One of the more difficult health issues to diagnose in dogs is Cushing's disease. Cushing's, or hyperadrenocorticism, affects middle aged dogs most prevalently and is only found through a series of blood tests.
-
Symptoms
-
Some common symptoms associated with Cushing's disease are hair loss, excessive eating, drinking, urination, panting and muscle weakness.
Muscles
-
Dogs affected with Cushing's often suffer a breakdown of muscle tissue, resulting in a loss of mass, along with a weakening of the muscles. Generally, a dog will not experience muscle spasms with the disease.
Activity
-
As muscles are weakened, dogs will be less tolerant of exercise and show greater lethargy. In addition, they may not jump as well. This can lead to the assumption that the problem is related to aging, making diagnosis more difficult and delaying proper treatment.
Appearance
-
Despite excessive eating and weight gain, the dog's appearance will worsen. Fat is redistributed to the abdomen, and along with muscle breakdown, leaves a bony appearance to the head and spine.
Treatment
-
Depending upon the cause of Cushing's, veterinarians have several treatment options including surgery to remove adrenal tumors, radiation and chemotherapy to shrink tumors of the pituitary gland, and other drug therapies. There is no cure for Cushing's but it can be managed.
-