Well, except that your Reese is a Yorkie, you just described my Lucky who passed away two months ago. He was a Bichon, but you nailed everything. He never stopped licking his feet, got very overweight and ate and drank nonstop, had crystals in his urine and had to be operated on for bladder stones 3x (don't ask!), and had those bumpy things all over his back (that the vet did end up removing). Oh, yeah. Constant yeasty ear infections.
A few possibilities: you may be dealing with several different issues.
Lucky saw an allergist for many years because he had severe allergies. That was what caused the ear infections (probably) and the feet licking, as well as constant scratching deep enough to draw blood and cause infections. I had to give him allergy shots every 3 weeks.
Lucky DID have Cushings Disease but lived for many years after being diagnosed with it. He took medication for it and I had to bring him in for blood work twice a year (in the beginning it was more frequent) but he did well and ended up dying from cancer, not the Cushings. I would very much recommend you do more testing, because your dog sounds like he has Cushings based on your description of his symptoms and if it's not that, you want to know what it is.
When Lucky was diagnosed with bladder stones we were also told to stop feeding him carrots because something in them contributes. We were actually told to not feed him anything but his prescription food at all. He was on an S/O (urinary) food from the vet. No treats, no nothing. I did buy both wet and dry so he could have the wet food for treats!
When he got really old and sick we started giving him snacks again just because we knew he was dying and figured, what the heck, let him enjoy his last weeks! But otherwise, he was on a very restricted diet.
Good luck....I felt like I spent years trying to figure out what was wrong with him. I'm hoping Louie (our newly adopted Yorkie) doesn't have quite as many health issues, but right now he has almost no hair on his body, lots of those little black bumpy itchy things and he does chew on his feet. He's 8 years old and I'm debating whether to see the allergist or not. Sigh. |