Good morning,

We have a rescue dog, Joni, who is 4.5 yrs old, 47lb (she should be 42lb). She was diagnosed with hypothyroidism about 1.5 years ago and is currently on .3mg levothyroxine twice daily. Initially, she responded well, and many of her clinical symptoms improved for a month or so. Then they started to return. They adjusted her dose from .2 mg to the current .3mg. But little was accomplished. She remains lethargic, irritable, sheds like crazy, licks obsessively and recently - which is what caused us greater concern - has started panting and drinking more than usual. She pants at night after being at rest for some time, and at other intermitten intervals inside our AC house. She is also newly exercise intolerant. She has gained wait and has a strong appetite. To us, her belly looks like it's becoming a pot-belly. She's definitely putting on weight - last weigh in was 47, and she's been 42-43lb consist for the past many years. She's always been incredibly fit, so we notice this right away, but others not so much as she just looks 'normal' to some, but we know she's getting heavy. She's normally an incredibly athletic dog, and now she pants like she ran a marathon if we take her just around two blocks. Usually she is happy to hike and run for hours on end. She also is shaking her head intermittenly - her ears appear clear and no infection. And her licking and shedding have become worse.

The Vet ordered a Cortisol to creatinine urine ratio test that we just an hour ago got the results from:

10.6 ug/dL cortisol
195.4 mg/dL creatinine
17 ratio

We are awaiting official response from our vet, but I take it this rules out Cushing? I can't really find the reference ranges in these values online....

We just know our pup is not happy and not herself. If it's not cushing's, does anyone have other ideas as to what this might be? Any thoughts would be welcome and thank you in advance.

Shelton