Although dogs with Cushing’s Syndrome are easily treated if diagnosed early enough, there may be times when you need to euthanize your dog for Cushing’s Syndrome.
When it’s time to save your dog with Cushing’s Syndrome put to sleep to let is never an easy one Decision.
For this reason I wrote this article. Not to make your decision for you, but to shed some light on things.
In a nutshell: When should I put my dog to sleep with Cushing’s syndrome?
In and of itself, Cushing’s disease is not an outright death sentence for the dog and is relatively manageable with daily medication.
Answer the following questions from your dog’s perspective:
- Your dog has more bad days than good days
- Your dog is vomiting or has persistent diarrhea
- Your dog is in chronic pain
- Your dog no longer shows any zest for life / its quality of life suffers massively
- Your dog can no longer control its passing of urine and stool
All these questions have to do with the quality of life of the dog. Can answer most questions positive fail for the dog, is that time has not yet come.
However, the questions become predominant negative answered from the dog’s point of view, this means a tremendous deterioration of the quality of life and you should familiarize yourself with the idea of whether you want to offer your dog such a life.
How Long Can a Dog With Cushing’s Syndrome Live?
Most dogs can live for years after being diagnosed with Cushing’s disease.
Without treatment
Unfortunately, that can be done exactly Life expectancy with Cushing’s syndrome without treatment cannot accurately predict. However, generally with a life expectancy of average 30 months expected.
With treatment
The average age of affected dogs is 10 years.
Dogs that receive drug treatment for Cushing’s syndrome can still live to a proud age and do not lose any quality of life.
What does the vet do?
If your dog has symptoms such as trembling, itching, increased and severe panting, bleeding in the eyes and rapid fatigue, there is a suspicion of Cushing’s.
If there is a suspicion of Cushing’s syndrome, the treating veterinarian will carry out blood tests, an ultrasound of the abdominal region and a CH/MRT to make the diagnosis.
If the diagnosis is confirmed, 3 different treatment options be taken into consideration:
- Surgical removal of the adrenal gland
- Medication
- irradiation
As long as the tumor on the adrenal gland has not yet formed metastases, it can be removed easily and without subsequent treatment.
A drug for the treatment of Cushing’s syndrome is currently approved in Germany. Vetoryl (active ingredient trilostane) is administered in capsules.
The drug must be given daily for life. Regular blood tests are necessary to ensure the correct dose is given at all times.
How can I help my dog?
In addition to medical therapy, you can also accompany and treat a dog with herbs.
However, this should only be done in consultation with your doctor and therapist.
support metabolism
With herbs and a balanced diet, good food and targeted supplementation of minerals and vitamins, you can support your dog’s metabolism and increase its immune system.
End-Stage Cushing’s Syndrome – Symptoms
When your dog reaches the end stage of Cushing’s syndrome, the following stages are usually present:
- severe lethargy
- Increased urination
- Increased thirst
- depression
- strong weight loss
- seems bloated
Testimonials about Cushing’s Syndrome from other dog owners
Most interesting, however, are the experiences of other dog owners.
Shared pain is half of the pain.
So that you don’t have to spend hours digging through various forums, I have summarized some testimonials from other dog owners here.
“After taking the medication, he became completely listless and only slept. You didn’t get the impression that something was going to change for the better.
Only the symptoms of urination and skin problems subsided.
We decided to stop taking the meds and unexpectedly the dog recovered.
He lived another 2.5 years and died at 15 ½ years, but not of Cushing’s»
“My dog has had Cushing’s for a number of years and is being treated with Vertonyl. The quality of her life has improved significantly since the treatment. Among other things, she was lethargic before the treatment, now she only sleeps as much as is appropriate for her age.”
Conclusion
The diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome, which is usually only made in older dogs, does not mean a death sentence.
Dogs with this diagnosis can have a good quality of life for many years if they are well controlled with medication and are regularly checked by a veterinarian.
Unfortunately, every pet owner has to deal with the topic of saying goodbye and putting them to sleep. With Cushing, too, if the animal’s quality of life is no longer guaranteed, one should think about putting it to sleep.
Does your dog also suffer from Cushing’s syndrome? Please leave us a comment!