[momofreese]

Hi All,

It has been a while for me but I desperately need help in understanding what is happening to my Reese. A few weeks ago she seemed to be urinating far more than ever before, drinking a little more, ALWAYS EATS AND EATS AND EATS, so still begging for food all day, and then I noticed hair thinning and hair loss on her back exposing red skin. She had a growth on her chest since she was a baby and I was told to leave it alone, that it was nothing, then she got a white skin tag (looks like or wart) on her back and I was told to leave it because if my vet removed that one, as she put it, all of his/her (the warts) friends would come to the funeral.. and now a dark flat spot with several other flat black small spots near the area of hair loss..again I showed my vet who said they are nothing.. age spots. I started reading and found cushings, which seemed just like what she could have. Prior to this visit, I have had Reese checked for thyroid issues over the past nine years a million times because this baby could eat all day long, if allowed to. She used to flucuate between 8 and 12 pounds and for many years was up in the 11 to 12 pound range. I have been working very delinguently to get her down to about 9 pounds. She is on Ziwi Peak freeze dried raw pellets and I was giving her a lot of different vegetables as snacks to TRY to fill her up, instead of any type of "cookie/bones". Carrots, string beans, apples, even green pepper slices and recently sweet potatoes. She seemed to be doing fine. We got the blood panel back and was told that all is fine, that she does not have cushings or even a thyroid problem but now she has crystals in her urine which might indicate bladder stones. They told me to cut out green pepper and sweet potatoe which might have caused the crystals and come back in three weeks. After they get that under control they will speak with me about a hair supplement.. but no explanation as to what it could be. She has always licked her front paws consistently at night, when going to bed and we wake up to the same music of licking paws. I have told the vet and they basically ignore it. She also has had about 6 reoccuring yeast ear infections that she was placed on antibiotics or given an antibiotic pac about three times. They finally cleared up. She just seems down in the dumps and extremely jumpy. Every little sound or if someone slightly raises their voice, even, she is startled. There has been a lot of stress in my home the past couple of years, and I am sure she feels it and hears it. Although she was never hyper in any way and always a couch potatoe.. loving to eat and sleep since she was a puppy, I have noticed a definite change in her personality and even looks. I know this sounds nuts but even her latest pictures looks like she is extremely depressed and as I said her coat is dry and thinning. My groomer feels that there has to be an immune problem.. can someone please offer some advice. I have been to the vets office almost weekly for the past few months. Between her ear infections and all of these tests for thyroid, urine and cushings. Any opinions would help. She has been on the ziwipeak for almost two years and seemed to be doing fine in fact more energized and her coat seemed shinier, as well. She also has dry eye and I give her drops twice daily. Other than that she is not on any meds and seemed to be doing great. Please help.. my husband keeps telling me I am imagining all of this.. last night I had her in a store and with those florescent lights I saw that she was definitely losing a lot more hair than I even thought. .even a little on her face, head , but primarily on her back. Thanks for your help and a happy and healthy new year to all! Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated, as always.