My 14 year old dachshund, Rokko

[Rokko’s Mom]

Sorry this is so long!

Our sweet Rokko is a 14 year old dachshund. He was diagnosed with Cushing’s about a month ago, but we suspect he’s had it and been symptomatic for several years now.

We first started taking Rokko to the vet because of accidents in the house back in 2014. We were told it was a UTI and given antibiotics.

Between then and now, his excessive drinking and urination have gotten worse. Over the four years, Cushing’s was mentioned several times due to high liver enzymes (I have several years of these values), but there was always some other diagnosis that came up as the more likely cause. Several bladder infections, and in 2017 a giant bladder stone was found and removed. He’s been on special prescription food for the last couple of years to try and help with the bladder stones, but they’re already forming again.

Over the last year, things have really gotten worse. He started drinking our drinks, then would knock over plants to get the water in the tray, and has recently started drinking his own urine every time he has an accident in the house. This is all despite our constantly refilling his water bowl. He will literally drink until he’s throwing up water if given the chance, and has become aggressive a couple of times when we try to pull him away from water.

We’ve since had an ultra sound that confirmed it was the pituitary form of Cushing’s. The vet said both his adrenal glands are twice the size they’re supposed to be, his liver and pancreas are enlarged, and there is debris in several of the organs.

Add to this, we have a new baby at home. We’re concerned about the hygiene issue of constant urination (with Rokko seeming to pee in order to have a drink, will this get better if he’s medicated? He seems to have lost all housetraining!) and medical bills (baby was hospitalized for three months), and some of the side effects we’ve read about trilostane, we’re not sure what to do.

We’ve spent hours on the phone with the vet talking over our options, and he’s told us that he knows we’ve done everything we can for Rokko up until this point. He said if we were his family, he’d suggest it’s time to say goodbye to Rokko. He hasn’t been himself for two years now. He doesn’t play anymore, is completely uninterested in us and his toys, won’t stay and be petted, and has gone deaf. He spends his whole day either seeking out water or sleeping.

I’m just torn. Rokko has been my buddy for 14 years, but at the same time I can’t imagine a life where he’s not happy and is so thirsty he’s driven to drink his own urine.

[Rokko’s Mom]

Some of his ALP results:
2016: ALP 1036, ALP 1470
2017: ALP 1685
2018: ALP 1799
U/L 20-150 for all

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi and welcome to you and Rokko!

I am so sorry that you have been going through so much, especially that your baby was hospitalized, OMGoodness!! Hopefully everything worked out with your precious baby, and we will help you with your furbaby, Rokko, ok?

The decision to treat is a very personal one and with an elder dog there are pros and cons to look at. If the dog suffers from arthritis than treatment may make it more painful because that abundance of cortisol acts as an anti-inflammatory. Also, there are the monitoring tests that have to be done to check the level of cortisol which for any dog are not enjoyable but much less so for an older one. I don't tell you this to dissuade from treating Rokko, I just want you to have as much information as possible. Now having said that, Cushing's is a treatable disease and with treatment dogs with Cushing's can have a good quality of life and there is every reason to believe that they can live out their normal life span. However, for the treatment to work safely and successfully it requires an educated pet owner along with an experienced vet as adverse side effects are mostly seen when the proper protocols are not followed. As for that excessive drinking/urination, it usually subsides within 2 weeks of treatment.

I encourage you to browse through our Helpful Resource Forum, in this way you can be armed with the proper treatment protocols and medicines used for this disease. Here's a handy link to our Helpful Resource Forum Helpful Resources for Owners of Cushing's Dogs If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask them, and know that we are here for you both.

Lori