Going cold turkey off of prednisone can cause insulin shock in humans. Not sure about dogs.

Thank you to Bob for reminding us to highlight that. Discontinuing Pred is done under the direction of the vet ... NEVER just take your dog off steroids on your own.

The word "wean" has been used a few times, but this is too important a point to leave to that.

Yes we did "ween" her off the pred each time and she is on a very low dose. Off the top of my head I think only 5mg a day.

I don't think that she bites her feet out of boredom for a couple reasons.

1. She stops each time she's put back on the pred.

2. She has free run of the house and two young kids that she runs around our 10 acres with quite a bit.

3. She also gets frequent ear infections, but I'm not sure if that's related.

Frequent ear infections, anal gland problems,along with chewing feet, along with biting & chewing other areas & face rubbing...I could go on & on....are a common symptoms of allergy in dogs.

Like stated there are other meds to use before resorting to pednisone...such as hydroxyzine (RX needed) or other OTC (over the counter) allergy drugs.

Like stated foods, are rarely the cause. Fleas, & environmental allergies, such as grass, weeds,(general pollen) mold, leaves etc etc etc. are the more common allergens.

A lot of dealing with an allergic dog is vigilint management supported if & when needed by meds.

 Quote: Kory Fox

I don't think that she bites her feet out of boredom for a couple reasons.

1. She stops each time she's put back on the pred.

2. She has free run of the house and two young kids that she runs around our 10 acres with quite a bit.

3. She also gets frequent ear infections, but I'm not sure if that's related.

I agree with the boredom thing ... good detecting, especially with #1.

#3 .... it is. Ditto to all that Anne said.


Is there ever any other body geography that the dog bites at or scratches? Never the shins, tailbone area, or belly? Does the dog ever rub her face on furniture or carpeting? Have you ever seen any difference in different seasons or at different times of day?

What was the ear debris cytology info? Just yeast, yeast with bacteria?

Do you know about checking the ears regularly to catch and treat before full-blown infection?

There is no change in her feet biting no matter the season. Only change is when she's on pred. No other biting, scratching, rubbing face, nothing else.

I should add that she has a small amount of hair loss on the back of her front legs where it meets her body and a small area on lower chest\abdomin area but noone ever sees her scratch or rub there and my wife only works part time so she's home most of the time.

Hair loss is one of the long-term Pred side effects in the lists I posted links to. (Coat problems, hair loss, thinning of the skin -- often listed as one side effect.)


What was the ear debris when it was looked at during ear infections? Just yeast, yeast with bacteria, what?

Does the dog have any waxy or greasy spots on her coat?

Is there ever any odor about her body or paws or ears (either just plain bad, or maybe "Frito-feet" bad)?

Never any waxy or greasy spots.

I don't know what the ear debris was, my wife handled all that. She has me help her apply some type of oinment into the ear when the infection pops up.

I don't notice any odors, but my wife does say that her ears stinks when it has an infection.

Yes, ear infections do smell. Often just nasty, sometimes with clear overtones of yeast. The cytology details what's in there.


I'm getting a feeling that you asking these questions and presenting this information is worrisome? Maybe your wife would be defensive about the long-term Pred choice?

I understand that there can be some pretty delicate dynamics, even if the owner was not your wife.

Maybe you are considering how to present the topic, or whether you can do it in increments.




ETA
I've adopted several dogs over the years because they needed atopic dermatitis management and had been surrendered because of the previous owners' inability to cope. One girl I adopted who had been on Pred every day for eight years went on to live a better life by getting her yeast under control and slowly getting her off Pred and on an "allergen management" program. She came to me with iatrogenic Cushing's; stinky ears; chronic skin infections from a combo of skin thinning, scratching and breaking the skin-barrier against bacteria, lowered ability to fight infection from the steroids, and malassezia (yeast); broken sleep; and advanced deafness from repeated ear infections. We couldn't restore her hearing (although she suffered no more panful ear infections) ---- but I'm just saying that even seeing signs of long-term side effects like hair loss doesn't mean it's too late to try to reduce Pred use.

I also want to say that I met her previous owners several times. They loved her and had been doing the only thing they knew to do without spending money they didn't have. Their GP vet had never told them (and maybe did not himself know) anything about allergies except food-switching and Pred.

Edited by Connie Sutherland (01/15/2013 01:15 PM)
Edit reason: eta