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Mel:
Thanks for the help. You are always boosting my spirits, which I need since I get down a lot. I am sure you know what a roller coaster ride this is. The highs are great, but the lows will kill you. I try my hardest to stay positive, but I admit I am still scared to death. You are very fortunate to have Tia's brother that is some comfort to oyu now. God Bless you and keep in touch with me always, I get strength from you!!
Patti
Patti
Rollercoaster is one of the most appropriate words, ups and downs but we fight on each day for them. Tipper is just as lucky to have you as you are her.
Don't always feel that strong myself sometimes but is nice to hear my words help you.
Looking forward to hearing what antics she gets up to at her appointment tomorrow, let's hope there is a pesky cat to distract her
Mel
Xxxxx
Patti, Tipper is so lucky to have you. Just want you to know, you and Tipper are in my thoughts and prayers...
Hugs, Peace and Love,
Sharon, Norman and Millie
Hi Everyone:
Firstly thank you Mel and Sharon I draw my strength from you.
Secondly I took Tipper for her third laser treatment. This time the Dr. used and accupuncture apparatus on the laser. When she got to Tipper's lower back Tipper would not sit still. I know something has been bothering her, maybe it is her lower back. Last night she didn't quite make it onto the bed. Every time she went with the laser at the end of her spine by her tail she tensed up and wanted to get away to stop it. That may be the problem with her going up stairs. I also noticed I can hear her moaning in her car seat sometimes if the ride lasts more than 15 minutes or so. Sitting in this seat must be putting pressure on her back and hurting her. She absolutely loves her car seat, and when she gets out of it to lay on the regular seat in the car I know there is a problem. I know these dogs get musculoskeletal problems from no muscle holding their under side up anymore, and it pulls on their back.
The Dr. suggested that if you dogs legs are weakening you should walk them in circles, and figure 8's. It makes the inside legs work harder, so switch directions to do both sides. She also said when they are standing like between you legs put your hands on them and push them gently from front to back motion, and side to side. It strengthens their legs up.
Mel you would had laughed and laughed. There was a tiny female dog there before us. She came out of the room with her owner and went to smell Tipper and Tipper being the alpha female she is lifted her lip up, and showed all her pretty teeth. Poor little thing she ran behind her owners legs. I think Tipper was telling her "Look I don't like coming here to begin with, so just butt out already!!" Tipper has never been mean, but she is a little more assertive since she got this disease, and was put on Vetoryl.The vet told me it does change their personalities. It just seems every week the problems keep mounting up and the hill gets harder to climb. I feel so awful putting her thru all this. She is a wonderful, and faithful dog, and I feel terrible sometimes putting her thru it all. I hope this helps what is going on with her. Prayers to all of you and to your babies.
Patti
Hey Patti
I wonder if it's her hips? Boyce has a deformed one on his right side so when it's cold it makes him move more gingerly, he has chrondoitin and glucosamine in his food which does help his movement, I know you give Tipper a few bits but thought I would mention it
Bless her re the other dog, I like it when they show character, she clearly didn't fancy saying hello
Hopefully it will be short term uncomfort for a long term gain, you are trying to help her remember that, you aren't putting her through things, you are treating her conditions.
Did the specialist say anything? Could you give her some 'courage juice' (I have no idea what this actually is) to help take the edge off? Or maybe being poked with small needles isn't her thing, what did the woman say it would do?
Mel
Xxxx
Hi ya Patti. Also could be her disc just like us humans can get. When was her last xray? Molly too has a deformed right rear joint area. It makes her sometimes limp when she gets up, and affects her jumping sometimes too. If it's bothering her she jut won't jump. We know this is due to the joint and not cushings since it started way before anyone had any thought of cushing in her life. I think it was when she was spayed at around 1 year that they mentioned it to us.
Mel is right. You aren't putting her through anything that isn't helping her and I am sure that she is grateful that she feels better afterwards too.
You're doing great!
Shalene and Molly Muffin
Mel and Sharlene:
Thanks for your help as always. I get my strength from you, otherwise I am afraid I could not go on with all this. I haven't had any Xrays of Tipper's lower back, so maybe we will have to do that. If it is a disc there really isn't anything they can do about it, especially with the condition she is in right? I do give her GlycoflexIII. I am wondering if spending the money on Xrays will accomplish anything. Sharlene you probably know what to do since your baby had a disc problem. What did they do to treat hers? Just took Tipper for her Blood Pressure it was 140, so she is good today. Tomorrow we go back to therapy. She got out of her car seat on the way to the Vets and laid on the seat of the car, so whatever this is is bothering her a lot.
