Cushing's syndrome, named after the person who originally discovered it, the American physician Harvey W. Cushing, can occur not only in humans but also in dogs.
In the following, you will learn about the possible causes of Canine Cushing's Syndrome, the symptoms it causes in affected dogs and how it can be treated.
Cushing's syndrome, or Cushing's disease, is a hormone disorder. In dogs suffering from Cushing's syndrome, the adrenal cortex produces too much of the stress hormone cortisol, which in the long run leads to various complaints.
Cushing's syndrome in dogs can have various causes. The trigger is often a tumour in the dog's pituitary gland, which controls the production of cortisol in the adrenal cortex by releasing the hormone ACTH. This is called pituitary Cushing's syndrome.
Occasionally, however, a tumour in the adrenal cortex can also be responsible for the increased secretion of cortisol and thus for the dog's Cushing's syndrome.
Another possible cause is the long-term treatment of the dog with cortisone in too high doses. In this case, it is the so-called iatrogenic Cushing's syndrome.
In principle, Cushing's syndrome can occur in any dog, although it mainly affects older animals, and bitches are affected more often than males. In addition, some dog breeds have a genetic predisposition to Cushing's disease.
The excessively high cortisol level is noticeable in dogs with Cushing's disease through a series of symptoms. Usually, the symptoms occur only sporadically at first and increase over time, although the actual symptoms may vary from animal to animal.
The gradual development sometimes makes it difficult to notice Cushing's syndrome in dogs promptly. Since the hormone disorder occurs especially in older animals, many dog owners consider the symptoms at the beginning to be quite normal accompanying symptoms of the ageing process.
In addition to visible symptoms such as skin and coat problems or an increased appetite, Cushing's syndrome can have a number of other consequences for dogs that are not obvious at first glance.
Since the permanently increased cortisol level leads to, among other things, changes in the bone structure, dogs with Cushing's disease tend to develop osteoporosis and thus more bone fractures. In addition, ligament tears occur more frequently in affected dogs.
Furthermore, dogs with Cushing's disease may develop an enlarged liver and diabetes. In some cases, potentially life-threatening thromboses also occur.
If you observe possible symptoms of Cushing's syndrome in your dog, you should not dismiss them as normal signs of old age. Instead, contact a veterinarian promptly to clarify the cause.
The veterinarian can examine your dog and check whether the symptoms are indeed caused by Cushing's syndrome. Diagnosis is often difficult and requires numerous tests to detect the excessive secretion of cortisol and to determine the cause.
In addition to blood tests, urine and ultrasound examinations can also be carried out as part of the diagnosis.
The measures required for treatment depend on the exact test results or the trigger of Cushing's syndrome in your dog.
If it was caused by the administration of cortisone, this must be stopped. It is important that the administration is not stopped immediately, but that the dose is slowly reduced. This is because your dog's body first has to gradually get used to producing enough cortisol again. If your dog does not have this possibility, a cortisol deficiency will occur, which can be life-threatening in the worst case.
If Cushing's syndrome is caused by a tumour in the dog's adrenal cortex, your vet can check whether this can be surgically removed. However, this is not always possible.
As in the case of a tumour in the pituitary gland, treatment of tumours in the adrenal cortex is therefore often carried out with the help of drugs that suppress the production of cortisol.
If your dog is treated for Cushing's syndrome with medication, lifelong treatment is required. If this is the case, regular check-ups with your vet should be carried out with the help of blood tests to see if the dosage needs to be adjusted.
In addition to veterinary treatment, it is important to adjust the diet of a dog with Cushing's syndrome. The food for the four-legged friend should be as easily digestible as possible so that, among other things, the dog's liver is relieved.
For this purpose, we recommend our hypoallergenic dog food with insects. Our food containing the larvae of the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) has excellent digestibility.
It contains high-quality fats and easily digestible insect protein that provides your dog with all the essential amino acids they need. At the same time, your four-legged friend’s liver is not unnecessarily burdened, as fewer metabolic waste products are produced thanks to the food’s good digestibility.
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If the Cushing's syndrome in your dog is recognised and treated in time, the chances are usually quite good that the therapy will be effective and that the four-legged friend will have quite a few good years ahead of them without any major restriction to their quality of life.