My senior dog has gained weight, drinks a lot, and sleeps more. Is it Cushing's?

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.

According to the symptom of weight loss, otherwise normal and elevations on bloodwork, I would advise having your pet checked for Cushings disease (due to elevated ALP) via a specific test that your vet can go over with you. Also an abdominal ultrasound should be considered as well to check for any obvious masses since the Globulins were a bit high. Weight loss can also be caused by a change in diet as well, especially if your pet was once overweight, so its best to discuss this possibility with your vet as well. Also it is worth mentioning that none of the medications you listed would cause weight loss as an adverse effect. I do hope that things work out well for your pet moving forward. Best wishes and take care!

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!

Hi there! You are correct that Cushing's disease would be a common cause of the symptoms you are describing in an older dog (excessive panting, weight gain, and drinking/urinating more than normal) - however, there are also other illnesses that could cause this, so diagnostic testing would be needed as a first step to find out if Cushing's disease is even the problem or not. It would be EXTREMELY unsafe to start Vetoryl or any other medication for this condition without even knowing for sure if Tily has it, since these meds would be very dangerous for a dog to take if they weren't needed, and close monitoring of cortisol levels is needed for dogs who are on medication for Cushing's disease because if the dosing isn't right they can get very sick or even die. So this would be a problem that you would need to work closely with your veterinarian to diagnose and treat safely - it's not something you can do yourself at home, just based on guessing. If taking Tily to the vet is difficult for you, I would suggest calling around to some local clinics to see if there is anyone in your area who does house call visits. A mobile veterinarian could examine Tily and take the required lab samples (usually blood and urine testing, as a starting point), and then go from there depending on what is found.

Poor Nemesis. Sometimes pets will need the medication adjusted. I recommend to call your veterinarian and ask if another test is needed to evaluate the blood levels in his body. The test is called an ACTH stimulation test. It has been found that 50% of dogs with Cushing’s disease will also have a urinary tract infection that can only be detected with a urine culture. I recommend to have this test done as well as this will cause constant drinking and urination. Other conditions such as thyroid disease, diabetes or kidney disease can also cause these signs. You must start ruling them out. Best of luck.

I'm sorry your dog isn't feeling well. Regarding your comment about leaving kibble in his bowl without eating it, yet still eating 2 cans of food a day and some treats--it sounds like he is getting enough food and appetite is not a problem. When you say he is "pooping everything out," is he having diarrhea? Or does it seem that he is losing weight even though he is eating a lot? Or is he pooping very frequently? To review the list of problems/symptoms that you have given: *losing weight even though he is eating a lot (if this is what you mean by "pooping everything out") *uncomfortable/moaning *enlarged liver *blood test negative for Cushings disease Considering that he is 13, given the problem list above one of the biggest things I would worry about is cancer of some kind, and arthritis may be contributing to his discomfort. Unfortunately there is not any ONE test for cancer, so its not something your vet can just submit a blood sample and get an answer for. If you are wanting to KNOW what her diagnosis is, your vet will need to run full lab work (a full chemistry profile, a complete blood count, and a urinalysis), take X-rays of his chest, and probably perform an abdominal ultrasound (sonogram of the belly) as well. If an abnormality is discovered on X-rays or ultrasound, a biopsy may needed. Regardless of the cause, and even if you don't have funds to do a lot of diagnostics, you can focus on making him comfortable, with the understanding that his time may be limited. Ask your vet about pain medications. Don't worry about him not eating kibble--if he prefers canned food that is fine. I'm sorry I cannot give you black and white answers as to what is wrong. But he's a very lucky boy to have someone who cares so much for him. Wishing you both the best. Thanks so much for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I'm sorry that Miller is not feeling well. We certainly see an increase in ALKP as an early sign of Cushing's disease, but ALT is not as commonly elevated. I am attaching a handout with more information about Cushing's disease below. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1551 The most common test that we will use to diagnose Cushing's disease is called a Low Dose Dexamethasone Suppression Test. I am attaching a handout below that discusses the specific tests we use for Cushing's disease. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=636 However, an abdominal ultrasound is also an excellent test to evaluate the adrenal glands to look for evidence of Cushing's disease. So, I would discuss with your veterinarian if they would recommend doing further blood testing first or an abdominal ultrasound. That answer will likely depend on what Miler's lab work looks like when it is rechecked in 2 weeks. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and you can figure out what is going on with Miller. Thanks for using PetCoach.