Dogs Get It Too

It turns out that our furry friends are susceptible to Addison's disease too. In fact, hypoadrenocorticism occurs 100 times more often in canines than in humans. Being a bitch doesn't help too. Female dogs make up 70% of the diagnosed cases in dogs.

Umm... Woof?

Research has shown that Addison's disease is genetic, but the gene still cannot be identified as of now. The only test available today is to check whether the dog's adrenal glands are functioning well.

The symptoms of Addison's disease in canines is the same as that in humans, and yes, that includes depression. Do look out for these symptoms in your pooch:

• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Fatigue
• Loss of appetite
• Weight loss
• Tremors

As these symptoms are typical to many other diseases around, diagnosis is very difficult. Most of the time, a dog is only found to have Addison's disease when it experiences an Addisonian crisis. Arrythmia and a drastic drop in blood pressure to very low levels is common. The dog will also exhibit symptom of kidney malfunction and at this point, will likely be found to suffer from renal failure.

The dogs are typically treated with IV solutions for rehydration and an almost miraculous recovery may come about.

If your doggies are diagnosed with Addison's disease, there's no escaping the fact that they have to be on long term medication to replace the hormones they cannot produce. The medication can be administered orally or through injections. Under medication and supervision, they are able to return to normal life, but their stress triggers must be noted so that a potential emergency may be spotted before it even happens.

So the bottom line is, take good care of your dogs! WE love them too!

References:

1. 2012. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.addisondogs.com/addisons/articles/Addisons_Disease_Brochure.pdf. [Accessed 07 July 2012].
2. AddisonDogs | What Is Addison's Disease. 2012. AddisonDogs | What Is Addison's Disease. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.addisondogs.com/addisons/. [Accessed 07 July 2012].