# Dogs on prednisone?



## Deb862

Hi everyone. We went to the vet yesterday and he basically said our case was "rare" and that he didn't know what else to do, said he would put him on prednisone to help with calming down the immune system and inflammation in our dog's body, which sounds reasonable to us. He put him on 20 mg of prednisone 2 times a day, or 40 mg total per day. Now, our dog does weigh 95 pounds but I am wondering if this is too much prednisone? Is anyone else's dog on prednisone and how much do they take? Side effects?


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## NCGirl

Extreme thrist and having to go potty very often is the side effect that comes to mind.


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## Josephine

That seems like a pretty high dose. I had a GSD with degenerative myelopathy and he was on a high dose like that but he was miserable. It helped for a while but the side affects were so bad we took him off as he was miserable. 

Is this a short term treatment or long term? Short term, they sometimes put the dose up there and wean it down. Long term, it didnt work for my dog.

What exactly is wrong with your dog?

eta. THe side effects my dog had was the typical drinking/eating/urinating excessively but eventually he actually started feeling anxious and woulnt sleep. Again, he was on the high dose for a long time.


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## fishhead

My (55 lb.) springer was on prednisone for several years after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that was destroying her red blood cells. I think the dose was 15 mg. Dogs can take a much higher dose than humans.

I didn't notice much change in her as far as drinking or nervousness but very little affected her.


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## Deb862

He said he would keep him at 40 mg/day for a week or so then taper down to a maintenance dose of ?. Currently, we are not sure what Viktor has but they think it is some for of autoimmune thing in his body. His spleen is enlarged greatly and all the muscles have wasted away in his head giving it a skull-like appearance and making his eyes sink in. 

We were also thinking that this high dose will make him miserable with side effects, especially when it won't cure what he has, just make it stop where it is now. Well, I guess we should try the 40 mg/day for a few days to see what happens. I guess we can always taper him right away if we see bad side effects.


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## GoldenMom

That is a pretty high dose but from what you've posted it's necessary. Yep he's going to be peeing gallons and he'll probably be pretty sure he's starving to death. And yes, if the side effects are too bad you can start reducing the dose (DO NOT EVER STOP PREDNISONE WITHOUT SLOWLY WEANING THE DOG OFF). I hope it helps and Viktor is around and happy for quite some time.


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## longshadowfarms

Actually, for a week the side effects of the prednisone shouldn't be that bad. He'll probably have a lot more energy, want to eat and drink more and be hotter. It is slightly possible that he'll be a little more aggressive. You do need to be very careful weaning off the pred. Follow Drs orders and watch his reaction. Slower is better. Yes, prednisone has side effects but it really has a lot of great uses medically (from a person who has survived the past year because of prednisone). If he ends up on pred long term, then you'll have other issues to think about but for now, I'd relax and hope the medicine does what you hope it will.


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## dcross

<<he'll probably be pretty sure he's starving to death.>>

YES! My rotty ate EVERYTHING! He was on it for tumors on his spleen, just to keep him around a little longer, we had to "puppy" proof the house against him. He ate/chewed:

A pound of birdseed(it was interesting watching him poop that out)
A George Foreman grill
A baby gate(wanted what was on the other side)
Couldn't leave the fridge unlocked for 10 seconds
A second electric grill
Any tin can he could get to
Any garbage he could get to whether there was food/wrappers in it or not.


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## Deb862

Oh my gosh, dccross! That's incredible. How much prednisone was he on that made him do that?


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## fishhead

My springer ate about 1 gallon of fish food that I had stored in the basement. Before I found that out I rushed her to the vet because her stomach was so big and hard. The vet said it looked like she ate too much. I watched the vet take a needle and push it into her stomach to check for fluids. She didn't even flinch.

This was all in the evening off course so I had to pay emergency fees.

Other than that I don't recall that she was any hungrier.

The drug worked great with her and if I remember right we started at a high dose and tapered back.

Good luck!

I've taken it in the past and it was like Yippee! Can I have some more?


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## wishomesteader

my dog is on predinisone becasue of allergies, she is allergic to barley, wheat, turkey, duck, pork, grass, trees (I say trees because most of them), timothy grass, dust mites and more....so she lives on allergy meds. We had her fixed because we didn't ever want to pass this trait down to puppies. She is on special food and diet but even that does not help! But we love her so we go the extra mile for her. she is 1 1/2 years old and always had ear infections and finally one vet said lets check for allergies which was NOT cheap, so we did and lo and behold that was it. Good luck.


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## Pyrenees

At 95 Ibs he isn't even getting a half mg per pound. He is on a good dose, but it is not that high. True immumosuppressive doses start at twice that amount, your vet put him on a rather conservative anti-inflammatory dose which is the preferable approach when you don't have a solid diagnosis.

If any side effects occur, please don't freelance it with regards to adjusting the dose, call your regular vet.


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## belladulcinea

Starting high and going down to a smaller dose is common. His side effects shouldn't be bad at all. Just watch him carefully and he will probably perk up pretty quickly if the steroid is going to help him. Bella had to be on a steroid for about a week, it just made her a little hyper, which is what steroids do to me too!


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## Denise K.

4 years ago my Border Collie bandit had to be put on steroids. (multiple problems, he is a health wreck but at 8 1/2 he is still with us  ) When he started on the larger doses he too couldn't sleep, had to keep going out to pee, wanted to eat frequently (that was ok because he was severly down in weight due to being sick) the first night I kept wondering why he kept getting up with me and following me around during the night.....then I got to laughing at my self I was on steroids too for an allergic reaction. So everytime I got up to use the bathroom, or find something to do, he did too. At 4:00am when only thing on TV are shopping channels and animal planet, it dawns on me we are having the same side effects! :shrug: Oh well we survived the steroids.....just wish I could have that energy all the time!


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## Deb862

Thanks for the advice/info. Thanks, Pyrenees. We were wondering about the dosage but perhaps its okay.


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## dcross

<<Oh my gosh, dccross! That's incredible. How much prednisone was he on that made him do that?>>

Well, he was a handful before the pred, the birdseed and the grills(also potty pads) were the only big change. It also made him much bolder about opening the fridge, he used to leave it alone until he was sure we were gone, after the pred he would get into it if I stepped out into the yard. I thought he was a goner after he got several pounds of honeybaked ham, didn't sit real easy with his failing kidneys One of the better pictures we have:

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=45679


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