My dog is gaining weight on steroids. What can I do to help him?

You can feed her puppy food in small frequent meals to help her gain more weight. You should schedule a vet visit to have them check her over and see if there are any problems and maybe a reason why she was on the prednisone. Prednisone is a steroid that is often used for pain and inflammation or skin disease and allergies. If none of these are noted, you can stop the medicine and see how she responds

Thank you for your question regarding Kaner. I would recommend finishing off the course of steroids as directed for two reasons. First off, you want to complete the treatment regimen for which they were prescribed so the underlying disease does not recur. Secondly, it is necessary to taper steroids. When a dog takes them orally, their body doesn't need to make them. The gradual taper off signals the body to start making them again. If you stop steroids abruptly, the dog can become sick. The side effects are definitely frustrating, but will decrease as the dose is reduced and finally stopped. As far as diabetes, it is unlikely given the length of time Kaner has been on the steroids. I see this side effect much more frequently in cats. I hope this information helps and that Kaner is back to normal soon!

He likely has inflammatory bowel disease or some type of malabsorption problem. Keeping him on lifelong steroids (prednisone) is not recommended. The first thing you have to do is get a diagnosis. I recommend he have an abdominal ultrasound and/or x-rays and some blood testing to start with. A fecal test is also a good idea to rule out any intestinal parasites. If you can't afford testing then speak to your vet about doing a trial of Tylosin powder to control IBD symptoms instead of steroids.

I think therapeutic diets work best: Hill's Metabolic or Royal Canin Satiety are the two I most frequently recommend. They have increased protein and vitamins/minerals but are much lower in calories. You could also try sticking with your current food but cutting back on how much you give (I usually recommend cutting back about 25%) and increasing exercise as well as minimizing treats or replacing them with lower calorie options like frozen green beans. While there are over the counter foods that are designed for weight loss they can still have very different calorie contents and some weight loss foods even have more calories than regular foods.

I recommend to work with your veterinarian to find the lowest effective dose of the prednisone and to discuss any other alternatives such as pain medication, surgery to correct the jaw pain if possible or diet modification to help negate the weight gain. Have Mary Shiloh examined by her veterinarian at least every few weeks to keep any eye on her heart and weight. I hope this helps.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your dog. That is a very high dose of steroids for a dog his size. This dose will suppress his immune system in addition to all of the side effects that you are noticing at home. Steroids will cause panting, increased thirst, urination and hunger. Some dogs will experience skin and coat changes, muscle weakness/ loss and gastrointestinal ulcers in rare cases. Doses this high are only used to treat severe life threatening conditions. I recommend contacting his veterinarian today to discuss his treatment plan. Typically the steroids are tapered once the primary disease is under control. There are other immunosuppressive drugs available that may have less side effects. Perhaps he would do better on a different medication. However, never stop steroids yourself as they need to be carefully tapered down. I hope this information helps!

Unfortunately, these are common side effects of prednisone - it often causes bloating, weight gain with a pot-bellied appearance, and in many cases seems to be make dogs more irritable. It may also cause increased thirst, urination, and appetite. I'm not sure what medical condition your dog has that the prednisone is treating, but I would recommend talking with your vet about your concerns - in many cases, there are altnerative medications such as Atopica or Apoquel for allergy problems, or azathioprine for immune-mediated illnesses, that can be just as effective and generally cause fewer side effects. It may be possible to reduce your dog's dose of prednisone or even taper off of it altogether if a different medication is used.