Mel I hope your heart is healing, Tipper and I pray for you and sweet Tia and her brother every night. God Bless Us All we surely need it! I pray for God to heal all the babies on here, and take this misery away.
I am so sorry that Tipper seems to be so uncomfortable. One thing the x-rays might tell you is whether she has a condition that actually might be aggravated by the manipulation she's getting at the therapist's instead of being helped. It may be the case that the laser and the pushing on her legs is helping some things, but it may be making another problem worse. I felt kinda worried when you wrote about how she was shifting around and trying to avoid the laser the other day. :o
You are certainly the best judge as to how she's reacting to the therapy overall. But some kinds of orthopedic problems can be made even worse by forced movement. If that problem seems to be gettimg worse rather than better, you might ask the therapist to ease off a bit in that area.
Marianne
Marianne:
Thank you good for the good ideas. I am going to ask the Dr. about all this. God Bless
Patti
No molly doesn't have disc issues, she has a malformed joint issue. I think the treatment for disc is usually anti-inflamatorys and pain meds. It can really only be confirmed I think with an xray, or at least a very experienced vet checking it.
Marianne has an excellent point though, manipulation can aggravate a problem area. We don't let molly be forcefully moved at all on her problem joint area.
Sharlene and Molly Muffin
Hey Patti
Did Tipper have an appointment today? Was it any better? Did you ask about her discomfort with the needle extension?
Did she get up to any naughtiness?
Hope you are ok too
Mel
Xxxxx
checking in on you and tipper. :)
Sharlene and Molly Muffin
Canine massage therapy.....it does help so much just like it does for us, and maybe if you get a tempur pedic pillow? or small section of foam to add to her car seat? and water therapy is also great no impact. I chose to have ramp by bed for shysie and will eventually ask hubby to make smaller one for couch.
LOL i love the attitude.....i know shysie tends to show her i am not so pleased about this attitude her self at times. I will try and capture it on video and show it.
i hope you are doing well and tipper to. keep us all updated!
Mel, Stormee, Sharlene:
Thanks for checking on my precious girl. Yesterday I removed the car seat out of the car and put a pillow on the seat. Although Tipper was not liking the fact that she could not see out like in her car seat, she seemed more comfortable on the pillow. I talked the problem over with the Dr. before she started Tipper's laser treatment. She told me she was only going to go so far down her spine, and if Tipper tensed up like the last time she would not do the lower back. Tipper didn't tense up according to her, so she did laser the lower back and use the accumouncture on it. Her last treatment is Tuesday. I want to let her go for a week or two after that and see how she acts, and if she wants to climb the stairs. The only problem is she races up them, you cannot stop her once she starts. I was going to try and hold onto the top of her harness in case she fell I would have her- don't know as I am quick enough. I want to see after a week or two with no treatment if this truly made an improvement for her. If so I may continue on, just depends. The Dr. asked if she could take Tipper's picture next week, as she thinks my girl is so cute. She wants to let people see that Tipper had laser treatments in some type of advertising. So I will make sure she is brushed up and kerchief on so she is looking good.Tipper does not like pictures so she may stick her lip up and flash her the teeth. Has anyone noticed their dog being very impatient, and very excitable since taking this drug??? Tipper has no patience and gets very annoyed if I take too long to put her harness on or things like that. She was never like that. Also when she knows we are going somewhere she goes nuts and you can't even hold her to get the harness on. She has absolutely never done that. She seemed tired last night from her treatment.
