14 year-old Shih Tzu With Recent Cushing's Diagnosis

Hi Julie,
So happy to read the good news about Hannah, and about your fabulous vet! I hope she is continuing to recuperate well and her appetite is improving.

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper

How are you both doing today?

Is her little mouth any better?

Mel
Xxxx

Hi Julie,

I have a minute and wanted to stop to say hi and tell you I still try to check on you and Hannah. I hope her mouth is feeling better by now and that awful ice and snow goes away soon. All of our rain is now ice too and Zoe went plop on the driveway this morning:(

Big hugs and thinking of you

Hi Guys,

Thanks for checking in. I've been trying to catch up on sleep and be a good teacher (I had a lot to catch up on because I have spent all of my time taking care of my girl), so I haven't been able to write.

Hannah seems to be doing well in terms of her teeth. She did have two bouts of diarrhea though and I'm not sure why. We were told she could be constipated. But Hannah is always the exception, right?! Just like they told me it's very rare for a dog to have a dentigerous cyst (which is what the growth was-a tooth that never came in when she was a puppy) at such an old age, as they usually show up around age 3 or 4. I like to think Hannah must just be young for her age! :D:p

Anyway, the diarrhea episode on Sun. was pretty bad, but I gave the Metronidazole and started her on hamburger and rice on Mon. She hasn't had a BM since Sun. She is acting normal now, otherwise. She is eating and is no longer on pain meds. I was worried on Mon. and Tues. because she wasn't really drinking water, but I was adding some to her food. She was still urinating, so I figured she was okay, but it still worried me. I saw her get one drink last night and my husband saw her get one drink today. Hopefully it will increase soon because I also worry about her crystals. These are the times I wonder how in the heck she could have Cushing's!

Anyway, we get a check up the week after next. She'll be on soft food until then. Please cross your fingers that things will normalize, especially the tummy issues!

Julie & Hannah

Hi Julie,

Molly's water intake goes Way down when she isn't eating that SO food. I know how worrying it is that they get plenty of water to keep the crystals down. Do you have any of the can SO food? I got some when molly didn't want to eat any dry and was having some diarrhea issues herself. I gave her just a tiny bit to help encourage her to drink.
Hope she gets back to normal with her water and her BM's. Poor thing, probably still feels a bit out of whack.

Hang in there. (I seem to be saying that all the time these days LOL)
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Post op is just so dang stressful:(

I hope our sweetie feels better soon. This to shall pass:)

Hoping for a good rest of the week for you and Hannah.

love ya

stopping by to see how things are going...........has she poohed yet? i would assume so.....hope she is getting balanced back out on that. i know it can take a few days.
hope both of you are doing okay hope to hear update soon.

How are you both? On poop patrol... Things looking better?

Mel
Xxxxx

Julie:
Sometimes when I take Tipper in the car with me for any period of time she is reluctant to drink. I always keep a syringe handy and if I see it has been long since she drank and her mouth is dry I use the syringe to hydrate her as the Cush dogs need extra water and use it up more than a normal dog. We had a 7 hr trip in the car to the eye Dr. and she would not drink and her mouth was so dry. So I got out the syringe and gave her water. She seemed happy to get it if that makes sense, but would not drink on her own. You can get a couple and keep them around they are useful. It all takes time to get adjusted to these Cush dogs new needs. Good luck and God Bless you both.
Patti

Hello Everyone!

Thanks for checking on us and helping with poop patrol! :D Hannah finally pooped on Fri. afternoon-5 days later! I drove her to a park she likes in the summer and she finally found a good smell and did her business. She also went yesterday, so hopefully we are back on track. I was a little worried because both stools were on the softer side, but they were perfectly formed. I'm thinking that when you only eat soft food (I have to keep it soft for two weeks, until her dental recheck) maybe that is to be expected. I'm glad she didn't have to strain to get it out after so many days.

I have not put her back on Atopica (since the diarrhea episode last Sun.) because I am trying to do one thing at a time to deduce what could be going on. She is on Hydroxyzine three times per day and even though I know she is itchy, it isn't too bad. I think I'll make sure the stool stays consistent, and then we'll try the Atopica again (starting slowly with a low dose). The derm vet really didn't think that was a cause because she said they usually have diarrhea right away if they are going to have trouble, and she was fine for the first 2-3 weeks. We started really slowly and increased gradually, which is what I will do again.

Unfortunately, she is still wearing the cone. It has now been 5 months. :(:confused::eek: My poor girl. I think she's just used to it now. I do take it off when I am home and can monitor her, but I don't want her to destroy her feet or neck. She bites her front feet and scratches the heck out of her neck. I don't want her to create a wound. I did try the Hydrocortisone shampoo yesterday, but it doesn't appear there was a huge difference. I guess it will be good to see if the Atopica does anything different when I put her back on it, now that I've had over a week to watch her without it.

My husband and I hope to go up to the North Shore for a few days over our spring break (it is next week). My parents are close and will take Hannah and Izzy, but I'm like Addy--leaving Hannah causes anxiety. We went up to Duluth last Oct. and it took me a day to relax ,but it was wonderful. Assuming nothing goes wrong between now and then, we'll probably leave Saturday and come back on Tues. My parents are wonderful with them, and my mom is just as detailed as I am, so I know they are in excellent hands. I just worry that something will happen while I'm gone. With all the melting and refreezing we've had, our yards are terribly slippery, and my parents' yard is really bad. She got her monthly laser treatment yesterday and it sure seems to help keep her issue-free.

On another note, I have a dog behavior person coming over next week to help us with Izzy. My vet recommended this company when I inquired about what to do with my strange little girl. She is so hard to figure out and she bites us when she doesn't like something. We can't even pick her up. She's terrible when people come to the door and I don't trust her with kids at all. When my friends' kids come over, I have to keep her on a leash with me or lock her in another room. We are trying to have a baby, so we really need to do something.

It's not cheap of course, but I don't see any way around it. I think we owe it to Izzy too. I'm sure there are things we're doing wrong. Heck, I'm scared of her half the time! On their resources page, they recommend Jean Donaldson, whom I know Addy told me about, so I hope it will be helpful. I have a feeling there is a combo of Izzy being incredibly anxious and her realizing that her biting is getting her what she wants at home. (She doesn't bite at the vet-I think because she is still scared of them). If anyone has any other resources or tips, I'd love them.

Sending warm thoughts to all of you!

Julie & Hannah