Dogs on prednisolone

[Pedro's dad]

My dogs been on prednisolone for 3 weeks been having muscle weakness I believe an we've told vet an they don't believe its side effects from medication... So my question is will he get better after being off prednisolone? We've started today weaning him off from 5mg use to every other day he's been on for 3 weeks seems really uncomfortable for him to get around an it's very sad to see
My chihuahua was very active before this an now is a total different dog my vet now thinks it's arthritis.. an until he got on this he never had no problems... she wants to up the dose and I said I wanna see how he is off this medication ... has anyone else had this problem with short time use of medication with their dogs? An if so did your pet recover from possible muscle weekness in their back legs? Got me very worried about my best friend

 

[linda2147]

pred will affect his immune system. some dogs do ok with it but not all, they will drink a lot and are more restless and may effect appetite and cause stomach upset. Be careful with this one Pred is usually used to reduce inflamation in joints and calm down the skin due to allergies

 

[TTouch]

Prednisolone is a steroid medication used by Vets to 'treat' certain types of allergies, inflammatory conditions, autoimmune disorders often when they have no clue about what the issue really is, so a 'go to' med..... Vets are pet medical doctors they use medication to 'treat' and/or cover up medical issues and I have to say to pacify the owner.

I would look at your dogs issues holistically, having been on steriods its immune system is now compromised ( as Linda states) and that needs to be built up as the immune system is whatprotects the animal ( all animals including us humans) from minor illness and injuries, it takes at least 3 weeks for steroids to leave the dog systems once stopped.

Steroids is not something I would use with any of my dogs.

I can only tells you what I would do based on what you have said...I feed raw/bone not and never kibble or any processed commerical foods, so no reactions to junk ingredients and use 'brewers yeast tablets' ( as treats) which contain all vitamins, minerals and trace elements dogs need) I use neem bark leaf powder which keeps the immune system working at optimum levels AND protects the dog from parasits ( so no need to use 'flea/worm treatments' which are powerful poisons and DOES affect their immune system and blood supply and for pain and arthritus a BIOFLOW collar https://www.bioflow.com/uk/product-category/bioflow-pet-products/bioflow-pets-dogs-cats/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI35XG0Mv_-AIVje7tCh2Kbgx5EAAYASAAEgJUzfD_BwE ( choose your location at top of the page) my dogs ( and cat ) are wearing Bioflow collars that are more than 30 years old, so they are a once only purchase and worth every penny. I wear a bioflow braclet again it is more than 30 years old ( having had a bad back accident back then that left me unable to walk) no pain ( until I take it off) so I know they work.

Swimming will build up muscle mass weakness, but it takes a dog 3 days to lose muscle mass and 3 weeks of daily swimming and/or soft ground walking to rebuild