I had a conversation with Paul Newman's Vet a few days ago.He contacted me when I first started to use the Newmans Own- I thought it was someone playing a prank on me when he called and said he was Pauls Newmans Vet. I thought sure and I am Mother Theresa! He and I have conversed thru the years before Paul died. I told him how my Vet wants to push that garbage food from Hills on Tipper, cause he said Newmans Own had too much fat, and Tipper weighed less before all this Cushings stuff. Well Dr. Brown told me Newman's Own is lower in fat than most of the foods on the market today. He told me in order to get Tipper back to her original weight to use cooked lentils, and green beans, carrots, legumes, brocolli etc in place of some of the dogfood to fill her up. I have been doing this for a week now. We will see what the scale says next Wednesday. You don't have to soak the lentils, just cover in water and cook.The lentils are really hearty and seem to stay with her. She seems to be fuller, and likes the food prepared like this. I was only giving her a cup of dogfood a day with some white meat chicken- she is 17.9 lbs. So now I cut her down to 3/4 a cup of dogfood with the white meat chicken, and lentils etc. Tipper eats 3 small meals a day. I measure the food in a measuring cup in the morning and when she eats her meals all come out of that cup. That also helps keep their metabolism going and burning calories, and helps them get thru the day not being hungry, if you split up the food into smaller meals. He said if your dog gets too much gas from this, that dogs can have Beano it will not hurt them. Tipper only used to weigh 16.7 lbs. For the sake of her legs and joints I need to get this pound off as Dr. Brown said that is like 10lbs on a person. He is a remarkable Vet and very kind man who has given me good advise thru the years. Also I feed her this food because it is human grade organic chicken etc., has no grains which Cush. dogs should not have, and has never been recalled. So we shall see what the dreaded scale says next week. I hope you all have a great weekend with your wonderful babies, and that Scoop gets better and starts eating well again. God Bless Us All and Our Babies.
Patti
Hi Patti,
You say you get inspiration from the forum, and I think that is wonderful, but I wonder if you even know how inspiring you are to others yourself.
You have a vet that you keep in line, you have consulted with Dr. Petersen, you regularly consult with Dechra, you get nutrition advice from Paul Newmans vet, you tirelessly continue to look for anything that might help Tipper to live a full long life, even with this disease, you do laser therapy and acupuncture.
You my dear are an inspiration to many others on this forum too and to many who read the forum but aren't members. Any who come looking for information and hope, can read your thread and feel that there is hope in this battle.
Thank you Patti and Tipper.
HUGS,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin
Thank you Patti.
Well said Sharlene. I totally agree with you.
Sharlene seems to have a way with words....
Hopefully the things you have learnt for your sweet girl will help the other babies out there
Re the impatience, not that I know of. Could be a sign she is eager to get going so she feels better? Wish these pups could talk. I think I will teach my next dog a bit of sign language for basic things as I would sure like to know what they need when they get like that
Fingers crossed that she has lost half a pound :D
You guys have an awesome weekend
Mel
Xxxxxxx
Sharlene, Mel and Vicki:
Sharlene thank you as always for your uplifting spirit. Boy Mel said it all Sharlene, you do have a way with words. I am not any extraordinary person, I am just a regular person that will do anything to keep my girl. I don't have any family left and she is what I cling to. I need her more than she will ever need me. She has been at my side faithfully since I got sick with Lupus. It is my turn to show her all the kindness and compassion I can since she needs me now. If there is a tiny glimmer of hope that something may help her, I cannot rest until I try it. It is just a shame that all of these tests and treatments are so expensive. It makes it hard for the average person to afford to help an animal they love. It isn't fair to worry about paying bills or treating your baby with the money. Maybe we should all start a fund to help people to treat their animals initially. That is when the cost is the greatest. No one should be put in a situation of not being able to treat their dog because of lack of funds. I know my being sick and Tipper being sick is a real strain on a fixed income. I have gone without things I need, to help her.
Last night Tipper was very restless, like she could not get comfortable. I am like Mel in wishing that she could talk and tell me what to do, and what hurts her. I would really like to know the mystery behind the throaty garbling,and sticking her tongue out like her mouth is sticky. I would like to know the mechanism causing this. We got snow this morning in the North East and it is clinging to the trees looking beautiful. Tipper will be happy as she loves the snow. I have a snow suit for her like toddlers wear, and I put it on her so she can still enjoy the snow but not get wet. I hope we all have a good weekend, and that Scoop gets some relief from all of his troubles. God Bless Us All as we surely need it.
Hey Patti
Did you and Tipper have fun in the snow?
How are you both doing today?
Mel
Xxxx
Thanks Patti for always thinking of Scoop and sending prayers his way.
I hope you and Tipper had a good weekend.
Big hugs.
