Factors relating with the etiology and clinical courses after treatment of calcinosis cutis in 8 dogs with Cushing's disease were analysed retrospectively. Calcinosis cutis occured in 8 out of 16 dogs with Cushing's disease. The occurrence of calcinosis cutis was suggested to be correlated with the high plasma cortisol concentration measured at the first admission. Clinical course was followed in 6 cases and the temporary exacerbation of the calcificated skin lesion in four of the six cases was observed in the process of improvement.

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A five-year-old, female Cavalier King Charles Spaniel presented with alopecia and hyperkeratosis of the eyelids, muzzle, elbows, hocks, pads, and genitalia. This dog gave birth and different dog foods were used just prior to the onset. Histopathologic examination revealed severe acanthosis with diffuse parakeratosis at both the epidermis and follicular infundibula. In addition, polynuclear leukocyte and monocyte infiltration were observed at the superficial dermis with focal epidermal spongiosis. Complete blood counts, serum chemistry analysis, serum thyroxin level and allergen-specific IgE serology did not show any abnormalities. Based on these findings, the dog was diagnosed as having zinc-responsive dermatosis. The dog gave birth before the onset of these skin lesions, and was fed a commercial dog food. Oral zinc was effective with a balanced diet for hyperkeratosis, but pruritus continued. Then, concurrent oral prednisolone, which was not effective when used alone, cured it completely. The dog did not require both zinc supplementation and prednisolone after remission. Since a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is not a breed predisposed to zinc responsive dermatosis, a temporal disorder due to zinc absorption related with diet was suspected.

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A 14-year-old, spayed female mongrel dog presented with a mass on the inner aspect of the upper eyelid of right eye, occupying about 70% of the area of the palpebral fissure. Histopathologic examination of the biopsy specimen showed that the mass was consisted of multiple lobules of large tumor cells with many cytoplasmic vacuoles. There were no small basaloid cells in the tumor tissue. These tumor cells showed nuclear atypia, mitotic activity, and some of these showed positive reaction for proliferating cell nuclear antigen by immunohistochemistry. Based on these findings, the tumor was diagnosed as a meibomian carcinoma. The tumor cells were differentiated, and might be resemble sebocytes or meibomian gland cells. Therefore, even sebocyte-like tumor cells without mitotic activity are detected in cytology, histopathologic examination may be required for the diagnosis of the cases with unusual clinical appearances.

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