Weening Dog off Prednisone

Question

Dear Dr. Smith,
I have a 1 (almost 2) year old boxer mix. He is 43lbs and not yet neutered. He is also a cryptorchid. I rescued him at 8 weeks old and he was severely infested with tape worms and malnourished. After nearly six months of treatment, we finally cleared out the worm infestation and he was at a healthy weight. At this time he began to show signs of ocular allergies: watery eyes, red, and extremely itchy. He pawed at them so much he would create open sores around his eyes. Our vet insisted they were allergies, even after I brought him in several times because antibiotic/cortisone ointment only cleared the infection and didn't stop the itching, which is what caused him to paw, create another infection, and the whole cycle would start again.

After a year of dealing with his allergies, and seeing minimal relief with the benadryl, I took him to another vet for a 2nd opinion. This vet was a bit more thorough and suggested we do a blood test for any kind of immune disorder and a skin scraping for possible mites. I was unable to afford the two tests at the time, but I asked the vet to send me home with what would make him comfortable and stop the cycle. He insisted on prednisone and antibiotics. Reluctantly, I put him on the pred, as he was miserable and I couldn't watch it any more. He was prescribed 10mg of prednisone for 3 days, then every other day, then every three days, then every four days and so forth until the pills were gone.

I've never heard of pred being weaned this way w/o decreasing the dose at all, and this "short course" of steroids the vet prescribed would end up being given over 3 months with that schedule and I do not want to keep him on pred that long. He also contracted kennel cough at the vet's, which stayed mild with the course of antibiotics he was on, But the antibiotics are done, he still has kennel cough, and I'm worried about the pred compromising his immune system.

We are now giving the pred every 4th day, and I lowered the dose to 5mg. If I continue to give it every 4th day for the next 3 doses, is that enough of a taper to completely stop the pred? My vet will not suggest a different way to wean him then the one he first prescribed, which would mean him being on pred until April. Please tell me what you think of this possible condition with his eyes and how I can wean him off the prednisone as quickly as possible. Also, he is on a homecooked diet w/supplements, which has helped his eyes alot and I do believe he can be healed naturally, which is why I would like him off the pred. Thank you in advance and I look forward to hearing from you!

Kadi Dorelis
     and
"Dito"

Response

Hello Kadi,

Thank you for your inquiry to Holistic Pet Info. The tapered dose you would like to do for the prednisone will work just fine. He does not need to be on the low dose for such a long time. Most dogs can heal from kennel cough on their own. There are two components to the disease, bacterial and viral, so the vaccine and/or antibiotics don't always work. If your dog relapses once the antibiotics are finished, then I would continue them for a longer period.

It appears he does have a food allergy, and I would offer different protein and carbohydrate sources to rule out the most allergenic foods. The highest allergens are chicken, beef, corn, wheat, rice and soy. Definitely continue with the home cooked diets and supplements.

I also recommend an immune support supplement such as Immugen by Thorne. This may boost his immunity to keep him healthy for a cryptorchid surgery. If he does have mites a stronger immune system will help reduce the infestation. Incidentally, steroids will make a mite infestation worse. Probiotics such as Vetri-Probiotic BD from Vetri-science will also help with a food allergy and supports the immune system. Best of luck.

Sincerely,

Colleen Smith DVM, CVA