feeding dogs with addison disease

[lneve]

Hi I'm new to this group and hope i'm messaging correctly  I have a 6 year old tibetan terrier with addisons disease which is controlled by monthly injections and prednisolone.  His health is generally good, the steroids making him hungry all the time.  I currently feed him Burns dry food.  He seems generally lethargic but his blood tests show he is in good health so I was wondering if a change of food would benefit him.  Raw or wet feeding is not an option.

Thanks Lynne

[Dottie]

I just wanted to say hello and welcome to the forum. I haven’t any experience of canine Addison’s Disease so I apologise for not being able to give any specific advice. I hope that someone will come along and be able to help.

Having had dogs on steroids I know just what you mean about the hunger issue. Burns has a lot of carbohydrate content which will probably help to sate the appetite but from experience I think that fat also provides this.  I am wondering if the lethargy is part of the disease? Have you asked your vet? Do you think it would be helpful to provide suitable  small home cooked food toppers? Chicken, white fish or similar? Cooked and puréed vegetables might be well received and provide extra nourishment.  The other thing you could do is to ask the vet what nutritional elements to look for eg fat/protein percentages and if there is anything to avoid. We could then help to search using the Directory.