Addison’s Disease in Dogs: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

Quick Summary

• Also called hypoadrenocorticism, Addison’s disease in dogs is a condition that affects dogs’ adrenal glands and causing deficiencies in hormones like corticosteroids responsible for regulating stress.
• Signs your dog has Addison’s disease include lethargy, weakened muscles, pain in hind quarters, shaking, reduced appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, and more.
• To treat your dog’s Addison’s disease, vets may prescribe hormone replacements, administer intravenous fluids and electrolytes, and lifelong medications.

Although uncommon in dogs, Addison’s disease is still something canines may suffer from. If your pet has been diagnosed and you are wondering how to treat your dog’s Addison’s disease, I highly suggest you speak to your vet for the correct care plan that suits your pet’s condition. Addison’s disease requires lifelong medication, and often your dog will need to undergo hormone replacements, IV therapy, as well as electrolytes.

To further understand this disease and give your dog the best care possible, read my guide below.

Canine Addison’s Disease or Hypoadrenocorticism

This happens when a dog’s adrenal glands do not produce enough corticosteroids, the hormones that allow people and dogs to adapt to stress. The adrenal glands, located near the kidneys, have a center called the medulla and an outer section called the cortex. Addison’s disease affects the cortex which produces corticostreoids. Cortisol and aldosterone are the most likely hormones to be affected by Addison’s disease, according to Addison’s disease in dogs. Addison’s disease is the opposite of Cushing’s Disease, which is what occurs when the adrenal glands produce too much cortisol.

Sign And Symptoms of Addison’s Disease in Dogs:

Unfortunately, the clinical signs of Addison’s are typically vague and often mimic the signs of other illnesses. Thus, it may take a while for a doctor to diagnose the disease and a diagnosis may end up being a process of elimination, instead of a straightforward process.

Furthermore, the dog’s breed, sex and age don’t typically help much in diagnosing Addison’s disease, either. Although it very often hits females around the ages of 5 or 6, any dog can develop Addison’s disease.

• Lethargy
• Weakened muscles
• Pain in hind quarters
• Shaking
• Reduced appetite
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Weight loss
• Darkened patches of skin

In some situations, the condition advances to an acute medical emergency called “Addison’s crisis,” in which the dog goes into shock and falls as a result of an electrolyte or metabolic imbalance. During an Addison’s crisis, blood sugar may drop and potassium levels may soar, similar to diabetes mellitus. Experts say that approximately 30% of dogs that suffer from Addison’s only get diagnosed during or after the Addison’s crisis stage.

When trying to figure out your dog’s illness, your veterinarian will likely run a series of blood tests.

“Dogs with Addison’s disease often have elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and an elevated creatinine, as well as decreased blood glucose. The blood count may show a chronic anemia. If the blood work supports the diagnosis of Addison’s disease, then an ACTH stimulation test is performed,” PetEducation writes. “In an ACTH stimulation test, the dog is given an injection of the adrenal stimulating hormone ACTH. A normal dog will respond by having an increase in blood cortisol. If a dog with Addison’s disease is given ACTH, the dog will not have an increase in blood cortisol and the diagnosis of Addison’s disease is confirmed.”

During an Addison’s crisis, your veterinarian may first suspect renal failure, a diagnosis that further testing can eliminate. “The blood panel will come back showing elevations in the renal parameters (BUN and Creatinine) and thus with the elevated potassium is suggestive of acute renal failure, a condition with an extremely poor prognosis,” writes Mar VistaVet. “The veterinarian may become suspicious of another diagnosis as the patient will respond well to fluid administration and most renal failure patients do not respond well.”

Causes of Addison’s Disease in Dogs

There doesn’t appear to be one single cause of Addison’s disease. Rather, there are several things that can cause the adrenal glands to fail. The most common cause, Pet Education says, is when the body itself attacks and kills its own tissue, known as “immune mediated destruction.” In Addison’s disease, the immune system attacks the cells in the adrenal glands. When the immune system malfunctions, it can mistakenly attack the body’s own tissues. Autoimmunity is the word for this occurrence. Other causes can be gland infections from “granulomatous diseases such as histoplasmosis or blastomycosis, or through other means such as infarcts, tumors, or amyloidosis of the gland. Another cause of Addison’s can be the failure of the pituitary gland to secrete ACTH. Which is a hormone that stimulates the adrenal gland.”

To go along with those multiple causes, there are, in actuality, three types of the disease: primary, secondary and atypical.

Primary

This type of Addison’s disease occurs when the adrenal glands fail in producing mineralcorteroids and glucocorticoids, which requires replacing the mineralocortoids.

Secondary

Secondary Addison’s happens when the “pituitary gland does not secrete ACTH, a hormone necessary to stimulate the adrenal glands,” reports dog-health-guide. This form requires “replacement therapy of glucocorticoids.”

What is Atypical Addison’s Disease in Dogs?

Atypical Addison’s Disease is a rare form of disease that affects dogs. Cortisol production and weight reduction are two signs that it is occurring. Which can lead to life-threatening health complications. According to Mar VistaVet, about one in 42 dogs has a special form of Addison’s. This means the problem is with the pituitary gland, located at the brain’s base, as opposed to the adrenal gland itself.

“The normal pituitary gland secretes ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone), which stimulates the zona fasciculate and zona reticularis (layers of the adrenal cortex) to produce glucocorticoids. Without this hormone, these two areas of the adrenal gland atrophy but the zona glomerulosa remains normal, meaning mineralocorticoid production remains intact. … It should be noted that often these patients progress to the more typical Addison’s disease, complete with electrolyte imbalance.”

Treating Addison’s Disease in Dogs

The physical examination of dogs with Addison’s disease is usually unremarkable. The duration of treatment and monitoring may vary depending on the severity of Addison’s disease, but it will continue for the remainder of your dog’s life. The medical treatment for Addison’s disease in dogs is typical with corticosteroids. This helps to compensate for the hormones that are missing from the dog’s adrenal glands. If a dog has severe cases of Addison’s disease, they may also require treatments to stabilize electrolyte imbalances through intravenous fluids. In some cases, medical treatment for Addison’s disease in dogs can be lifelong. It will also help to prevent future medical problems from occurring. The good news is that treating Addison’s disease is fairly straightforward and mostly consists of replacing the hormones missing from the dog’s body via oral medications.

Your vet will also likely monitor your dog’s blood sodium and potassium levels regularly at first. Once the dog’s body is regulated, she’ll probably only have to visit the vet two to three times per year. To see if any medication adjustments are necessary, writes Pet Education. The prognosis for dogs with Addison’s disease is pretty positive. With proper veterinary care and medication, your dog can live a happy, healthy life.

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