Earlier in the year, I posted about giving my dog Prednisone to control her itching. While I still believe that medication can be worth the risk, I am no longer giving my dog this particular medication unless there is no other choice. We are currently undergoing a food trial by feeding her only hypoallergenic food made of fish and potatoes. She only gets fish treats. We started a round of prednisone at a high dose to stop the itching and allow the wounds to heal and the antibiotic to heal the small infection that was starting on her skin. The plan was to taper off the predinisone dose over a month while feeding this special food, continue with the special food, and see how she does. Oh, and a note, I also applied K9 Advantix to prevent fleas, ticks, and mosquito bites because I know my backyard has mosquitoes (in the south in the summer, always mosquitoes). After tapering down to one 5 mg pill a day, she is itching, scratching, licking again. It's been 3 weeks on the special food so I'll give it a few more (even though that stuff is expensive) to give time for any allergens to be completely expelled from her body. However, at this point, I just don't know what to do or what the problem could be. My vet tries very hard to help but I think he is a bit stumped, too. I am afraid it is non-specific inhalant allergies, but the vet says she should be licking her paws and rubbing her face, which she does not. The poor little dog is miserable, her licking and scratching drives me NUTS, and I'm afraid it's getting worse. I know her skin is dry and I bathe her in special shampoo, but that doesn't seem to help. Anyone with any inspiration????
Anyway, the point of this post was that my sweet little golden retriever mix has become a different dog. She has always been afraid that she wouldn't have enough to eat due to her early life as a stray. Now she steals food from her doggie siblings, causes fights with her doggie brother over food, and is generally a pain in the butt about food. She's generally very submissive, definitely the omega of the pack, but is now fighting for her chewy bone. In general, she follows my commands and does as I ask, but lately, especially if food is involved, she completely ignores me. I know all of this is due to the medication. I am just waiting for the day that the prednisone is out of her system and she is back to being my sweet little girl again. Anyone giving their dog prednisone should be aware that it is a steroid and will change a dog's personality. It makes them more intense and can cause them to fight. A dog on this medication should not be left alone with other dogs, especially if food is involved.
If we ever figure out what the cause of the scratching and itching is, I'll post it.
