Cushing and diabetes are both terrible diseases that can make a dog’s life difficult. But when is the right time to put down your pup? In this article, we’ll discuss what you should know about Cushing and diabetes before making your decision.
When to Put Down a dog suffering from Cushing and diabetes?
Putting down a pet is never an easy task. It includes emotions, stress and requires a lot of courage to say goodbye to your lovely pet. But that’s what life is; we all have to leave the world at some point.
So, if your pup has been suffering from Cushing and diabetes and you are thinking about putting it down. Let me clarify; there is no specific answer regarding when to put it down. In most cases, a dog is euthanized when the ailment gets untreatable, or life becomes miserable for your pet. In such cases, you may opt for putting your pet down.
Furthermore, almost all pet owners prefer this option when their dogs stop responding to the treatment. At this point, the signs and symptoms may start to take a toll on your dog, and it will feel too much stressed and anxious. In simple words, when the life of your dog starts to deteriorate, you may think about putting him down.
To prevent further stress, anxiety, and suffering, many pet parents euthanize their dogs. However, some tend for some more days with the hope that their pet will live happily.
Right time To Euthanise Cushing and Diabetes Dog
The question is a heartbreaking one. However, you can delay the question by opting for the right treatment and keeping your dog under a vet’s supervision from the start and when any of the symptoms become visible.
Another positive point for you is that euthanizing a dog suffering from diabetes and Cushing’s disease is not that common, and most pets can recover if the problem gets diagnosed in the early stages.
Euthanizing becomes valid when the condition becomes poor, and the worst symptoms become apparent and uncontrollable. But as mentioned above, you can avoid these with proper care and treatment.
But if there is no cure, and you have tried your best, but your dog has stopped enjoying its life due to Cushing or diabetes, you must consult your vet to take this tough decision. Still, remember that such cases are rare, and natural deaths are common due to these diseases.
Cushing’s/diabetes connection
The main link between Cushing’s and diabetes is the additional cortisol levels generated by the faulty adrenal gland and when the pet’s body starts to produce new, non-sugar sourced glucose.
When this excessive glucose spreads in the blood, and at this stage, the endocrine pancreas generates more insulin to manage the glucose level in the blood.
When the pancreas’s insulin production ability is unable to match with extra blood glucose levels and with the excess cortisol production from the problem, the adrenal gland keeps emitting, the pancreas’s cells become exhausted, and causes diabetes.
Furthermore, if the pancreas’s islet cells can generate endogenous insulin as per the dog’s body needs, controlling Cushing’s disease becomes easy and helps control blood glucose levels without using insulin injections.
For dogs suffering from both Cushing’s and diabetes, it’s essential to maintain the correct level of sugar levels to effectively control Cushing’s disease. Removing the excess production of cortisol helps to manage diabetes in dogs.
In cases where Cushing’s disease is the primary problem, it may also cause transient or secondary diabetes. However, it is possible to achieve non-diabetic status with effective Cushing management.
Not many know over 10% of dogs with Cushing’s disease are diabetic, and old-aged dogs are more prone to both these diseases.
Life Expectancy of Cushing And Diabetes Patient Dog
It is common for dogs suffering from diabetes to have concurrent Cushing’s ailment. However, both these treatments are recoverable and can be treated. But if left untreated, Cushing’s can make the dog’s diabetes out of control. And it may also result in other problems.
It’s hard to tell that how long a dog suffering from Cushing’s and diabetes will live, as it depends on various factors such as how you manage it, the severity of the disease, and many more. Generally, both these ailments are treatable, and most dogs successfully recovery from these diseases.
Conclusion:
When your pet is suffering from Cushing’s and diabetes, it’s vital to monitor the symptoms and the pet’s behavior. Similarly, your pet can have various other concurrent problems. Moreover, when a dog suffers either from diabetes or Cushing’s other infections, even the minor ones can be fatal for them and take away your dog’s energy and affect critical body functions.
The decision to put a dog down is never an easy one, but you have to think about it at a point where treatment is not having a positive effect on your pet’s health.
We hope that the information in this blog post has helped you make a more informed and compassionate decision about when to euthanize a dog with diabetes and Cushing’s disease. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out using our contact page on our website.