Chronic Cortisol Affects the Adrenals and Endocrine System

Don't leave your dog in a state of ongoing stress. There's always something else to try.

When your dog’s body is in a state of ongoing stress, the adrenal glands respond by pumping out cortisol—over and over again. This is part of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, a critical feedback loop that governs how the body responds to stress.

But if that stress becomes constant, the system goes out of balance—and things begin to break down.

Here’s what happens: