Prednisolone use in dogs..?

[Moses]

Hi, my pup of 11months old was prescribed Prednisolone for his excessive itching.. He was scratching himself non-stop for about 2 weeks (he was scratching so much that he didn't sleep for a few days at all) before he was started on the medication and the itching has totally stopped now.

His dose was 5mg twice daily for 5 days, 5mg once a day for 5 days and 5mg every other day for 5 days before totally ceasing the drug.

Do you think a dose like that would cause any long term side effects??
The vet actually have no idea what caused his allergy at this point of time. It is spring in where i live and the vet mentioned that a lot of dogs have been coming to his practice for the same thing. He concluded that it should be attributed to the environment as the distribution of his itch (only on his belly) strongly suggest environmental causes (ie. pollen etc).

The vet did mention if the itch didn't stop after the course of medication, I am to go back with my dog for further investigation. But as of now, he was happy to put it down as a seasonal environmental allergen.

[Bozema]

No, this kind of treatment is very common for allergies in dogs. And it's common to have a higher dose at first, tapering to a lower dose. This is not long-term treatment so there should be no long-term effects. Taking it over a long period of time is a concern.

The main question is whether you and your vet examined what caused the allergic reaction in the first place so you can avoid it in the future. Was it fleas, food or a reaction to something in the environment (such as pollen, grass, etc.)?

For treatment of infrequent allergy attacks, this is fine. But you want to prevent them in the future so you don't have to do it too often.

[Cubby's Mama]

Probably not if he's not taking it any longer. There is a concern if the dog is on steriods for a very long period of time or permanently. My little guy has to get 1/2 a pill of prednisone (also a steriod) every other day for his skin allergies. The reason the vet suggested every other day is to try and reduce the risk of long term effects. Even so, I'm doing all I can to try and help his allergies and find a way that he wouldn't have to be on this permanently.

Glad to hear your pup is feeling better. Good luck.