Sausage Dog with ? Cushings

[Squirt's Mom]

They often had to take blood from my Squirt's neck because her veins were small and moved around quite a bit. Her neck was often bruised as a result but the bruising never went down into the chest area. Please let us know what the vet has to say about this. If your baby isn't acting as if anything is bothering them then I wouldn't worry too much but if it seems to be bothering her I would see about getting her seen sooner just in case. I'm a bit ole worry wort tho.
Hugs,
Leslie

[labblab]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with Squirt, Leslie. For all I know, blood has been drawn from my dogs’ necks, too, but their fur has always been so thick that I don’t think I’d ever see it even if they were bruised. I know *I* bruise horribly whenever blood is drawn on me, so I just expect it for myself — just never seen evidence on my dogs…

[Pinkcat]

They often had to take blood from my Squirt's neck because her veins were small and moved around quite a bit. Her neck was often bruised as a result but the bruising never went down into the chest area. Please let us know what the vet has to say about this. If your baby isn't acting as if anything is bothering them then I wouldn't worry too much but if it seems to be bothering her I would see about getting her seen sooner just in case. I'm a bit ole worry wort tho.
Hugs,
Leslie

Thank you for this bit of insight - doesn’t seem to be bothering her at all just alarmed us - I will keep an eye and get checked if needed - I’ll keep you posted thank you all for being someone to ask these questions too ❤️

[Pinkcat]

Thank you for this bit of insight - doesn’t seem to be bothering her at all just alarmed us - I will keep an eye and get checked if needed - I’ll keep you posted thank you all for being someone to ask these questions too ❤️

Hi we have had daisys results back this afternoon and they are unfortunately positive and the vet said pituitary - they are doing a prescription for her to start medication on Saturday I can pick up tomorrow - she has offered surgery but didn’t really advise it but said she may do well on the medication. I must say that we now have her on full spectrum cbd for a few weeks and have a seen a good difference in how thin her coat is so we will keep going with that and vet is fine about us administering it. Any advice or guidance would be appreciated please. As for the bruise it is going down and she did have bloods taken from her neck but the vet thinks she bashed herself so not sure . Thanks again for any advice

[labblab]

I surely understand why a positive result is a daunting one for you, but the silver lining to the cloud will hopefully be that now you have a diagnosis that can support beginning helpful treatment. I’m assuming you’ll be given Vetoryl for Daisy, and my biggest piece of advice is to request your vet to start at a lower dose and work upward if needed. Research and real-world clinical experience has shown that dogs tend to experience far fewer medication side effects if they begin at a low dose and only increase if the monitoring results support it, as opposed to starting at a high dose and having to lower it if side effects are suffered. The manufacturer of Vetoryl and most specialized clinicians recommend a starting formula of no more than 1 mg. per pound, or 2.2 mg. per kilogram. So before paying for and bringing home the Vetoryl, I encourage you to check with your vet regarding the starting dosage she is recommending. Vetoryl capsules cannot be opened or split, so if you end up with a capsule dose that’s higher than Daisy can tolerate, those capsules are essentially wasted whereas smaller dose capsules can always be combined if the dose needs to be increased.

Here are some other tips re: the use of Vetoryl. Do take a look and don’t hesitate to ask about any questions!

https://www.k9cushings.com/forum/sho...TH-Stimulation

Marianne

[Squirt's Mom]

I am assuming "sausage dog" refers to a Dachshund and most of the representatives of this breed are under 40 pounds in weight. BUT just in case I am mistaken on the breed OR in case you have a pup on the LARGE end of the scale....you do not want to start at more than 0.05mg per pound per day with a max dose of 30mg per day. Larger dogs seem to metabolize this drug, Vetoryl, differently requiring much smaller starting doses that are recommended in the Dechra literature. And as Marianne said, all dogs regardless of size should be started on the lowest possible dose.

The reason I want to speak up was that Dechra knows about the large dog dosing studies and refuses to change their literature. So vets are starting dogs on doses that are making them very sick....or worse. The correct starting dose is very important so do you mind sharing how much your sausage weighs and what dose of Vetoryl the vet has prescribed?

