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It's an herbal concoction that has rave reviews on line for Cushings in dogs. It seems to work better than all the other vet meds that cause bad side effects, yet the "Skeptvet" online vet says its all a placebo effect and it won't work. He made me mad enough to want to just order the Harmony Gold to prove him wrong.
My doggie, Boomer, is 10, has all the symptoms of Cushings, yet the blood test came back within normal limits. I just want him to have fun his last few years and right now, he cannot jump, cannot run or walk well, has a huge belly and is panting and hungry all the time. His back legs are weak. Pretty soon he won't be able to crouch down to have a BM. He is a white schnoodle, currently 29 pounds, 10 more than he needs.
My vet wants to give him expensive Science Diet food to lose weight and no meds. Anyone else been through this? Thanks in advance.
If his adrenal function tests are normal, why do you think he has Cushing's? If he did, no herbs would help.
You are describing a pet that if he were human would be considered morbidly obese. The big belly is most likely internal fat. He cannot jump, walk, or run well because of the extra weight. Help him lose weight, and you will probably see a remarkable change in the way he feels and acts. If you cannot afford the Science Diet, compare labels and choose an over-the-counter food with a similar nutrition profile.
He is "hungry" all the time because he likes to eat. Cut back on the snacks.
My house has become an assisted living facility for old dogs. We now have two elderly dogs inherited from our sons because our house was more suitable for them. One is diabetic, almost blind, and has bad joints in her hind end. She is on Science Diet and we keep her thin because of her joints. The other is a Jack Russell Terrier who came to us overweight. He eats an over the counter weight control food and has lost about a pound since coming to stay with us. We measure each meal for both of them.
Neither dog gets snacks except rare morsels of meat from the human leftovers. They are rewarded with snuggles and play time, not food.
I have been told that the test is unreliable, and can be false negative. Symptoms are more reliable than the test, which cost $200.
And he doesn't get snacks. He has a little dog food, low cal, supplemented with green beans, apples, lettuce and watermelon. He is fed separate from the other dog, so he can't eat his portion.
I just asked about the herbal medicine since there are more than 300 reviews about it, and they are positive.
Just looking at the info on the product, There is no reason to expect that any of the ingredients would do anything for Cushing's. You might ask the people who make you to show the tests they have done to demonstrate that it can treat Cushing's. You will note the description does not claim it treats anything. It only "supports."
Testimonials are worthless. You never know how many were written by or paid for by the manufacturer.
It's also pricey. For the cost of a few months of the product, you could pay for the appropriate testing.
Or you could follow your vet's suggestion for weight loss and see what happens.
I STRONGLY suggest you join the Yahoo groups for Cushings. They are very experienced and serious. The can guide you through the symptoms, testing, medical, alternative and financial phases.
Even if he increasingly shows more Cushings symptoms, he's going to have to lose that weight. Some people even elect to postpone the actual "treatment" anyway.
If you want him to have fun his last few years, that would be another reason to HELP HIM. Losing weight is one of the most simple things you can do and doesn't cost anything.
There isn't a good reason to replace dog food with all those empty calories, either, IMO. I can see the green beans instead of say, a "TREAT"...they are neutral more or less but he needs the DOG FOOD. For the nutritional component if nothing else.
I never recommend LOW CAL dog food. I recommend the most appropriate food the vets recommend ie the RIGHT percentage of protein and fats but FULL CALORIE. Just less of it/on the lower end of the scale. Unless the client is completely unwilling or incapable of following directions then the LOW CAL might be ok.
LOW cal just gives them a big stool and being hungry. Not to be confused with a prescription food that happens to be LOW CAL for other reasons. Like the requirement of low fat due to a disease. With a disease, I always go with the prescription foods unless there's an allergy problem or something.
Just like it's so much better for a human to eat a SMALLER amount of a whole fat food than MORE of a fake man made "low fat" one.
Last edited by runswithscissors; 10-08-2014 at 07:59 AM..
Well, I'm not sure about Harmony Gold working for cushings, but I do know that my elderly yorkie-poo is on Pet Wellbeing Throat Gold for her cough (great reviews for it too) and it certainly WORKS. It hasn't eliminated her cough, but she doesn't cough and gag all night like she used to. It is all natural ingredients.
I'd go ahead and give Harmony Gold for cushings a try. If it does work, you'll be happy you believed the reviews like I did. If it doesn't work, then you can write a review on the Pet Wellbeing site that it didn't, and throw it out. It's worth a try IMO. Good luck and let us know.
Hi Scissors: I am already on the Cushings forum asking for help. They want to see the lab scores which I don't have yet..
You seem to be advocating the vet's science diet food, while the forum says that's crap. I cannot afford the LDDS test, (or anymore tests) for that matter, and am just trying to find a solution that doesn't break the bank.
Hi Scissors: I am already on the Cushings forum asking for help. They want to see the lab scores which I don't have yet..
You seem to be advocating the vet's science diet food, while the forum says that's crap. I cannot afford the LDDS test, (or anymore tests) for that matter, and am just trying to find a solution that doesn't break the bank.
Oh good!
Well, I would trust the forum members on everything including the food subject.
Especially because I am not familiar with any special diet for Cushings, even though I have taken care of Cushings dogs - even end stage.
NOW if it were a different disease...YES I would be more radically in favor of the vet prescription Our Yahoo Megaesophagus operates the same way and I started being an adviser on there back in 2004. But FOOD is the entire topic of Megaesophagus and from what I know, not so much Cushings. HIlls ID has kept our dogs alive very famously.