My 9 yr old min poodle started making noises when she breathed and snored about 5 weeks before she died. I asked the vet about it also but he did not feel it necessarily had to do with the Cushings. She was so bloated and gained so much weight that that is what I attributed the snoring from. I wondered if the labored breathing could have been from her enlarged liver pushing up on the lungs. Hang in there. Keep a close watchful eye on your pup and follow the doctors instructions. You are doing everything you can!:)
Vicki:
We are doing well thanks for checking up on us. Tipper has been very restless the last few nights. It seems she has some type of discomfort. The Dr.'s assured me 2 times that Tipper's liver in not enlarged. I just don't understand why her girth has gained so many inches then? I think whatever this issue is, is what is making her move around all night in an effort to get comfortable. When she stands it is not as pronounced, but when she lays down it really is, her ribs stick out a lot. She was such a muscular dog before this happened, can this all be fat deposits? I feel so bad for her she just keeps moving around and neither one of us get much sleep.
Hope you are doing well. How is the weather there today. We are getting sleet and freezing rain now. We got about 5 inches of snow on Saturday. I just want Spring weather so my Tipper can go out, she loves the outdoors, but she loves the snow also. She played a while last night in it, I should have taken the camera out and forgot. I just have to watch because she always wants to rub her ears in it, and then she has an ear infection from it. She acted just like a puppy. If only I could take her back to that time, in hind sight I would surely change the way she was treated for allergies, and she would never get this dreaded disease. It seems like all those years just went by so fast. Sending prayers to you, that God may heal your heart.
Patti
Hey Patti
Could she just be hot? I know it's winter but you both generate heat when next to each other maybe she needs to cool down sometimes. Just a thought
You can't think like that you will drive yourself batty, you treated those conditions the best way at that time and you needed to do that as they were bothering her
I wish we all didn't have to deal with this blinking condition in the first place but that's the same as cancer and many other horrible things, sooner they get to the bottom of figuring out the why we can look to move forward in prevention I guess that is a time thing.
Big hug for you and a kiss for Miss Tipper
Mel
Xxxxxx
Hi Patti, That's great that Tipper loves to go out and play in the snow. On Sat. we got a coating on the grass and the trees looked beautiful but that's melted now. We are supposed to get some later today mixed with sleet.
Mel could be right about Tipper being too warm. We think Scoop gets too warm when he is laying next to someone on the recliner. He wants to get down and just lay on the floor. When I pick him up sometimes his belly feels very warm. He is always kicking his cover off. There are plenty of times Scoop seems like he just can't settle and he moves around a lot.
I agree. I don't know where these last 12 years with Scoop went to. Went by too quickly.
Hope you and Tipper have a good day.
Hugs
Zoe moves around a lot too, she wont sleep in her bed in our room, she wants to strecth out, no curve to her pine, but to lay flat and she gets warm too, so she only stays in her bed maybe 15 minutes.
Her tummy has also gotten larger, I attribute it to muscle loss.
You are doing a wonderful job caring for Tipper.
((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))
Addy:
It is not so much Tipper's tummy either, it is around her rib cage where she is huge. I bet 4-5 inches bigger in circumference than before all this happened. Her belly is slightly larger, maybe 2 inches more around than she was. It worries me that her girth is so large around the ribcage. Does Zoe have that also? I think it must be fat pushing on her organs or something. When she had her chest Xray, I am sure anything would have shown around the ribs. I am going to have to get the Vet to pull the xray and check it out for me, as I never specifically asked him that question since we were concentrating on other issues we saw. I just worry that I am not catching something that is wrong!!! Thank you for the help,and God Bless you and Zoe.
Patti
No, not on her sides, I can feel her ribs, it is all Cush tummy hanging down, low belly look. Like an old horse with a sway back look and belly sort of. Has gotten worse the last few months. I wished she would not of had to have surgery and I could have changed her dose in early January like I wanted to. I feel like I lost all this time with her again for her cortisol not being where it needs to be. we can never get past that.
You do wonders for Tipper really. You totally amaze me. I think it is just wonderful. I know you love her so.
Addy:
Thanks for the help, every bit and piece of information you get along this road certainly helps your knowledge of this disease. I know what you mean about catching it earlier. I begged my Vet to test Tipper earlier and told him I knew she had this. He thought he knew everything at that point, so she could have been treated for the high cortisol earlier if he had listened to me.
