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Senior dog with Cushing's & seizures: Should we treat or say goodbye?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Miniature Schnauzer | Male | unneutered | 12 years and 2 months old | 35 lbs

My 12 year old Mini Schnauzer has had (benign) Adrenal dependent Cushings for 6 years and has gone untreated. He's done great; just developed the pot belly, frequent urination, etc. He's grown lethargic, and just had two grand mal seizures in 3 hours. His Vet took blood work yesterday and we will get results today. I am interested in his quality of Health. Please give me your honest opinion. Where should we go from here? Move forward with possible treatment? Or consider the rainbow bridge?

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1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Ana M, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on July 10th, 2020

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Bruno. I base quality of life decisions on several factors. Is the patient eating and drinking on his own? How is his mobility? Can he navigate stairs safely, move freely around the house and get outside to go potty? This tends to be a significant problem in large breed dogs. Any time a pet has a chronic illness, there will be good and bad days. Are the good days still outnumbering the bad days? Finally, does he still seem happy? I would recommend carefully thinking about these questions and seeing what his blood work shows. Cushing's can be managed most cases. The seizures are worrisome though. They are unpredictable. He might never have another one, but they could go on to become a frequent occurrence. His blood work will determine if he is healthy enough for anti-seizure medications. I hope this information helps.

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