[edgarj]

My dog, Jackson, (1.5 yr old Rottweiler) lost his appetite 5 days ago and has eaten very little since, despite cooking him chicken and bacon... foods healthy dogs can't resist, he wouldn't eat anything but still had normal H2O consumption. The vet initially thought it was acute renal failure (poison toxicity... antifreze/rat-poison, or congenital) and we tentatively braced ourselves to the possibility of putting him down. Based on his blood chem, they ran a test for Addison's Disease (a condition suffered by JFK), and the test came back positive.

It's a disease affecting all breed, albeit at a low frequency, and is "the common name for hypoadrenocorticism, or adrenal insufficiency. It is a disease with symptoms that are common to many other ailments, making diagnosis difficult and sometimes a process of elimination. But once Addison’s is correctly diagnosed, a properly treated dog can live a normal, active life." In short his adrenal cortex was failing and he wasn't making specific endocrines needed to balance his Na/K ratio, which led to the lethargy and loss of appetite associated with an Addisonian Crisis...

Good news is that his kidneys arent failing, bad news is that he needs a lifelong steroidal suplement. It's a very managable condition these days, and our vet made a great catch in testing him for this rare condition. Check out www.addisondogs.com for more info if your pooch exhibits acute loss of appetite, GI ailements, hind quarter sensitivity/muscle spasms, and lethargy... it may save a life.

Pictured is Jackson at 6mos and our sweet oddball, Otis (aka "Scrotis")... a Shar Pei/G.Retriever/Lion mix.

[shragon]

glad your dog is okay!

good looking dogs too!

btw... try resizing your pic next time.

[William]

oh man lucky for you your dog is still alive...

I had a Yorkie terror smart little stubborn dog
it brought lots of attention where ever we went

[Stephii_Rawr]

aww poor puppy =( i hope everything gets better... my mommy gave my baby away a couple months ago.. now i only see him once every two weeks...

anyway.. good luck i hope everything turns out better

[ehhhwik]

im so glad your doggies are ok and they look very cute in the pic, you just made me give my 2 little babies (Maltese) a big hug

[edgarj]

We're so very lucky. A colleague of mine is a Vet. Pathologist and sent us to the hospital after hearing of the sudden loss of appetite.

Loss of appetite (>1 day) = vet. Sage advice.

[Year's_End]

Wow, that's good news. Unfortunately, one of our two dogs ran off one day but never came back (maltese). We suspected some old lady stole her (they usually find their way home w/in the following hour or so), and I swear if I ever find the person that (might) have taken her while I'm driving, good luck identifying that person after I'm done with 'em.

[ksfrogman]

Glad they figured this out. President JFK had Addison's disease too.

[ctgazer]

nice looking dog's....glad to hear everything worked out

[tgom222]

Glad your dog's doing ok. What kind is your other dog? looks like a sharpei golden retriever mix?

[leejoobin]

good dogs.

[canucklion]

your puppies are lucky to have you as their pop