Cushing"s Disease and Adrenal Gland Disorders - Dog Health

1. Increased thirst and urination

2. Increased appetite

3. Fatter body and thinner legs

4. Thinning coat and thinner skin.

5. Skin bacterial problems causing Acne and black heads

What Causes Cushing’s Disease?

There are two types of adrenal gland disorders, the first and most common is that the glands are over active (Cushing’s disease), and the second is when the gland is under active (Addison’s disease).

These small glands are situated on the front edge of each kidney and their job is to produce a chemical called glucocorticoid, but this chemical cannot be produced without first getting the message from another gland in the brain called a pituitary gland. The pituitary gland(gland in the brain) should tell the adrenal glands exactly how much of the chemical glucocorticoid to produce, but in the circumstances of Cushing’s disease something is going wrong along this process causing the glands to make too much of this chemical and thus upsetting the balance of the dogs body.

The production of too much of this chemical could be due to two things, either there is a problem in the gland within the brain (pituitary) and it is sending out too many signals to the adrenal, or the adrenal gland itself is making too much of this chemical at a time when it is sent a message.

In most cases the cause is a pituitary gland that overproduces for no apparent reason with a possibility of a tumor, and in the case of the adrenal gland, tumours are the most common of causes, if there becomes a tumor on the adrenal gland then it will become a larger size and thus produce more/ too much of the chemical each time it is asked to do so. The same implies for the pituitary gland in the brain, if it too gets a tumour and increases in size, the amount of messages sent will increase also resulting in the same consequences as the above problem.

what your vet may say or do

After a quick examination resulting in findings of the above symptoms the vet will probably want to take further blood tests and a ACTH stimulation test for Cushing’s disease.

This will then normally be followed by further more specialised tests once the Cushing’s disease has been confirmed to narrow down the area that is causing the problem, this test is called a dexamethasone suppression test and tells the vet if the problem area is the adrenal gland or the pituitary gland.

The process then is the same wherever the problem area is, that is to reduce the size of the adrenal gland because operating and using anything that affects the brain as you may suspect is a more dangerous task and holds higher risk. There are two options the vet may want to take, the first is to surgically remove a part of the gland which is often used only if a tumour is the problem, or using a drug called vetoryl which comes in tablet form and is given to the dog daily for the rest of their lives to shrink the gland down to the correct size and help maintain the patients good health.

The drawbacks of this drug are that it can be expensive and needs to be given once a day but is a lot quicker than other available drugs and has little or no side effects to your dog.

For more information on Cushing’s Disease and Adrenal Gland Disorders or Dog Health take a look at this Dog Breeds website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_M_Williams

Dog Skin Conditions is a very broad subject and is most open to misinterpretation. Veterinarians diagnose dog skin conditions on a daily basis, however many times, a visit to the vet is not necessary. There has been an open discussion forum within the last two months in which this topic of discussion was addressed. Stereotypically, veterinarians believe they are better equipped to handle more life threatening illnesses of pets, if people could learn a bit more about some topical illnesses for which they could “home treat” their pet. We will cover at least four of these type dog skin conditions for pet owners.

Ring Worm

Caused by a special form of fungi and not by a worm at all. The fungi feed upon the dead cells of the skin causing a red lesion with a ring of scale and normal recovering skin in the center. This disease was erroneously named due to the visual it provided. “Dermatophytes” is the fungi responsible and the meaning of it is “plants that live on the skin”. They can live for years. All it takes is skin contact with a spore to cause infection, therefore it is wise to think of preventative measures rather than cure.

Hot Spots

Superficial bacterial infections of the skin. It can be caused by anything that irritates the skin enough to allow bacteria to get a foothold and grow into a dog skin condition. Itchiness is a result of this which can cause your pet to chew or scratch giving it the opportunity to spread to a larger infection area. They can appear on any part of the dogs body and in any environment.

Yeast Infections

Caused by a yeast called Candida Albicans. This is an opportunistically yeast that normally inhibits the body and intestinal tract of the dog. It is a harmful bacteria which can break into two different type infections namely Primary Yeast Infection and Secondary Yeast Infection.

Itch Sores

Itch Sores are as a result of Yeast Infections.

Health Maintenance is important for the treatment of dog skin conditions.

Vanessa Fisher is a dog expert and is highly respected within the canine industry. The products she offers are of the highest standard when it comes to treating dog skin conditions such as dog dry skin, or dog skin problems resulting from bacterial infections. Without a visit to the veterinarian.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vanessa_Fisher

Ringworm is one of the most common diseases in pets, especially dogs. Unlike its name, Ringworm is not a worm but fungi called Dermatophytes that thrives on dead tissues present on skin surface and follows circular path to spread infection.

Ringworm is an infectious skin disease and your pet usually picks it up from his surroundings like kennels, rodent burrows or from other animals who are already infected. There are about 35 species of ringworm that can affect dogs. The most common is ‘Mircosporum Canis’, which accounts for majority of ringworm cases

One symptom of ringworms in dogs is a lesion on the skin that looks like a rapidly growing circular patch of broken hair. The patch may look inflamed and may appear to have dandruff-like flakes on it. The most common areas where it can occur are face, ear tips, tails and paws.

If you find any of these symptoms, take your pet to the veterinarian. He may diagnose the disease by plucking hairs from the infected area and examining it under ultra violet light. On finding fungi traits, he may advise some anti fungal pills or topical medications for your pet

Humans need to take some precautions since ringworm is an infectious disease. Be sure to keep kids away from an infected pet, and adults should wear gloves when handling any items that have come in contact with the animal. Also keep your dog neat and clean and clip his hairs short since longer hairs promote unhygienic conditions.

Although, ringworm is a mild disorder the problems due to its infectious nature and slow recovery time can be problematic.