New here, dog diagnosed last week

[D226]

Hello everyone here,

My Boston terrier mix is 12 years old. His belly was swelling and he was acting lethargic. His liver enzymes were elevated. Our vet guessed that he might have Cushing's and she ran the test. Our dog was at the vet all day. He came back positive and she started him on 10mg of Vetoryl. He has been on for 5 days now. He seems to have perked up a bit. I was afraid that he had liver cancer. We lost two dogs to that. I know that we are not out of the woods but hoping for the best. He still can run up and down the stairs and we go for 2 walks every day. When he wants to, we will walk for about 1 mile. On some walks he wants to go home early.

Does anyone have any other foods or supplements to help our dog on this path? I know that we don't want to mess with his cortisol as he has the two week test to see where he is.

We have always tried to give our dogs the best dog food. The problem is reading on the internet what is the best dog food makes my head spin. We give our dog Stella & Chewy's dehydrated meat patties and one bowl of kibble. We also give him bone broth for dogs. I struggle with what brand of kibble to give my dog. I am open to suggestions about dog food. We put filtered water in his drinking bowl too. And any other suggestions for our little guy is appreciated!

Thanks a bunch!

[labblab]

Hello, and welcome to you and your sweet boy — we’re very glad you’ve found us! I’m so glad to hear that he seems to be reacting well so far to the Vetoryl. And that’s excellent that your vet will be retesting his cortisol level after two weeks of treatment. We’ll be very anxious to hear the results, as I know you will be, as well.

I think you’re wise to not introduce any other changes right now, during his initial adjustment period to the Vetoryl. But we’ll definitely be happy to talk about other possible “tweaks” to his regimen. For the moment, though, it sounds as though you’re doing a great job of taking care of him.

Two quick questions for you. Can you tell us how much he weighs? Also, if you can get the actual numerical test results for his all-day diagnostic blood test, we’d be interested to see that. My guess is that the test was a LDDS test (Low Dose Dexamethasone Suppression Test), and the results would be helpful for us to know.

Aside from that, I just want to welcome you once again. And we’ll look forward to learning even more about your little boy!

Marianne

[D226]

Hello, and welcome to you and your sweet boy — we’re very glad you’ve found us! I’m so glad to hear that he seems to be reacting well so far to the Vetoryl. And that’s excellent that your vet will be retesting his cortisol level after two weeks of treatment. We’ll be very anxious to hear the results, as I know you will be, as well.

I think you’re wise to not introduce any other changes right now, during his initial adjustment period to the Vetoryl. But we’ll definitely be happy to talk about other possible “tweaks” to his regimen. For the moment, though, it sounds as though you’re doing a great job of taking care of him.

Two quick questions for you. Can you tell us how much he weighs? Also, if you can get the actual numerical test results for his all-day diagnostic blood test, we’d be interested to see that. My guess is that the test was a LDDS test (Low Dose Dexamethasone Suppression Test), and the results would be helpful for us to know.

Aside from that, I just want to welcome you once again. And we’ll look forward to learning even more about your little boy!

Marianne

Hi and thank you for the response. Our dog weighs 16 pounds. He is a Boston terrier mixed with Chihuahua. I do not have the details of his test. He was at the vet for 8 hours that day. His recheck will be on October 16. If we can get the details, I will post them.

[labblab]

Thanks very much for letting us know his weight. At 16 pounds, a starting dose of 10 mg. is very reasonable. So once again, it sounds as though you’re making a good beginning. Please do keep us updated on his progress, and especially let us know when those monitoring test results come back.

Continuing best wishes,
Marianne