Addison's disease in dogs is also known as hypoadrenocorticism. It is a disease that results from the reduction in corticosteroid secretion from the adrenal gland. The adrenal gland is a small gland located near the kidney that secretes several different substances that help regulate normal body functions.
When the adrenal glands do not function adequately, life critical hormones such as cortisol and aldosterone are not produced at sufficient levels. The dog’s metabolism and electrolyte imbalance cause the clinical signs seen in Addison's disease.
Causes
There are several different reasons the adrenal glands may fail. By far, the most common is destruction of the glands by the body’s own immune system. Other causes can be infections in the adrenal gland, infarcts and tumours. Another cause of Addison's can be the failure of the pituitary gland (in the brain) which sends a chemical message to the adrenal gland prompting it to keep functioning.. Failure of the pituitary gland to send this message usually a result of a tumour, inflammation, or injury of this gland.
Clinical signs
Addison's is primarily a disease of young to middle-aged female dogs, however, a dog of any age and either sex can develop the disease. It does not appear to be more common in any one particular breed. Cats can develop this disease, but it is extremely rare. The symptoms of Addison's disease are very vague and many animals may have symptoms for a long time before the disease is diagnosed. Some of the more common symptoms include lethargy, anorexia, vomiting, and muscle weakness. The symptoms may wax and wane, further complicating the diagnosis. The other presentation for this disease is an episode called an 'Addisonian crisis.' In this scenario, the animal collapses in a state of shock due to an imbalance of electrolytes and metabolism during a period of stress. This episode may be the first time the owner suspects disease and may be fatal, if not treated promptly.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis is of Addison's disease in dogs is confirmed by a blood test called the ACTH stimulation test. However, because the disease is not very common and has a wide variety of symptoms, the ACTH test is usually done after several other tests are used to rule out more common diseases.
If the animal comes into the hospital in an Addisonian crisis with electrolyte imbalances, and responds to therapy, then a presumptive diagnosis of Addison's disease is made and once the animal recovers, the diagnosis can be confirmed with an ACTH stimulation test.
If however, the animal presents with a history of weight loss, lethargy, or muscle weakness, which are the symptoms of many diseases, a chemistry profile and blood count are usually performed first to look at a number of body systems. 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 anaemia. If the blood work supports the diagnosis of Addison's diseases, then an ACTH challenge test is performed.
In an ACTH challenge 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.
Once the disease is diagnosed, the treatment is fairly straightforward. The standard treatment involves replacing the mineralocorticoids and glucocorticoids in the body. The drugs most commonly used to accomplish this are Florinef (fludrocortisone). Florinef is usually given twice a day. Initially, the blood sodium and potassium levels are monitored to help obtain the correct dose. After the animal is regulated, then the levels are rechecked 2 to 3 times a year and adjustments in dosing are made as needed.
A newer option in the treatment of Addison's disease is a drug called DOCP. The injection is long acting and only needs to be given once every 25 days. DOCP has been intensively tested and been shown to provide better electrolyte regulation than Florinef. Some animals on DOCP may also need to be placed on a low maintenance dose of prednisone.
If your dog is being treated with medications for this condition, you will need to be prepared to continue treatment for the life of your dog. You will need to be observant of any side effects to medications. Signs of an adverse side effects include lack of energy, weakness, lack of appetite, vomiting, diarrhoea, and possible difficulty walking. If any of these side effects do occur, you should discontinue the medication, and administer Prednisone (which will be dispensed to you for your dog) as per instructions, and contact us immediately.
Once your dog has its Addison’s disease stabilised, you pet will need appointments and blood tests at the one, three, and six months mark, then annually after that.
Easter is here, slightly earlier this year however many people manage to save some of their chocolate for several weeks after the Easter long weekend. (I am not one of them!).
Why should we take care with chocolate and our pets? Human chocolate contains ingredients such as methylxanthines (specifically caffeine and theobromine), to which all dogs and cats are very sensitive. Different types of chocolate contain varying amounts of methylxanthines though in general, the darker and more bitter the chocolate the greater the danger is to dogs and cats. The most toxic is cocoa powder while white chocolate contains almost no methylxanthines at all.
Chocolate is slightly more toxic to cats than to dogs as they have a slightly lower capacity to process chocolate toxins in their livers, thus smaller amounts of chocolate can cause more significant toxic effects in cats. However chocolate poisoning is rare in cats as they actually have little ability to detect sweetness (little sweet tastebuds on their tongues) so are unlikely to consume sufficient amounts of chocolate to make themselves unwell.
If your pet has ingested chocolate, you may see some of the following clinical signs, usually within the four to 24 hours after ingestion of chocolate: rapid breathing, increased body temperature, vomiting, diarrhoea, muscle rigidity, increased heart rate, low blood pressure, seizures, weakness and in worst cases cardiac failure and coma. OF course there are many toxins (including baits) and diseases which have similar clinical signs, so if you observe any of the above, please contact your veterinarian.
