older, his paws seeming a bit red & swollen (which I thought might be from walking on hot pavement), and his putting on excess weight from I thought too many snacks and less activity/walks which he stopped wanting to take.
Then just over a week ago he had an accident in the house. He hadn't had one of those since he was a puppy. I thought I wasn't attentive enough to his wanting to go out. Then he had a 2nd accident, and a 3rd. He failed to inform me he needed to go out, or couldn't hold it for 5 minutes of whining it would normally take for me to notice he needed to go out. This triggered me to think something was definitely amiss. I had a vet appointment for him 2 days later (yesterday). By then he'd had a 4th accident. :-( The rug cleaner is getting a work out. 8
So other than the blood test with a super high value of something that suggests Cushing's, (oh and the doctor found he had a fungal infection on his paws and infection of his *ahem* penis, which she gave antibiotics for)
His symptoms have been:
* Significantly increased thirst.
* Increased urination. Way more stops while walking, and now accidents in the house.
* Very lethargic. Not the bouncy energetic pup he'd been even 6 months ago. Rarely will chase ball anymore.
* No longer likes long walks. Wants to come home right away, or find a shady tree to sleep under.
* Increased appetite. Used to have to mix in 1/2 a can of wet food into his dry. Now he'll gobble up the dry asap and eat treats he used to turn his nose up at and beg for more.
* Much more frequent panting, even in comfortable conditions.
* His svelte boxer physique is mostly gone. i.e. Still has his deep chest, but his belly is lower, less pulled up.
* He used to be a unstoppable lick machine, to dog and person alike. Now he turns away from human attention & just sniffs other dogs. I'm lucky to get a peck rarely now.
Otherwise he seems largely content and not particularly distressed.
So... yeah from what I've read, I'm thinking this sounds almost certainly to be Cushing's. I'm still hopeful it will turn out to be something less serious and temporary, but I expect to be told it's what he has.
If so, I will be hoping to hear other pet parents experience with this disease, and what my fur baby's prospects are for a long, happy, healthy, and bouncy life.
Thanks in advance for the support.
- Glen