Why is my dog's hair not growing and drinking/peeing a lot? Cushing's?

Poor Louis! This type of hair loss can be caused by cushings and hypothyroidism among other things like allergies, bacterial or yeast infections and more. Keep in mind that both Cushings and hypothyroidism dogs usually show other signs as well, but not always. Dogs with cushings usually with have excessive drinking and urinating and/or excessive panting. Dogs with hypothyroidism are usually over weight and/or always lethargic. Cushing's and hypothyroidism both require specialized blood testing to diagnose so they were likely not tested for back in August of 2017. I would talk with your vet about your concerns and see if they feel like you need to run any additional diagnostics or if they think there is another cause. I hope this helps!

If your vet thinks this may be an adrenal problem you may want to discuss testing first. Cushing's disease can cause coat changes and increased thirst, and is treated with medication, typically a medication called trilostane. It's also possible that R2's thyroid disease is the cause if her thyroid levels have not been checked recently. If the coat changes are due to an endocrine disease like Cushing's or hyperthyroidism and her coat is shaved it might not grow back well. Talk to your veterinarian about what test they would recommend.

I am sorry your dog is not feeling well. The information provided and picture don't really match. If a patient is drinking more and losing weight I would be concerned about endocrine diseases like diabetes and cushings disease. However the picture looks more like possible skin mites or an underlying autoimmune disease I would recommend taking her to a veterinarian to help you resolve the issues. They most likely will need to run basic bloodwork and possible a skin scrape to determine if mites are present.

Some common symptoms of Cushings's are panting, increased thirst/urination, but these are also common symptoms of many diseases. Bloodwork and endocrine testing can help to ferret that out. Neurologic symptoms can sometimes be present with Cushing's if there is a larger tumor in the pituitary gland but seizures can also be caused by other things as well so an MRI is typically required. CT can sometimes be used if a pituitary mass is strongly suspected. Itchy feet is typically caused by allergies which may also be associated with secondary infection. Next steps are to see your vet for an exam, bloodwork, and endocrine testing. Abdominal ultrasound and blood pressure measurement are also typical next steps. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

It's very unlikely to be cushing's, he doesn't seem to have most of the characteristic signs. it's more likely to be an allergy, maybe not to fleas though. allergy meds such as apoquel should probably be attempted next.

One of the things that Cushing's disease affects is the normal metabolism of hair follicles. Normally hair follicles "turn over" or produce hair quickly enough that we don't see areas of hair loss even though dogs (and us) lose hair daily. When a dog has Cushing's disease, the hair follicles are not regrowing hair as quickly as possible. (And often they do not shed the hairs normally.) Cushing's disease also affects their immune system, so it is more likely that dogs will get overgrowth of normal yeast and bacteria that can invade the hair follicles and cause the hair to fall out. So, what I would suspect occurred is that Buttercup had an area of hair where the hair follicles had a yeast or bacterial overgowth that invaded the hair follicles. Instead of shedding normally, those hairs stayed in place and allowed the bacterial/yeast overgrowth to spread until the hairs were mechanically removed with a brush. And since her hair follicles were not regrowing hair normally, the area is now bald. If there is any crusting, itching or redness that develops, I would certainly have your vet examine Buttercup. Otherwise, i would recommend regular bathing and brushing to remove dead undercoat and prevent future skin problems. It will take time, but fur should regrow in that area as long as the skin there is healthy. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and answered your question. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I'm glad to hear that Charlie is still playful and eating well despite these changes. With his excessive drinking and urination, hair loss, and skin discoloration, my main concern is that he may have Cushing's disease, which is an endocrine disease in which the adrenal glands produce excess quantities of steroids. Other possible causes of his increased drinking and urination could be related to diabetes, kidney disease, urinary tract infection, among other issues. At this point, I strongly recommend taking Charlie to his vet for an exam and blood testing to try to get to the bottom of this issue so that treatment can be started. I hope this helps and that all goes well!