[Cat2861]

Hi Ashlea...I know about Cushing disease because my dachshund ended up having it at the young age of 7. It is a horrible disease to see a dog go through. Our Hershey started off getting a potbelly. We thought he was just getting fat but then he was losing hair in that area too. We took him to the vet and they knew right away that it was Cushing but they ran all the necessary tests and it was confirmed. We had to give him medicine twice a day but the vet had to keep adjusting the dose (upping it) until Hershey's body responded. Hershey lost the pot belly and grew his hair back. His hair actually grew in thicker than what is was before. Everything was going great for about 6 mths and then we noticed he was drinking a lot to the point where he would spend a lot of the day drinking. With drinking so much he was having accidents in the house right away. That never happened with him. He was potty trained at 4 months old. Took him back to the vet to be told he is now a diabetic which is very common with Cushing disease. We then had to give him insulin twice a day. He was such a trooper with it all until within 30 days he became blind. It happened that quick. That is when Hershey started going downhill. He wouldn't eat and was refusing to let us give him his insulin shots (we did though even though it was against his will). It was like he just gave up once he became blind. We also had a 16 year dachshund Fritz who then started going downhill. It was like everything was crashing in on my husband and I. Those two boys were the best dogs we ever had. Hershey at the age of 4 had to have back surgery because he woke up one day and couldn't use his back legs. Surgery and rehab was thousands of dollars but he was worth every penny. The doctors still couldn't guarantee us that he would walk again but he surprised them all and walked, ran and jumped again. We had to put both of them down in July of 2011. I still cry and miss them dearly. I hope your little one does not have Cushing disease. Does he have a potbelly, losing his hair on his back, belly, tail? Your vet can run a test to see if that is the case. I wish you the best and pray all will be fine with your little one.