Sweet Zoe seems to be doing well under your vigilant care. If the Vets only knew half as much as the people on here, we would be in good shape!! Prayers to you both.
Patti
Hi everyone:
Well today is the last of Tipper's laser treatments. I was up most of the night thinking about the fact that I wanted to talk to her laser Dr. and tell her not to measure Tipper's progress by putting her hind legs thru range of motion. The first time when she did this is when Tipper couldn't walk well when we got home and the first time ever she fell on the way up the steps. I know some of you had cautioned me that this manipulation can do more harm than good. I figured that since she is in touch with my Vet as he was the referral, that she would want to show him any progress made.
So I made an executive decision this morning and called my Vet, he wasn't in so I got the other Vet. I told him my dilemma and that I did not want to go to this last appointment, and get into a sticky wicket with the Dr. If this helps Tipper a lot, I may want to continue treatment every once and a while, and do not want a bad attitude from this laser Dr. I asked my Vet to call or fax her a request that Tipper not be measured, and that we will check her progress from a clinical stand point. I am not going to put my Tipper thru all these treatments only to have her walking worse than when she got there, and undo all the good that the laser did. I will ask the Dr. before she even starts Tipper's laser treatment if she was contacted by my Vet, just to make sure we are on the same page. You can't leave anything up to chance with this Cush pups. The Cushings is bad enough to deal with, I don't need a lame dog on top of all this!
I did however have a revelation last night as I lay there awake. I realized that I have not seen Tipper in a sitting position very often. She is either standing or laying. She will sit on occasion on the back of the sofa, as it is really padded. I am concluding that it must be her hips, and that long trip we took in the car seat was too much on her hips. That is why she wants to lay on the seat now. It is funny it was as plain as the nose on my face, but because I am looking for so many other things I failed to connect the dots on this one. I must talk to the Vet about her blood pressure being taken also. They shave and use her rear leg. I need to make sure the tech. is not injuring her by moving her rear leg in a bad position to do BPs. Also I thought that exam table they use is stainless steel, so I will be taking a pillow from now on for her to lay on, I'll just throw the cover in the wash when I get home so as not to transfer anything from the Vet's table home. If your hips are bad and hurting, and you are her age to lay on a hard table for 10 minutes would not feel too good. I will let everyone know how the appointment goes. I am grateful for every day I have with my girl as I feel we are on borrowed time, and it scares me. God Bless All of Us., and all our babies.
Hi Patti, looking forward to hearing how everything went today.
Sharlene and Molly Muffin
Hope everything went okay. Zoe does not sit much any more either. I remember reading an article by Patricia McConnell (dog trainer). She had an elderly dog. She said she thought at her age, her dog should not have to do the "sit command" and because her elderly dog did not liker to sit anymore, she never asked her to. :):)
I thought of that article as soon as I read your thread.
Hello
Just wondering how Tipper got on with her last appointment, hope you are both ok?
Mel
Xxxxxx
Sharlene, Mel, Addy and Everyone:
Went to Tipper's appointment yesterday. I immediately asked the Dr. if she got the fax from my Vet. of course she said she hadn't. So I basically told her that due to the fact that Tipper couldn't walk right and fell up the steps the last time she put her thru range of motion I did not want it done anymore. I said what is the sense of going thru all these laser treatments and then undoing all the good by basically causing problems with her hips?? She agreed with me and said she would not do them. I told her I would rather go by the cllinical indicators from now on. She said once the animal has the series of 5 treatments, the body knows what to do when it receives any more light. So she said what she normally does is a single treatment every 4-6 weeks. I told her Tipper showed some improvement, so I would continue until she is 75-80% better. She also explained that Tipper is not sitting very much now, because of her hips. She said when older dogs do that it is usually the hips making them uncomfortable. The Dr. then took Tipper's pictures for the advertising- of course Tipper proudly wore her Steeler Kerchief and did sit still for the pictures.
Funny thing though, I had been worried about Tipper's blood pressure. Although not high she was at the higher end of normal at 160. Since she has started these treatments she has been 130 and 140. My guess is that it reduced inflammation, which raises blood pressure, and that is a good thing. Any other suggestions/ideas?? We went for her blood pressure today and it was 140, and believe it or not Tipper lost 3 ounces!!! YEA!!!! So the lentils replacing some of the dog food did work, and we will stay the course with them.