Thanks!
Leslie

[Pinkcat]

I am assuming "sausage dog" refers to a Dachshund and most of the representatives of this breed are under 40 pounds in weight. BUT just in case I am mistaken on the breed OR in case you have a pup on the LARGE end of the scale....you do not want to start at more than 0.05mg per pound per day with a max dose of 30mg per day. Larger dogs seem to metabolize this drug, Vetoryl, differently requiring much smaller starting doses that are recommended in the Dechra literature. And as Marianne said, all dogs regardless of size should be started on the lowest possible dose.

The reason I want to speak up was that Dechra knows about the large dog dosing studies and refuses to change their literature. So vets are starting dogs on doses that are making them very sick....or worse. The correct starting dose is very important so do you mind sharing how much your sausage weighs and what dose of Vetoryl the vet has prescribed?

Thanks!
Leslie

Hi daisy is a miniature daschund and currently weighs 6kg ( her usual is around 5.5 but has increased since her reluctance to go out- so we’re working on that once medication kicked in) she is taking a 10mg tablet once a day - vet is just doing a check up in 14 days no bloods but I assume bloods may be gone at 30 days. I am shocked that these tablets are £90 for one months supply 🙈. We are due to go to london for four days in April and daisy was going to the dog nanny does anyone think it will cause her stress levels to be too high or should we carry on as normal? Thanks

[labblab]

I’m very relieved to hear that Daisy is taking 10 mg. of the Vetoryl — that sounds like an appropriate starting dose given her weight, so that is good! And yes, as long as she is looking well with no evidence of side effects, we know that some vets are waiting until the 30-day mark to monitor the blood level. But you should definitely wait no longer than that for the first blood draw.

As far as your trip, if Daisy seems to be stable on her medication by April, I would think it would be fine for you to take your short trip unless you have reason to think that the stay with the nanny is typically upsetting to her. Otherwise, I think you should be good to go.

Good luck in the meantime, and do let us know how things are going!
Marianne

[Pinkcat]

I’m very relieved to hear that Daisy is taking 10 mg. of the Vetoryl — that sounds like an appropriate starting dose given her weight, so that is good! And yes, as long as she is looking well with no evidence of side effects, we know that some vets are waiting until the 30-day mark to monitor the blood level. But you should definitely wait no longer than that for the first blood draw.

As far as your trip, if Daisy seems to be stable on her medication by April, I would think it would be fine for you to take your short trip unless you have reason to think that the stay with the nanny is typically upsetting to her. Otherwise, I think you should be good to go.

Good luck in the meantime, and do let us know how things are going!
Marianne

Hi

Just a little update on daisy. We had started to see a great improvement in her fur regrowth even before starting the vetoryl which could only have been down to the CBD oil but there is a massive improvement now she looks lovely compared to before. She has really picked up and been getting out for a few walks and is due blood work in the morning. We have noticed over the last five days that daisys drinking has realy picked up again and she has left a bit of her tea tonight (never known!) and I wondered how quickly the improvements can tail off from the tablets please ? It may just be a coincidence though xx

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi Pink,

Can you tell us what the results of the latest ACTH or PVC test were? Daisy should have had at least 2 monitoring tests by now. That may hold the answer to your question.

In general, Vetoryl is not a stable drug meaning that the control over the cortisol can change with no warning or known cause. So a dog might do very well for some time on 30mg a day then suddenly starts peeing a lot again and the ACTH shows the cortisol has indeed risen since the last test. OR the opposite happens and the cortisol drops too low causing things like loose stools/diarrhea, nausea/vomiting, loss of appetite, and/or lethargy. This is why keeping up the testing with this drug is crucial. It is the only way to have any idea of how the drug is working at that time.

So the blood work just done will hopefully let you know where the cortisol is. Bear in mind....an increase in drinking and/or peeing can also indicate the cortisol is too low so good for you to notice this change. Being observant is a very important part of treating Cushing's and it looks like Daisy's mom is doing a great job!

Let us know what the test results are when you get them!
Hugs,
Leslie