Addisons disease

[jane leichter]

We have the most wonderful goldendoodle,Hagal , who is a consumer owned service dog. Trained by me,since 10 weeks used by my now very ill, husband. Over a year ago at not quite 3,he passed his service dog "boards" with UDS in Lancaster, PA. Hagal,whose name means "the wave" in Hebrew, is about 75 pounds . He is smaller than skipJACK who was a rescue doodle with us for 12 years before Hagal.
one week ago ,i was up all night with a very ill pup. He was vomiting constantly, had become dehydrated. I rushed him to the vet. Shared the info wirh my service dog family..one to the next, ideas welcomed. .well sabina, who was a founder of the program and a poodle breeder for decades..got back thru dr.desi that it sounded like Addisons disease! That we should have the vet do the $200 test, treat with steroids immediately.
They balked. I called back. Dr.desi called them. I called agsin.. they insisted it was NOT Addisons. .but finally agreed to waste our money.. (little did we know the bill would be close to $3000..for 3 days..i havent even resolved thay part yet)
Well, Sabina was correct, our much loved pup did have Addisons and it has still been touch and go..withmultiple input from several different vets..certainly not going back to my now former one ( the story is long )

Here is the question : are there other Addisons doodles out there?

This is a testable, And preventable genetic disease. YOU JUST DONT BREED CARRIERS. PERIOD! HAGAL shouldn't be here. But he is, and after the thousands of dollars and hours into his training, and thelove we have for him, we will find a way to pay the bills.
Once regulated, he can evidently have a reasonably normal, if costly ,life.
( this is happening in the middleof a 500 mile move from one farm to another and with my husband on hospice care. Just the kinds of stress an Addisons dog doesn't need,tho he is used to the traveling, and grew up in training at doctors visits..seems like getting his summer clipping put him over the top, tho with a UDS trainer, who does him all the time).

FYI..I HAD sensed something was wrong with Hagal for months. He just wasnt himself..
couldn't put a finger on it.. thanks doodle world. Hope to hear from you .



*Post edited by Admin to remove breeder name.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Roo was diagnosed with Addison's at one and a half years old.  He is now seven and a half.  There are two methods of treating Addison's in dogs that I am aware of: one is a pill everyday, and one is a percorten v shot once every 25 days ( a pill may be also given on days where high stress is expected -groomer, etc.)  Available fresh water is essential to Addison's control. My vet feels strongly that the shot provides more regulated blood pressure and a healthier long lived dog.  So I go with the shot every 25 days (can stretch to 28 if scheduling is a problem).  It is expensive about $200 per shot here in the LA area.  The upside is that Roo is very healthy happy boy, indistinguishable from his non Addison's brother in energy, appetite and general health.  We did have a short time ( maybe a few weeks) of Roo not being able to hold his pee.  I just reverted to a  modified puppy schedule and took him out to pee ( he usually takes himself out the doggy door) every hour or so. He seemed to get the hang of it fairly quickly.  I always remind the groomer that he has Addison's and must have water and pee breaks.

Sounds like you are working with a good vet and will work things out rather quickly with Hagel.  You have a lot on your hands and heart - sending kind thoughts and warm fuzzy feelings your way. 

[jane leichter]

Thank you guys for the encouragement! Yesterday was a big milestone as we didn't have any peeing accidents. Hagal was more engaged and less logy. We have gone all night with our a trip outside off this porch to pee.but it is rainy and hagal doesn't like going out in the rain anyway. Time to catch 40 winks before the day,begins

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

It sounds like you are making progress on the meds. 

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Wow...you are dealing with a lot of stuff in your life. I hope Hagal starts feeling better when he gets on track with his meds. I am also very sorry about what you are going through with your husband and will say a prayer on his behalf. 

[jane leichter]

To update :we are working hard with our wonderful new vet who also cares for the UDS service dogs to get Hagal o track with his new meds. She said he has been difficult to regulate. .and I totally agree. We are seeing glimmers of our former pup; and yesterday he went the whole day without an accident....then,as i was returning from a quick trip to the store, he turned again into a peeing ma hine. We took him out, he peed a bucketfull, bsck inside and did it again 3 minutes later.looking sad and surprised. I got him out on the porch between trips putside and mopping. It finally slowed down by 8pm.
but. On the whole, a big improvement. He has actually gotten his ball a few times. He also felt well enough (or hungry enough with th e steriods, to counter surf for the first time. I was helping my husband make his way up the stairs, and he scarfed a 5oz block off Monterey jack..
i was angry but so glad he had the energy to get up on the counter! Right before bed i had left a watermelon rind out to give the goat in the morning, Hagal ate that too. The counters will be empty going forward! We are s5ill talking with th e vet every morning. How long did it take for you addisons moms to get your pups on an even keel?

[jane leichter]

Thank you for the reply. Right now im feeling intimidated.
Hopefully we will be able to manage him successfully.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Here's a link to a great website with tons of info, resources, and support for owners of Addison's Dogs: http://www.addisondogs.com/

And more information on diagnosing and treating Addison's Disease: http://www.2ndchance.info/addison's.htm

Post from Rae about her doodle, Bella:

We found out that our Goldendoodle, Bella had Addison's when she was 14 months old. You need to have a blood test done and then a special test for Addison's if the blood test indicates the possibility of Addison's. The sooner you get her tested the better! Percorten is the medication, injections every 28 days for Bella along with daily predisone. This is a life long treatment and it took us six months to find the exact levels of meds she needed. The Percorten is expensive! Be ready for that! The best deal for us was having our vet fax the prescription to 1-800-PetMeds which had the best price (about $150+ for 4cc bottle), they mailed the bottle to us and, because we are chicken about giving shots, we took the bottle to the vet office and a tech gave her the shot at no cost to us. Your dog will need on going monitoring by blood tests so also be prepared for that. The Addison Dog web site is simply wonderful....join the group and you'll get tons of information and great support. Be strong and love your dog every minute of everyday. Once we got Bella's treatment set you would never know anything was wrong with her. You can do this and your sweet pup is certainly worth it!

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[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Wow, I'm  so sorry to hear about both Hagal and your husband.  Certainly sounds like you have your hands full at the moment.  There are many other Addison's dogs here on DK.  If you do a search (search box is in the upper right hand corner of the page if you are on computer and just type Addison's you will get lots of previous conversations.  There is also a medical group and I'm sure there are discussions there as well.  I personally did some research a while back as when our Sophie originally got sick the Vet thought that it was Addisons (and the test wasn't $200, ugh).  Anyway, long story short in hind site I now would have taken that diagnosis gladly as it turned out she had Lymphoma.  Check out the medical group and I'm pretty sure that you can find some folks there that can help guide you in the right direction with ideas and support.  I know there are many doodles here living good lives now that they have everything under control and I hope that you can have the same with your Hagal.  Hugs to you and prayers for your Husband.  Keep us updated.