Zoe By My Side- Our Journey with Cushings

This little Kujo Angel is so very lucky to have you as her mom, Addy...she could have asked for no better.

Addy

so glad your mom is doing good!!!:) Thats great news!:)

And the baby kujo may be doing better with her paws - licking is alittle better? Hope so - I know how hard it is and you get tired but you are the best!!!!! and kujo knows that for sure!!!!

love strength prayers and lots of hugssssssssssss xoxo

I posted some recent photos of Zoe's hair loss. Her IMS had not seen her for 3 months and she thought her coat looked better. I think her tail, especially, is worse as well as the area down her spine. She started losing that hair last February.

Any thoughts? She originally started to look better on Trilostane , her tail looked better and she was trying to grow an undercoat but I think it is worse. The only thing that did change is the length of her hair grew very fast. Before her groom that hair length was after 2 months.

I thought it had to be 3-4 months but when we checked it was only about 2 months.

Just wondering if any of this hair loss could be unrelated to Cushings. IMS said it is hormonal.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

hugs,
addy

Addy, That is what Annie's hairloss started out like.. you should see it now. And the majority is along the spine. I can't do a schnauzer cut anymore as all you'd see is skin so its ''long'' and thin now. Kind of like what Donald Trump does. :D

Hi Addy-Palmer had that hair loss thing going too, but it did improve once we were on Trilostane. I take biotin for my hair. There's thin hair-and sparse in spots-on my side of the family. Bob (and his Dad did) has hair that you'd need a weed whacker to get through. It looks as if you threw something against it, it would careen off in another direction. Not fair!
LOL at Donald Trump comparison! I think Donald has gone truly whacko. He was just mostly whacko before, now he seems to be totally gone.
Love,
Sus

Addy,

So sorry to hear Zoe has lost so much hair, poor thing. Unfortunately, I don't have any input on hair loss. I guess Princess is one of the blessed ones who has never had to deal with that type of hairloss, aside from blowing her coat:eek:, that was scary enough. But if dr. thinks it is hormonal, is it treatable and if so can they do a full adrenal panel to determine her hormone levels?

Just saying but I dont know much on both issues, sorry.:(

I pray you figure it out soon, please let us know.

Love ya much..xo Jeanette

LOL The Donald , maybe we will have to allow Zoe's hair to get really long for that side flip:D

But I really need some input. Any ideas welcome.

The potty licking is better and she is not going after her flank at all but the front paw chewing is really bad. She has done that from day one but not this constant. I don't understand why I asked both the IMS and the other vet could I have that blue solution with the antibiotic, they know which solution I mean, to soak her feet. It helped her once but they say she doesn't need it.

Maybe if I leave her with them for a day they would change their mind.;);):rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

It got better durring the week and now she is just at it all day yesterday and this monring. Maybe because we are home.


She does not scratch or bite or lick anywhere else except she always wants to lick us. She wrestles with Koko and plays. If she thinks she is going to get food, she stops. Could this paw chewing be hunger?

I was worried that some of her hair loss was from something other than Cushings. I asked the IMS, could the chewing her front feet be from her new food, she did not think so. In fact she told me if I wanted to keep transitioning her to more of it I could:confused:

I don't know what to do. Usually in winter she can't go out because her paws freeze and then the chewing is not as frequent but we have no snow and the grass is not completely dormant. Maybe I will try not walking her in the street for a few days.

I am so confused any input would be so welcome. If I distract her, she stops. As soon as she goes outside and comes in, she goes for her paw and that is what starts the cycle.

The antibiotic may have helped her potty but not the paw. Five years ago when it was this bad, she got an antibiotic, an antihistamine and the blue foot wash. That stopped it. It may not stop it now but shouldn't we try? Maybe the IMS and the vet were more focused on her potty licking; they just looked at me and did not answer when I suggested it. The only thing the IMS said was that original anthistamine had been around forever, even when she was young. She seemed to wrinkle her nose at it, so to speak. She wanted to keep her on the benadryl for a month. It was not doing anything, the potty licking was getting worse and it had been 3 weeks.