So what should you do if you suspect your pet has eaten chocolate? Firstly find the wrapper/packet and try to estimate how much has been ingested. When you contact your vet the first question we will ask is how much was eaten in grams (g). On many occasion I have Google “Lindt Easter Bunny medium size” based on the owners description of the offending chocolate, to find out the weight in grams and what type of chocolate it was (dark, white etc)!
The next important piece of information is the weight of our pet in kilos (kg). Perhaps it is written down with the last vaccination, or maybe you remember this detail. If not, we can always estimate the weight from the breed and even size of dog relative to another breed. It is always preferred and safest to underestimate your pet’s weight and overestimate the amount of chocolate ingested. Armed with this information we can now research the expected level of toxicity.
I use the following calculator http://veterinaryclinic.com/chocolate/calc.html , ensuring it is in Kg and Grams. It will give you the likely level of risk, expected clinical signs for your dog. However there are others available if you Google. If you are concerned or unsure, or if the calculator says a Mild/Moderate/Severe reaction, please contact your vet immediately. There is no anecdote for chocolate toxicity, however timely decontamination of your pets gastrointestinal tract can limit the ongoing absorption of methylxanthines. Making your pet vomit will help remove most of the chocolate that remains in the stomach, followed by feeding ‘Activated Charcoal’ to absorb toxins of any remaining chocolate in the intestinal tract. In severe cases your pet may be anaesthetised and a hose used to pump the stomach clean and another hose to evacuate the colon. Yes, not so nice but decontamination saves lives.
Prevention is better than cure, so while you are enjoying an Easter egg (or three), or chocolate at any time of the year, please keep the chocolate locked away from your pets. Happy holidays everyone.
Daily brushing of your pet’s teeth is recommended, but any brushing is considered beneficial.
Here are some tips:
Brush in a stroke action, with very light pressure. Each stroke should start at the gum line and move towards the crown.
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a disease characterized by an inability of a pet to maintain blood glucose levels within the normal range. Glucose comes from the digestion of food and is used by the body as a source of energy. Glucose levels are controlled by several hormones, most importantly insulin aids the sugars to be used by the body’s cells, which in turn lowers the amount of glucose in the blood. The most common cause of DM in dogs is a failure to produce enough insulin, which results in persistently high blood glucose. This has many effects throughout the body, some of which you may notice as increased thirst, increased urinating and an increased appetite despite weight loss.
DM is a serious condition requiring life-long treatment with insulin injections in dogs. In cats, more than 80% of cats will go into remission after 1-3 months of treatment, and suddenly no longer require ongoing treatment (though up to 30% will relapse into DM again). Unfortunately the expected life span for diabetic pets will be reduced and potential health complications may arise in later years. Your pet will need regular revisits to the clinic and blood tests, to check on its progress and must be monitored at home to keep track of your pets DM.
Blood glucose is affected by three main factors which must all be kept in balance.
Your pet will require a special diet to help minimise blood glucose fluctuations and assist with weight loss if your pet is overweight. It is important to avoid obesity because this reduces the body’s responsiveness to insulin. We recommend Hill’s w/d for dogs which is high in fibre and low in fat. We recommend Hill’s m/d for cats which is high in protein and low in carbohydrates (sugar), even once your cat is in remission. Feeding times must be regular and consistent, with two meals 12 hours apart, the best option, especially in dogs. Remember: no tid-bits as this will unbalance the insulin: blood glucose ratios.
Insulin injections must also be regular and consistent to match the periods of high blood glucose after each meal. Once you and your pet develop a feeding and insulin routine, stick to it. The insulin injection should be given at the same times each day, often at the time of eating, or directly after, whichever suits your pet.
Exercise is good for your pet and can help prevent obesity. Care must be taken to ensure it doesn’t cause the blood glucose to fall to dangerous levels with extreme exercise and prolonged exercise. Keep exercise consistent and regular and be aware of any changes in behavior that may indicate falling blood glucose such as a depressed or lethargic pet that struggles to wake, walk, or be active. If you notice anything like this, call your vet immediately for advice.
An important part of managing diabetes is routine monitoring, both by you at home and by regular check-ups at the vet. Basic monitoring at home can be done by keeping an eye on water consumption, body weight, and even testing urine glucose.
With any diabetic pet, the two main problems which you may encounter are:
Looking after a pet with diabetes is a big commitment, both in time and money. You and your whole family must be aware of the importance of keeping the balance between food, insulin, and exercise. Consult your vet if you have any concerns about your pet’s health. Once you adjust to living with a diabetic pet, you will find it very rewarding to look after your pet in such a special way.
A seizure is a convulsion or ‘fit’ and may be generalised or localised/partial.
In a generalised or grand mal seizure, pets typically lie on their sides and are not responsive to people. They may make running movements with their legs, slobber, urinate and pass stools. When a generalised seizure begins, the dog stiffens and falls. They then begin jerking movements. They are not in pain during the seizure and cannot control their bladder or bowels.
Localised or partial seizures start in a particular area of the body, may be different on each side of the body and may or may not involve changes in the way that your pet responds to you. Mild partial seizures can include behaviours such as compulsive snapping of the jaw (“fly biting”) or obsessive tail chasing as well as chewing gum seizures.
Seizures generally have three stages – aura, itcal and post ictal phase:
There are many possible causes of seizures. The causes are classified into those caused by toxins (e.g. snail bait, compost etc), those where there is a problem within the brain (epilepsy, inflammatory diseases, cancer etc) and those caused by a problem outside the brain (including conditions causing low blood glucose or calcium levels, renal failure, liver failure etc).
When your pet is brought in to the clinic seizuring, medication will be used to stop the seizure. This is important because generalised seizures are very physical and pets can do themselves damage – both physical injury and internal damage from the associated rise in body temperature. The second reason early medical intervention is important, is to prevent the development of a condition called ‘status epilepticus’, where seizures continue indefinitely and become less responsive to medications.
Your pet will be clinically examined and a blood test performed to help diagnose the reason for the seizures. Procedures to remove toxins from the body may be indicated. Alternatively, other diagnostic tests that can be done to help diagnose the cause behind the seizures are advanced imaging such as CT / MRI and/or a spinal tap (spinal fluid analysis).
What is the prognosis for my pet?
The treatment required and the long term success rate will depend on the cause of the seizuring. Your veterinarian will discuss ongoing management with you
Many pets will have skin conditions that are allergy based. This can be an allergy to fleas (flea bite hypersensitivity), grasses or dust mites (contact allergies), foods (less common), or Atopy – a syndrome where pets are allergic to everyday things including the above due to a barrier/skin dysfunction. These pets often have chronic/multiple ear/eye/skin infections. This skin dysfunction is primarily/reduction in or lack of protective oils in the skin.
Support for these animals is a three-pronged approach:
If your pet currently has serve redness, lumps/bumps, cuts from self-scratching which have become inflamed and infected, this needs to be addressed first.
It is recommended you start a food trial to check if your pet has a food allergy (usually a meat protein). Use a specially designed non-allergen food or a novel protein such as kangaroo or rabbit for a minimum of six weeks. During this time your pet should NOT have any other food, including treats, human food and flavoured wormers.
If your pet has a flea allergy, treat the pet with a spot-on or oral monthly flea treatment and even consider daily flea tablets (Capstar) for heavy infestations.
Cleaning the environment of flea eggs/larvae/pupae is 95% of the work, by weekly HOT wash (>55’C) everything you can that the pet is in contact with and then thoroughly vacuuming everything else. Don’t forget the seat in the car and even your floorboards and around the architraves.
If your pet has a contact allergy, avoid grasses especially in Spring and Summer, as much as possible.
Depending on the severity of the contact allergy or Atopy, you can do some or all of these points. The further down the list you go, the more severe the allergy.
Rabbits and guinea pigs are popular pets with kids as well as adults. However these small pets are highly susceptible to heat stroke, mosquito borne diseases and poor husbandry practices.
Diet is a big key for a healthy rabbit. A rabbit's diet should consist of 80% grass or plain hay and 20% fresh leafy green vegetables such as broccoli leaves, cabbage, diced celery, endive, silverbeet, Asian lettuce but not iceberg lettuce. Occasional treats such as apple, carrot, banana are ok, but limit this to a dessert spoon amount.
Never feed grains, seeds (unfortunately common pet food mixes!), nuts, corn, breads or breakfast cereals. These foods can upset the normal bacteria in the rabbit's and cause gut stasis and cause dental disease from poor chewing and teeth of grinding.
All rabbits require a minimum of 2-3 hours of unfiltered sunlight and exercise a day. You rabbit should be able to hop at least 3-5 strides in its enclosure. Heat stress is very common so if the daily temperature is expected to rise over 28º C, the rabbit should be brought inside. Shade and ice blocks are not adequate to reduce ambient air temperature your rabbit breathes. Outdoor hutches should also have a solid floor with very deep hay, never wire or slat floors which can cause pressure sores on feet. Mosquito netting is important if your hutch is outside.
It is recommended to desex rabbits to reduce male aggression and female uterine cancer. Calicivirus vaccination at 10-12 weeks of age is advised. A booster is recommended every ten months.
Health care is very similar to rabbits. They do require Vitamin C rich foods such as strawberries, kale and parsley. Desexing females to reduce ovarian cysts forming. It is not advisable to keep guinea pigs with rabbits as healthy rabbits can introduce respiratory diseases to guinea pigs.
If your rabbit, guinea pig or other pocket pet needs to see the vet, Our Pet Mobile Vet will travel to you.
There’s a popular myth that cats don’t require the same amount of veterinary care as dogs. Some owners assume these self-sufficient creatures are fine unless they show obvious signs of sickness. Cats are stoic creatures and will usually mask illness and pain.
Most kittens will be desexed around six months of age, but if your kitten is from a shelter, they may have done the procedure before adoption. Kittens require three or four feeds per day, or food left out until the age of six months, then fed twice a day for life. They also require fortnightly deworming until six months of age, the either monthly spot-on deworming or three-monthly oral deworming for life. At one year of age, you can transition your kitten to adult food.
Adult cats should see the vet at least once a year for a check-up, including weight and dental check, and vaccinations. Cats hide pain and discomfort very well, so it often takes a thorough history and discussion with your vet to identify when something’s wrong.
There’s a common misconception that indoor cats aren’t exposed to any dangers and don’t need these vaccinations or deworming. However, we can bring in viruses and parasite eggs from the environment into the home on our feet and clothing and expose our indoor cat to these.
When your cat reaches about eight years of age, your cat is considered senior and may need some baseline blood and urine tests. Early detection of problems means changes to diet or lifestyle can be implemented earlier. After the age of ten, cats often see the vet as many as twice a year, particularly if they suffer from obesity, diabetes, arthritis, thyroid problems, or kidney issues. Remember, cats are very stoic and ‘sleeping more’ is not a sign of old age and more often a sign of underlying discomfort or disease.
If your kitten, cat or senior pus needs to see the vet, Our Pet Mobile Vet will travel to you.
Does your pet’s breath smell? Don’t mistake this with “just ate dinner” breath, or “found something strange outside and put it in their mouth” breath. If your pet has bad breath all the time, that’s one of the first noticeable signs of dental disease.
By age four years, 85% of dogs and cats show signs or oral disease, so it’s important to keep those teeth clean! There are several signs of periodontal disease in pets including bad breath, difficulty chewing, oral discomfort, and blood-tinged drool.
There are many ways of improving your pet’s dental health. Starting when your pets are young brushing their regularly (at least three times a week) is by far the best way to decrease the risk of dental disease. Using a pet ‘finger brush’ and specific pet toothpaste, you can gently work around the gums and teeth, brushing in the direction from the gums to the crown of each tooth. Regular dental exams, dental chews and water additives can also reduce any build-up of hard tartar forming at the gum line.
As nearly 2/3 of a tooth is under the gum line it is tough to fully check for dental disease by just looking. When hard tartar builds up it presses on the gums, which recede in response exposing the root. This gap is soon filled with more tartar and the problem continues until the teeth are loose and the sockets become infected. This can lead to tooth root abscesses and even bone abscesses. Under anaesthesia it is easy (and comfortable!) to thoroughly probe under the gum line, 360 degrees around each tooth root, for cavities just like when we are at the dentist.
Periodic ultrasonic scale and cleaning removes heavy tartar, flushes bacteria from under the gum line and polishes the enamel, making it difficult for new bacteria to stick to the tooth. Hand scaling alone in a conscious patient is at best cosmetic and at worst, incomplete, missing the inner surface of the teeth, between the teeth and under the gum line.
Always remember to check your pets teeth regularly; make it part of your play or grooming session each week. Prevention is better (and cheaper) than cure, so “Open up and say Ahhh!!!!”
Why does your veterinarian recommend routine testing of blood and urine, particularly in senior dogs and cats? The goal of every veterinarian is to identify any problems your pet may have very early, because sometimes, early detection can mean better treatment options or possibly slowing the progression of a disease. It is amazing what can be learned about your pet’s health with a few tests conducted on samples of blood and urine.
Drawing the blood sample or catching a bit of urine is the first part of the equation. So what happens after your veterinarian obtains samples of your pet’s blood and urine? Your vet will select a suitable set of tests, depending on what is the concern: old age, weight loss, lethargic or to monitor medications used to control a disease.
Blood test can review the number and quality of red and white blood cells, electrolytes, blood sugar levels, liver, pancreas and kidney function and more. More specific tests may be required depending on the results of the initial screening tests. Blood tests also monitor the levels of certain medications including epilepsy medications, or even hormone levels prior to breeding.
Urine testing is used to look for glucose in the urine, blood and inflammatory cells even protein or bacteria in the urine.
The risk for some diseases increases with the age of your pet. Listed below are some common problems found in senior dogs and cats, many of which can be present without your pet showing any outward signs until the disease is quite advanced. So the next time your vet recommends that blood be drawn for a specific test or for wellness screening, remember: Early detection can make a difference!
Cats:
Dogs:
If it is time for your pets health check or medication review, or you feel your pet is not 100%, remember blood and urine can tell us a lot.
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