new from europe (arthritis and vetoryl?) - Ian, Flynn and Enya have passed

Oh my goodness that lady giving a dog her tranquilizers! Wow that is scary. Tipper knows the difference between fireworks and thunder so they do not scare
her. The storms did not come yesterday, we are expecting them today so have prepared Tipper with Melatonin again and the collar? She is on high alert going around listening to every sound, so she can already feel the change in the barometric pressure going on. Good thing your animals are not bothered by this, it is stressful for both of us and hard to cope with. I will in time find something to do for a few hours from home, I just do not want to take time from Tipper right now. I just want to enjoy her for as long as possible and not have other worries. The extra money would be nice though. Hope you are having a good day over there with Ian. He has done remarkably well on Vetoryl. I have been researching on Tipper's tremors, and found some interesting facts I will post. Blessings
Patti

yes, i am lucky that ian is doing so well on vetoryl. no side effects.
starting low at 10 mg, up to 30 mg right now.
i have mentioned it before, so strange that vetoryl is the cause of tipper's tremors and it ended ian's??????
and the forever question; why do our dogs get the disease? i know it can be genetically transmitted in certain breeds.
i have noticed it on this forum too, but i think it needs a lot more research. every cush-dog reacts different.
flynn went downhill very fast in a few months time, and ian is 13 and doing very well.

Ι am very interested in finding the causes too...but i do think it is a combination of reasons that result to cushings (especially the pituitary one)

some probabilities i've found...
Separation anxiety (the results presented in this documentary are very interesting to say the least)
http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6248
Lack of melatonin production (caused by lights http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsle...s-a-dark-side/ or genetically pre-desposed ex.blue eyed dogs like Husko)
Lack of vit D production (lack of sunlight - ex.i mainly walked my dogs at night ,especially last year...)

I do believe this runs in certain breeds especially terriers. I have read of people having dogs related to one another and they each developed Cushing's. Also my vet told me the vets have known for years that steroids are a cause of Cushing's,and when Tipper was a puppy she had prednisone a lot for allergies. That is where I believe she got it. I cannot believe no one is having any in depth sstudies to find the cause as people get this too. All I know is there is thousands of dogs with this disease, and many that are never known because of going undiagnosed. I wish someone would head a major study on this, but it takes a lot of money. Blessings
Patti

yes, the lack of research is definitely a money issue. and the fact that it is rare in humans. but it affects e.g. dogs, horses and ferrets.
iraklis, although my ian is blue merle, he has 2 brown eyes.
his bm sister is odd eyed though. i hope she will stay cush-free!
they don't mind at all being home alone [i always have had more than one dog]
and i like walking in the dark too, but i always walk them during my lunch break for an hour. and in the morning too.
so all this could not be the cause for my 2 cush-dogs i believe.
tipper's steroid use as a young dog may be a cause of her cushing's.
but it is a very complicated disease for sure!

Cushings (as all tumors/cancer) sometimes seem to be a result of many things adding up...ex.I don't think a blue eyed dog will develop cushings just because of that...
ex.Husko was a stray eating paper for many years, he had been shot (the vets said back then not to worry...but i can't believe them anymore) ,had heartworm injections/therapy (very dangerous drug) , eating dry food (even though the best brands) and...I sometimes even think Lemmys' behavior played a part...

By the way...concerning separation anxiety...watch the video i posted...
You'll be amazed at the resting cortisol levels and the percentage number of dogs their owners didn't think they had separation anxiety because they were probably not showing it...

being a stray, your husko had a very stressful live, and was in a bad shape for this reason. no proper food or health care, that at least influenced his immune system.
but they still do not know what causes cushing in a dog.
so there is still a lot of guessing on that part.
most dogs on this forum are well taken care of for their whole lives and get it too.
i once borrowed a camera to film my dogs when i am away and they do only sleep.
they do get a lot of exercise outdoors so they are very quiet indoors.
they are used to being alone [with the other dogs].
i do leave them for 4 hours max at a time. no problem.
i am alone and i have to work!

I just wish this disease had more research to develop a cure, as it affects not only the dog, but the whole family dynamic. I carry such guilt because I gave Tipper the prednisone from the vet for her allergies. I have so much guilt over this. She would get so bad and swollen up, with her throat closing up and had to have it to save her life. If this never happened I feel she would be fine and never gotten Cushing's. That is a good idea watching the dogs with a camera. We have frost real thick on the ground this morning. Blessings
Patti

frost on the ground, but hopefully no more snow.
it is still "hot and humid " overhere and ian does not like it. [neither do i]
still on w-xp, and it is april 8 overhere already, so i have to fix it.
early start tomorrow, so off to bed and try to sleep.

Well it has rained all day yesterday and today so there are ponds in the yard. Tipper cannot walk. Tomorrow is the ACTH test it will be number 17 or 18, I lost count. She seems rather bloated the last two days, don't know what that is from. Too bad for Ian with the hot weather. Tipper was always able to stand it until she got the heart murmur, now she is not allowed in heat and humidity. She must walk only early in the morning, or late when the sun goes down. Tipper got a little rattled last nite with the heavy rain and went in the closet! Blessings
Patti