As Tipper was on the scale getting weighed a lady came in with two cats- Tipper's arch enemies. Tipper dove off the scale and wanted to mix it up with the kitties. The lady laughed and said "I guess she has no use for cats." Everyone has always called Tipper the Jack Russell terrorist, because she has to be the boss of everything going on, and if she dislikes something she will make sure everyone knows about it. You better not come near this house, me or my car or she will let you have it with both barrels. I had a repairman at my home one time. He said he loved dogs and watched Cesar Milan, and can make friends with any dog. He told me to just let Tipper go and she would be ok with him. I ran into the garage to get a drop cloth for him, and when I came in he was yelling for me and Tipper had him backed into a corner, just sitting there waiting for him to move. It was too funny. When I showed her he was ok to be in the house she left him alone, but sat and kept an eye on every move he made. I have never have to be afraid to walk anywhere as long as I have Tipper with me. A man a few streets over got attacked by a small bear when he went outside to get in his car. All the neighbors are afraid now except me. Tipper does not care how big something is she will defend you. That is one of her endearing qualities, she would give her life to defend me.
The last few nights she has been making that throaty noise a lot and sounding gurgly. I noticed she has had a lot of mucus in her one eye also. This disease is so bad, and it's a pity no one really can answer your qustions on how it causes all these issues. You are basically just guessing what they are. Well Tipper gets a well deserved break until next Wed. blood pressure day. God Bless All Of Us and our babies. Good to hear from you Mel, I was wondering if you were doing ok, as I hadn't seen you posting for a day or so.
Patti
Tipper reminds me of Daisy Mae. No fear at all!
We were in a park in Cos Cob when this HUGE Burmese mountain dog came trotting toward us off leash. In a shot, Daisy was barking and the next thing I know she's hanging from the dog's ear!!!!
I was mortified but the owner assured me that all was good. She clearly knew that her dog shouldn't have been loose and no blood so....
To this day, I can't get the image of Daisy hanging from that poor dog's ear out of my head:-)
Good luck with your tests!
Valerie;
I think these little dogs have a complex similar to the human little man syndrome that Napolean suffered from. They are xtra rough and tuff to make up for their size!!
Patti
Morning! Glad the doctor was understanding & decided it was not in Tipper's best interests to do the range of motion test. Sounds like things are going good. :)
Hi everyone:
I just made Tipper an appointment to see my Vet Wed. when she gets her blood pressure checked.
For the last week she has had breathing difficulties, snoring, gurgling and congestive throat sounds more than she has been doing since getting Cushings.
This is definitley caused by Cushings as I have researched this over and over, and there are so many dogs with Cushings that also have these symptoms. In fact someone on here told me a few days ago that their dog started doing this 2 weeks before it died. That made me so upset I kept searching to see if I could find the mechanism causing this. I couldn't find anything so I am going to the Vet and asking him to consult with an IMS. I absolutely feel if I do not get something done with this problem she will not be here long. I did see on some other cases that other dogs got a growth in their throat, and some in their nose. There were a lot with breathing difficulty. The problem is this is not easily visible, and requires anesthesia and a scoping. I don't want to chance that, but don't know what else to do. It is not her lungs, we checked them already. It is in her throat or nose. I think the congestion is coming from the throat, and that is why the licking and swallowing all the time that she does. It is some kind of drainage or mucus. If anyone can shed some light on this I could really use the advise. I can hardly sleep at night when she does this. She does not do it when awake, and standing or sitting, only laying down. God Bless Us All and our sweet babies.
Patti
Patti
Sorry you are having to deal with something else, I think you are doing the right thing speaking with the vets and IMS to check it out
Not sure if this helps but i wanted to share that Tia had no breathing difficulties at all throughout her last months.
Hoping someone can come in and offer some insight soon, big hug from me
Mel
Xxxx
Mel:
Thank you, I hope someone can give me some insight into this. I am glad to hear from you, and hope you are well. I think of you and pray for you and Tia every day. God Bless You
Patti
Patti, it is possible that she has a salivary mucuole. They can be on the neck, in their mouth; anywhere they have salivary glands and might not be visible from the outside.
Daisy's is visible, it's a large lump on the side of her neck and doesn't seem to hurt. She swallows a lot and makes odd noises if she lays down which I think means that it is pressing on some things.
I've read that Cushing's dogs tend to get these.