MISCELLANEOUS

Addison’s Disease is the common name for hypoadrenocorticism, a disease of the adrenal cortex, the outer layer of the adrenal glands. The adrenal cortex produces cortisol, which regulates the body’s response to stress, and aldosterone, which controls electrolytes an dfluid balance in the body. Addison’s disease can cause a variety of symptoms ranging from weakness, listlessness, vomiting, and diarrhea to life-threatening dehydration, hypoglycemia, irregular heart rate, and shock. -Dog Fancy, June 2009

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Autoimmune Disease is “confused” not “weakened”. It is where the ability of the immune system to recognize the “self” marker is lost, and it begins to attack and reject the body’s own tissue as foreign. One specific tissue type such as red blood cells may be affected, or a generalized illness such as systemic lupus may result. What causes the immune system to short circuit and start rejecting normal body tissue? Many theories exist, but the ultimate answer is “We don’t know.” Jean Dodds, a veterinarian studying immunology, feels that multivalent modified-live vaccines overstimulate the immune system. Others blame environmental pollutants or food preservatives such as ethoxyquin, an antioxidant found in most dog foods. There is strong evidence for a genetic factor in the development of autoimmune disease in many species. And some cases occur spontaneously, causing damage to kidneys, lungs, or thyroid gland. -canismajor.com

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Demodex

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Hemophilia A (Factor VIII deficiency) is the most common inherited bleeding disorder in dogs. Usually, females carry the gene for the disease without showing any signs, while males do show signs. … Treatment requires repeated transfusions of whole blood or plasma until bleeding has been controlled.

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Hypothyroidism is a disorder of the thyroid gland — two small butterfly-shaped lobes located in the neck. This gland has a number of functions, but is most well known for regulating your dog’s metabolic rate. In hypothyroidism, the thyroid gland is underactive, and unable to secrete enough thyroid hormone. This, in turn, decreases your dog’s metabolism. -thryroid-info.com

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Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA) is a disease in which the immune system reacts against red cells just as it would against a foreign bacteria or virus. When this happens, red cells are destroyed, anemia results, and oxygen delivery is greatly reduced. This leads to a number of common clinical signs and, if left untreated, death.

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Juvenile Renal Dysplasia (JRD) is a genetic disorder (with a DNA test) that has been identified in some Shilohs.

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Lipoma is one of the most commonly encountered lumps seen by veterinarians during a physical exam. These soft, rounded, non-painful masses, usually present just under the skin but occasionally arising from connective tissues deep between muscles, are generally benign. That is they stay in one place, do not invade surrounding tissues and do no metastasize to other areas of the body. They grow to a certain size and just sit there in the tissues and behave themselves. Most lipomas do not “have” to be removed. Occasionally, though, lipomas will continue to grow into huge fat deposits that are a discomfort to the dog and present a surgical challenge to remove. And even more rarely, some lipomas will be malignant and spread throughout the dog’s body. -petcenter.com

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Lumps & Bumps includes warts, lipoma and more — “During her lifetime your dog can produce a lot of lumps and bumps on her body. And while I always recommend you have a new lump or bump examined by your veterinarian, very often these growths are benign and nothing to worry about.

It’s not an emergency situation when you discover a new lump or bump. It becomes serious, though, if a lump begins growing rapidly or changing characteristics. So if you notice a fast-growing bump or one that seems to look slightly different than you remember, I recommend you make a vet appointment sooner rather than later.” [read more Mercola Healthy Pet]

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Perianal Fistulas

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Sebaceous Adenitis also known as glaucomatous sebaceous adenitis or “SA”, is an uncommon inflammatory skin disease that leads to the destruction of sebaceous glands. The cause of sebaceous adenitis is unknown but the end result is inflammation of the sebaceous or oil gland associated with the hair follicles. Loss of the sebaceous gland leads to dysfunction of normal hair growth which results in hair loss. The underlying cause is probably a combination of genetic predisposition and immune-mediated sebaceous gland inflammation.

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Umbilical Hernias 

An umbilical hernia is an opening in the muscle wall where the umbilicus (belly button) is located. The hernia allows the abdominal contents to pass through the opening.

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Vitiligo affected dogs develop bleached splotches of skin that occasionally also affect the hair coat and claws. Most splotches are on the face, especially the bridge of the muzzle or around the eyes. Similar patches also appear on both the mucous membranes (tissues that line the inside of the mouth and nose), and perhaps in the retina (inner layer of the eyeball). The hair that grows on areas affected by vitiligo sometimes turns white. Lesions surround the nares, eyes, anus, mouth and genitals with no inflammation or scaling. Affected areas may re-pigment, remain unchanged or wax and wane. Usually the full extent of the depigmentation occurs within 3 to 6 months of the onset of the disease.

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von Willibrand’s Disease (vWD) is a blood disease caused by a deficiency of von Willebrand Factor (vWF), an adhesive glycoprotein in the blood required for normal platelet binding (i.e., clotting) at the sites of small blood vessel injuries. In addition, vWF is a carrier protein for coagulation Factor VIII (necessary for blood to clot). A lack of vWF impairs platelet stickiness and clumping. Similar to hemophilia in humans, this condition can lead to excessive bleeding following an injury, due to the lack of clotting. [read more]

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