Seems to me my most informed and fully tested Cushings client used a regular off the shelf dog food. But I forget the brand.
For this little Maltese - I photoshopped that pic when I had her for a vacation.:
Look, I know Science Diet gets a bad rap but I have a 19 year old tiny Shih Tzu client with a couple of health issues and I just converted her from canned food to dry.
Her owner has dementia and it's a problem using canned. I never thought she would convert but I have to tell you she WOLFS the food down from the moment I offered it. I took 2 weeks to convert her.
I looked at EVERY SINGLE LABEL/FOOD and the BEST ONE for HER was ...yep Science Diet. Regular not prescription.
My criteria was senior, very small bites, toy breed, lowish fat, lower protein like 21%. Fractionalized grains because she's a little IBS-Y. When the owner puts a plate of fatty gravy remains down from her dinner. for example.
I really didn't worry too much about the ingredients as much as keeping her in balance compared to her old foods. Yes there are more expensive brands out there but they wouldn't work for THIS dog. And let's face it she's 19. I try and keep her from getting diarrhea at ALL costs. She also has a grade 4 heart mumor but it's been YEARS and she's still strong. No fluid build up etc. She also tends to get UTI or dehydrated because when the lady gets wacky or won't drink water, the dog get's that way too! She does drink alot more on the dry but I'm taking that as a good thing for her.
I am totally THRILLED with this food. AND the fact that she is on such a great schedule and ignoring the owner offering her stupid crap. I just leave it down and refill twice a day to freshen it up and clean the bowl and let the fresh aroma entice her, too. It's funny the lady doesn't even notice I changed it LOL.
I can't even believe she can eat it.
I PROMISE YOU that if you use a little higher quality food instead of say, grocery store brands they EAT LESS of it and you actually save money. I learned this selling food in my pet stop.
The other thing is she will drink less water on canned but if you are giving those extra high water foods like the watermelon that will keep her water intake lower, too. OF COURSE not if she has Cushings and especially if she has STRESS AND CUSHINGS. She's going to drink and eat to excess. IF.
Good luck! I hope that Yahoo can help you. And I hope she doesn't have it.
If it's any consolation, my BFF got a "likely" diagnosis on his small dog at age 11ish and she lived until age 16 and really never ever had any symptoms till age 15. Incontinence and thirst (a little) and a little weak in the rear. So I'm not even really sure she had it.
Now, the dog above? She got the dx at age 10 ish and deteriorated rather quickly by age 12. Blind, incontinent, weak rear, lost hair etc etc. But she was still walking around and sociable etc until the end around age 13.5 or so. She was on the meds and probably from the start because her dx was FIRM.
Last edited by runswithscissors; 10-08-2014 at 07:00 PM..
I have a Shih Tzu, Sasha that was diagnosed with Cushings Disease when she was 11 years old and was placed on 60 mg Vetoryl. Valley Vet has the best prices on Vetoryl and other animal supplements and medication. Literally half the price! I even purchase Frontline flea control for almost half the price of pet stores and vets. Now back to the Cushings Disease. I believe in holistic healing, but was willing to give Vetoryl a try. Sasha has been on Vetoryl for a year and was doing fine in the beginning, but she started to develop rashes and sores on her body that would not heal and she was constantly whining from discomfort of not only her skin, but from gastric pain. The Vet prescribed medicated shampoos that did not clear up her condition. Sasha was miserable and was licking and chewing herself raw. I decided to take her off Vetoryl and placed on Pet Wellbeing Adrenal Harmony Gold and 3mg of Melatonin twice a day and within two weeks her skin has healed, she is calmer, her eyes are brighter, her thirst is normal and her appetite has decreased. Sasha is so much more active and is back to her normal frisky self. Before it was such an effort for her to climb the stairs and now she runs up the stairs. I know you are wondering about the Melatonin. Melatonin has an anti-gonadotropic activity that inhibits aromatase (converts androstenedione and testosterone into estradiol) and 21-hydroxylase (lowers cortisol level) enzymes. Dogs with Cushings do not produce enough serotonin so the melatonin helps to calm the dogs.
I just learned that Lignans is beneficial for Cushings Disease. Flax seeds contain Lignans and has a phytoestrogenic activity that competes with estradiol for tissue estrogen receptors with less biological effect. Lignans also inhibit aromatase (anti-estrogen) and 3-beta HSD (lowers cortisol) enzymes. It recommends not using Flax seed oil, but to use ground flax seeds.
Diet is important. I do not feed Sasha commercial dog food. I have cooked her and my other two dogs food for years and supplemented with vitamins. Dogs with Cushings require high protein low fat diets. My dog’s food contain NO grains and cooking for your dog is cheaper and healthier than feeding them commercial dog food. Science Diet dog food is the worst commercial dog food you can feed your dogs. If you insist on buying your dog’s food, do not purchase any that contains corn meal. Most dogs are highly allergic to corn/corn meal. It is nothing but a filler. If you are curious about cooking for your dog, just Google recipes.
Good luck with Boomer. There is no cure for Cushings other than surgery (which can be dangerous), but you can at least provide quality of life for your fur baby. Here is a link that may help educate you on Cushings. DogAware.com Articles: Cushing's Disease
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Our Yahoo Megaesophagus operates the same way and I started being an adviser on there back in 2004. But FOOD is the entire topic of Megaesophagus and from what I know, not so much Cushings. HIlls ID has kept our dogs alive very famously. 
