Addison's disease in dogs involves failure of the adrenal glands to produce essential hormones, causing life-threatening crises but also responding remarkably well to lifelong treatment that restores excellent quality of life.
The journey to Addison's diagnosis is often long and painful — dogs may experience months of vague illness before the diagnosis is made. The Addisonian crisis is a severe, acute emergency causing profound weakness, pain, and shock. Once diagnosed, however, Addison's disease is one of the most successfully managed endocrine conditions in dogs. Monthly injections and daily low-dose steroid replacement restore complete normality in most cases. With good management, dogs with Addison's experience essentially normal daily welfare.