Dog has black bulging skin, hair loss. Is it Cushing's or mange?

I am sorry Rylee has not been feeling well. I am unsure by the picture if Rylee is having a drug reaction. Cushings disease is when the body over produces cortisol which is a steroid. Once cushings is being treated a lot of dogs will start to have underlying skin issues due to allergies. The cortisol/steroid being produced by the body will decrease or hide skin allergies. I would recommend taking Rylee to the vet to determine if maybe this is why the skin has changed. It is possible a course of antibiotics or topical shampoos will help with the skin./ I hope this helps and Rylee feels better!

Cushings can definitely cause changes to the skin such as symmetric hair loss and black/dirty patches or other color changes. If home care hasn't helped such as the wipes or adhering to diet, it would be a good idea to bring Trixy into your vet for a full exam and bloodwork to see if her condition has progressed and requires additional treatment.

Hi there. It would help to know what specific tests have been done so far. The most common test used to diagnose Cushing's disease is called a low-dose dexamethasone suppression test (LDDST), but an ACTH stim test or urine cortisol/creatinine ratio can also be used in some cases, especially if initial LDDST results are inconclusive. I'm not sure what was found on her ultrasound exams, so I can't comment on that without more information. But if she hasn't had an ultrasound done by a board-certified radiologist, this would be a reasonable next step to consider. Since getting a diagnosis has been such a challenge for your pup, I would consider requesting referral to an internal medicine specialist at this point. He/she can evaluate Hanz, go over all of his previous testing and lab results in detail, and help you determine the best way forward from here.

Cushing's or Hyperadrenocorticism is a fairly common endocrine disease in dogs. It can be caused by a bit of overactive tissue in the brain (in the pituitary gland, which is the master ruler of hormone secretion in the body) or a mass in an adrenal gland (sits by the kidneys, secretes hormones as directed by the pituitary gland). Basically what happens is an excess of a hormone in the body, usually a steroid called cortisol, if it is traditional Cushing's. This then causes some symptoms in the pet, blood work changes, and sometimes other changes like high blood pressure. I suspect based on the value that you report that this was a liver enzyme elevation call ALP. This very commonly occurs in pets that have Cushings, but is not specific for Cushing's and elevation can be caused by other disease processes. This value does not correlate with severity of disease as many dogs have a high value. It sounds like your vet is on the right track by recommending an ultrasound to look at the adrenal glands and also the rest of the abdominal organs to rule out other disease processes. Ultimately Cushing's Disease has to be diagnosed by some sort of endocrine testing which your vet may recommend as well. Treatment if then based on what type of Cushing's disease is present. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

My biggest concern is that your vet is talking about hyperadrenocorticism also known as Cushing's disease. This is what I think of when you discuss those symptoms, liver enzyme elevations and adrenal issues. Cushings is where they produce too much cortisol in their system. You can do a test to rule this in or out. You can have your vet do a low dose dexamethasone test OR a ACTH stimulation test. If it comes up positive then you can treat with the disease with a daily medicine called trilostane to help the symptoms. But you cannot cure cushings. I hope this helps and will help guide you in a conversation with your vet if this is actually what your vet thinks is going on.

I am sorry to hear about your concern for Snoop Dogg! We can sometimes see a darkening in the skin pigment with Cushing's disease but we can also see it with skin infection or other causes of inflammation. For this reason I would let your vet know about the change so they can determine if it warrants an examination for Snoop Dogg.

Cushing Disease, food allergies (it's too early to see results yet), skin mites, flea allergies and environmental allergies can all cause these symptoms. Make sure you are conducting a proper food trial. If Maddox does not respond to the food trial, discuss with your veterinarian next steps. Here are some links with good information" https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/cushings-disease-in-dogs https://www.petcoach.co/article/allergy-testing-immunotherapy-in-dogs/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/food-allergies-and-food-intolerance/ I agree with your vet that a hydrolyzed diet is the best option. I hope this helps.