My senior Shih Tzu has Cushing's & is sick. When is it time to say goodbye?

Hello, I am so sorry for your concerns about Tucker. I would guess that he is having issues with his liver, hense hepatitis, which can occur with long term phenobarb. use. The medication to control the symptoms of Cushings ( we can not completely cure this disease, as it involves a tumor on the adrenal gland or the pituitary gland), also has some side effects that require frequent blood work to monitor. You have a very hard decision to make, & it is wonderful that your veterinarian is there to support whatever you decide to do. Take a few days to try & put things is perspective. Weigh the good days against the bad days & decide what is in Tucker's best interest. It is hard to let a pet go, but if there is a choice between existing because a decision can not be made, & truly living, then please consider things this way. If you are not happy seeing Tucker this way, knowing that things will probably get worse, he can not be happy, either. I sympathize with your predicament. For all of us who love our pets, this is a day that always breaks our hearts. Take care.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Bruno. I base quality of life decisions on several factors. Is the patient eating and drinking on his own? How is his mobility? Can he navigate stairs safely, move freely around the house and get outside to go potty? This tends to be a significant problem in large breed dogs. Any time a pet has a chronic illness, there will be good and bad days. Are the good days still outnumbering the bad days? Finally, does he still seem happy? I would recommend carefully thinking about these questions and seeing what his blood work shows. Cushing's can be managed most cases. The seizures are worrisome though. They are unpredictable. He might never have another one, but they could go on to become a frequent occurrence. His blood work will determine if he is healthy enough for anti-seizure medications. I hope this information helps.

Hello. Please do not be afraid to see your vet. It sounds like a reassessment needs to be made. Cushing's is not a static disease & adjustments in medication sometimes does need to be made. In addition, other endocrine problems can appear that will need to be treated. Only you can say when it is time to say goodby & let her go. We, as vets, can only guide you in your decision. See your vet & hopefully he can tweak the medication(s) to make her much more comfortable. Good luck & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I am so sorry to hear this and I know how hard it can be to tell if your pet is having a good quality of life. The three big things I look for are: 1) Good appetite 2) Comfort level- are they moving around on their own, able to posture to urinate/defecate well, using the stairs, able to rise and lay down easily. If not- would medications or other therapies help? Also, with neck pain- can they eat/drink from their bowls well? 3) Are they still doing the things that make them 'them'- whether it be greeting you at the door, wanting to take walks, whatever it is that makes their personality unique. To answer your specific questions- the term 'tumor' can be scarab, but Cushings can be a disease managed without a loss of comfort, although it may take management- Eg checkups to make sure they don't have urinary infections or skin infections. I would certainly be concerned about any neck pain and want to ask your vet if any therapies would help improve their comfort. I hope this helps!

I am very sorry that Yager is so ill. Unfortunately Cushing's disease is a progressive disease and cannot be healed. There are two possible causes for Cushing's: 1) a pituitary tumor (a tumor in the brain) that is telling the adrenal glands to make more cortisone that the body needs and 2) a possible adrenal tumor that is overproducing cortisone. Most of the time the cause is a pituitary tumor. Unfortunately the medicine your dog is taking is only affecting the adrenal glands, ie basically reducing cortisone production. In the meantime the tumor in the brain keeps growing slowly, Sometimes the medicine works too well and the body is not getting enough cortisone because the adrenal glands are not producing enough anymore (the medicine destroyed too much tissue). This can cause the signs you describe and therefore your vet recommends that you halve the dose. The other problem is that your dog's tumor is growing and may be pressing on vital structures in the brain now, which can cause seizures, wobbly gait, fainting spells. So I suggest that you trust your vet and follow his recommendations. Unfortunately the day will come that you need to say good bye to Yager when the tumor is causing too many problems. Listen to your dog: he will tell you when it is time.

It is common for people to decide not to treat their dog for Cushing's disease. Unfortunately, the treatment is expensive and has side effects. The biggest concerns with Cushing's disease are the side effects of the disease (drinking more, urinating more, etc) and the potential for the dog to develop other infections from a suppressed immune system. So, I recommend that a dog with Cushing's disease be closely monitored at home for any changes in clinical signs and have them evaluated in case the dog is developing a secondary infection. That will often mean checking urine samples on a regular basis to make sure a urinary tract infection isn't hiding. I have attached more information on Cushing's disease below. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=635 At almost 15 years old, if Bullwinkle has other health problems, then Cushing's disease may or may not shorten his life. But the most important thing is to closely monitor him and make sure any infections are treated right away. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

I'm really sorry to hear about poor Memi. The combination of these two conditions are often difficult to treat and can be very disheartening. I would first recommend asking your veterinarian about any more potential treatment options and how long they think he may survive given his current condition. The decision to euthanize is extremely difficult and there is no right or wrong answer. I advise my clients to consider euthanasia when they feel like their pet is suffering so much that they don't seem themselves anymore; or just don't seem to enjoy life anymore. You will be the best judge of this. I hope that helps. Again, I'm very sorry for this unfortunate circumstance and wish the best.