Sorry I wrote a book, I am at my wits end. If I fuss at her and try to put socks on her or wipe her paws she turns back into Baby Kujo and wants to bite me.

frustrated addy

Hi Addy,

I don't know what else to offer as I don't have much experience with itchies or chewing on the body. Squirt will lick her front paws when she is nervous or not feeling well...and when she goes to sleep, almost neurotic about it at nite sometimes, in fact, so I have come to see that as a comforting action to her since she typically falls asleep licking. If I don't stop her at night, tho, she will lick while she snores. :p I think for her, it is like rocking a baby.

Trink has some mild allergies, seasonal, but hers manifests as an oily, itchy back and the Chamomile tea has helped immensely with her.

I was going to suggest sock or booties but she may need a soft muzzle as well. :( If it's a habit, that may help her break it. If this is from nervousness, medication like Prozac may help. If it's boredom, you are gonna be VEERRYY busy. :p

The blue solution....was is sorta sudsy and a really pretty light blue color? Dr C in TN gave me a little butter bowl of a solution that fits my description for wound care since Crys was constantly being torn up. It is amazing stuff but I have no idea the name or if we can order it without vet approval. She said it was an antibiotic scrub that would help the wound crust and seal while cleaning it very well - and it does. And it doesn't seem to sting at all - none of my "patients" have even flinched when I used it on them. I am about out and asked Dr B here about it and he had no idea what I was talking about. If I remember :rolleyes: I will contact Dr C and find out what this is and how we can get some.

Ok, my thought processes are empty concerning Zoe's itchies. You interested in anything else that might be roaming around upstairs....like what the devil is this strange bug crawling up my screen door....INSIDE!!!! :eek::eek::eek:

Gotta go!


edited to add-
Ok, weird bug gone, no one injured, door intact....so here's your -

Hugs!
Leslie and the gang

Okay, I gave her one mg of melatonin an hour ago and it did nothing. When she was not on vetoryl, I had to wean her on to the melatonin slowly, one mg made her real tired right away.

I just gave her one more 1mg of melatonin. She has been chewing her Kong or her paw, licking, playing with me just about none stop for over two hours, mostly chewing on something. I even made her follow me all around the house for exercise. I really think it is better not to fuss at her when she chews her paw. That is what I did all week at night and she was better, but hubby gets hyper about it. Can I give hubby melatonin?:p:p:p:p:p

Wait, she just stopped and went to her bed to sleep. Maybe the melatonin kicked in. I feel bad but I had to do something to get her to stop for awhile.

Can this wanting to lick or chew all the time be from hunger? Do they do this when they have a tumor?

Kim- if you are around- does or did Annie lick things or want to chew alot?

Maybe she needs doogie downers, like Leslie suggested. I'll take the Prozac with her:eek::eek::rolleyes::rolleyes::D:D:D

Glynda- can she have the melatonin with the antibiotic? I can't see why not.

thanks for listening,
addy

Oh, Addy, I feel for you with the licking!!!

Hannah's itching is bad again...I know she can't itch as much as she wants, but she is itching her ears, scratching her sides, and licking the feet again...a lot. I really think it is an allergy thing, combined with some OCD behavior. My vet has always thought that too.

I don't know what the blue solution is you are talking about, but I do think I have some itching or hot spot shampoos and that at times I have to wash her in that, just in her itchy areas. I can't find it right now so I don't have a name, but I remember leaving it on her feet for a few minutes before rinsing.

I might need to try the melatonin to calm Hannah...and myself. Have you tried any other antihistamine with Zoe? I can't remember. My vet said they are just like people and some work for some people and not for others. Hannah seems a little better on Hydroxyzine (but believe me, we have by no means solved the problem either-it is also worse in the last few days), so maybe Zoe needs a different one?

I really think this crazy, mild winter has something to do with this. My allergies were still bothering me up until that last few days of a cold streak, and I can sort of feel them starting up again. I am in the same boat with you. I don't want the cold and snow to prevent my dogs from going out, but I desperately want it to slow this itching.

Best of luck to you. I know it's hard not to worry, but considering the weather, she might be reacting to something outside. Maybe focus on the positive--that she hasn't created any infection from the licking. My parents had a Shih Tzu who obsessively licked her front paws for her whole life. They think it was a calming thing. Never caused her a problem, but it drove my mom nuts!

Good luck.

Julie & Hannah