Dogs with Cushing's disease

[montster]

We have a long-haired dachshund, Chopper, with Cushing's disease. We're not sure how old he is because we got him from the pound, but he's probably around 13 or 14 (we've had him for 12). He has had the Cushing's for probably nearly five years now, but lately he has been drinking a TON of water every day, and he has been going to the bathroom inside the house more often, even though he has a dog door and knows how to go outside. I know there have been threads here before about dogs with Cushing's, but those are a few years old. I am thinking that he's near the end. We'll likely be visiting the vet, but we were just there a couple months ago when the dog was vomiting and not eating, and the ordeal cost $2200, which we can't afford to repeat.

 

We had another dog we put down last year. That decision was a no-brainer because her health was so bad, she couldn't walk and seemed to not know where she was. This is harder to figure out because, aside from the accidents, the dog seems to be somewhat normal. It's not like he's never gone piss inside the house before. It's just that he's doing it more often. (Today, for instance, he did it twice.) I don't believe the dog should be put down for the sake of convenience, but, if accidents are now to be expected, I also don't want a house that smells like dog pee all the time. (Trying not to sound callous -- this isn't a sympathy thread, because this isn't sudden and I've known for a while we would put him down eventually.)

 

Just looking for thoughts from others who have had dogs with Cushing's.

[Footballjoe]

Just a suggestion if you have not already done it is to buy some dog training pads.

[Chief Dick]

I dealt with this exact same thing a couple of years ago. Our dog was doing the same things as yours.

 

My thoughts at that time were if the dog cannot function normally, then her quality of life was going down. Because she may pee and not know it, which means she may have been laying in it for awhile. I wanted my dog to have more dignity than that, because she sure as heck treated me with respect her whole life.

 

Only you really know, but based on my experience, it's time.

[rocknrobn26]

Nilly, our last dog, had Cushings for 5+ years. We put her on a drug that really helped, albeit expensive ($3/day for the pill and ~$300 every 3 months for blood tests). I hear ya CD, but in our case Nilly was too vibrant to put down at 5 yo. The frustrating part was the pee would just run out of her. Sometimes once a day and then not for a week or more. Near the end she had a heart murmur, the Cushings, and she started to develop ulcers that just festered on her paws , head, and body. We had the Vet do surgery on the worst ones (paws) and that was the final straw as after the surgery she couldn't walk and pee'd and pooped on herself. 2 days later we put her down.

I feel for you Montster. I'm sure you'll make the right decision.

[montster]

Thanks for the advice. When we last took him to the vet a few months ago, they said he had a heart murmur and liver and kidney problems, in addition to the Cushing's. Although his behavior has changed, it doesn't seem to be at the point where he's suffering. We're probably close, though. Anyway, thanks again.