Cushing’s disease

Living With A Cushing’s Dog: Viva’s Story

Viva was diagnosed with Cushing’s disease. Cushing’s disease is caused by excessive levels of the hormone cortisol. Most of the time, the underlying cause is a tumor on the pitutiary or adrenal glands. It can, however, also develop in dogs who are on a long-term treatment with steroids. Treatment is aimed at normalizing cortisol levels. Thank you, Kenzo, for sharing…

by Jana Rade

Canine Cushing’s Disease: Viva Has Cushing’s

Cushing’s disease is caused by excess cortisol in the body. Canine Cushing’s disease is most prevalent in middle-aged to older dogs, especially poodles, dachshunds, Boston terriers, boxers, and beagles. You can learn why too much cortisol in a dog’s body is a problem here. Viva’s story Helping Viva to get better and improve health is a lot like peeling the…

by Jana Rade

Jana Rade

I am a graphic designer by day, dog health advocate, dog writer, member of the Dog Writers Association of American and an award-winning author. Jasmine, the Rottweiler of my life, was the largest female from her litter. We thought we were getting a healthy dog. Getting a puppy from a backyard breeder was our first mistake. Endless veterinary visits without a diagnosis or useful treatment later, I realized that I had to take Jasmine's health care in my own hands. I learned the hard way that simply seeing a vet is not always enough. There is more to finding a good vet than finding the closest clinic down the street. And, sadly, there is more to advocating for your dog's health than visiting a veterinarian. It should be enough but it often is not. With Jasmine, it took five years to finally get a diagnosis for her initial issue. Unfortunately, other problems had snowballed for that in the meantime. Jasmine's health challenges became a crash course in understanding dog health issues and how to go about getting a proper diagnosis and treatment. I had to learn and I had to learn fast. Helping others through my challenges and experience has become my mission and Jasmine's legacy. I now try to help people how to recognize and understand signs of illness in their dogs, how to work with their veterinarian and when to seek a second opinion. My goal is to save others the steep curve of having to learn things the hard way as I did. That is the mission behind my blog and behind my writing. That is why I wrote Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog, which has turned out being an award-winning guide to dog owners . What I'm trying to share encompasses 20 years of experience.

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