Australian Shepherd with Addison's Disease

My Aussie is about four years old now. He was diagnosed with Addison's back in July. Is it normal for a dog with Addison's to never full bounce back? The majority of the time he just lays around, sprawls out on his stomach, lays on the coolest floors possible. I try playing with him and I can keep his attention for maybe three minutes, then he goes and lays down. I took him for a walk one day and about 2/3 of the way he slowed down to a drag, I ended up having to carry him home. Is it possible there could be something more going on, or perhaps he needs a change in his medication? Thanks.

[Ghilly]

When a dog is afflicted with Addison's Disease (hypoadrenocorticism), the pituitary gland doesn't produce enough cortisol or aldosterol.  Dogs who suffer from this disease need medication therapy for the rest of their lives.  Addison's Disease causes them to be lethargic, have muscle weakness, a lack of appetite and, probably the most debilitating of the symptoms, joint pain.  They can also have shivering or muscle tremors.  For your dog to have been diagnosed in July it could just be that the vet has not yet hit on the right dosage of meds.  The fact that he wants to lay down after a few minutes of play isn't surprising, nor is the fact that you needed to carry him home from his walk.  I would talk to the vet about this and see if he can suggest a different meds regimen.  Until a suitable dosage is found, don't force him to try to do too much.  You don't want to stress him since a lack of cortisol severely impacts his body's ability to deal with stress.  It also helps regulate how your dog metabolizes carbohydrates, proteins and fats,so you can see that until a suitable balance of meds is arrived at, your dog's body is facing severe challenges that no doubt leave him exhausted.  For now, just baby him and make him feel loved.  Eventually you and your vet will get things worked out but I wouldn't count on him ever having that boundless energy that Aussies are so well known for.  You'll just have to accept that you need to love him "as is".

Ghilly