Steroid treatment for skin conditions - licking paws

NOISYGIRL

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 November 2006
Messages
2,398
Visit site
Not sure if I'm happy or not ......

took my springer to vet for booster today, she's been licking her paws a bit too much so I asked about it, came away with steroid tablets Prednicare, I have to see if they help, if they do then she can go onto some other steroid that can be given long term at a quid a day, I don't mind but didn't really want to go down that avenue or her having to have steroids long term

Anyone else had this treatment ?

I've done a bit of searching and have found a product called bionic biotic, anyone used it ?

I've ordered a trial size for a quid to see if she's eat it first, would rather give her this than steroids.

Maybe she'll only need the one course to get rid, could be seasonal, so maybe she'd only need tabs in the summer

Just wondered if anyone else had any dealings with it

Cheers
 
I would look at the diet first before using steroids, is there a lot of wheat or grain in what you are feeding?
 
I have a summer paw licker. He's had a steroid shot before to help him at the worse times to keep the itch away and him from licking while we treat locally to heal any resulting sore paws. I would try other things before putting him on them long term though as I hate the thought of doing that too, especially to see if it is diet related first (my dog's isn't) or if your natural product works (I haven't tried that product so can't say if it will or not). Maybe if those don't work try a short course of the steroids as you mentioned to see if that is enough to get him through the season.
 
Dont blame you, not sure Id be happy either

weve got a paw licker aswell but i dont want to go down the steroid route, diet wise is there something thats good to feed? did the vet mention diet to you?
 
My GSD is currently on Prednicare for dermatitis. She's been on and off them for 3 years now, and there doesn't seem to have been any bad effect. We generally have a course of 21 tablets and that stops her itching and allows the skin to heal, then she can be alright for a few months before it flares up again and she has to go back on them.

We try to feed her carefully, but she also has EPI, so that has to be managed as a priority.
 
Thanks for the reply's

My husband is dead against the steroids, I'm sort of pursuading him that it might only be this course she needs.........

I've ordered the bionic biotic sample so I was thinking of hopefully controlling it with that after the steroid course.

Feed wise, I've already got her on fish 4 dogs dry food, which she eats in the eve, she has sardines in the morning for the omega 3, we drain the oil off. She has a pouch of james wellbeloved in the eve.

She has skinny strips from fish 4 dogs, I can't see how I can do any different food wise.

Thats why I wanted to go down the supplement route rather than steroids but if it takes just the one course I don't mind, and if she only needs it when it flares up than I'm fine with that, I just don't want her on them permanently, she's only 2

Thanks
 
Dont blame you, not sure Id be happy either

weve got a paw licker aswell but i dont want to go down the steroid route, diet wise is there something thats good to feed? did the vet mention diet to you?

Nope, he didn't ask anything about food, I asked about antihisthamines but he said they wouldn't work because the histamine had already been released
 
Hi - I have a very itchy GSD (out of 50 tests, she proved allergic to 46 (I think!) of them).
She has been on and off antibiotics and steroids for 8 years now and fortunately has been under control with cyclosporin (Atopica) for about 2 years now.
I would suggest to try the steroid course on your Springer as she may need that intense boost of medication to wipe out any infection and stop the itching - if the itching isn't stopped, the licking may become habitual which is damn near impossible to stop!
After the steroids have stopped the initial outburst it may be able to be controlled after that with diet or even baths in Malaseb shampoo or Malacetic acid spray :) (which isn't as harsh as it sounds!!)
Good luck
K x
 
You could try sulphur tablets; they helped Ben a lot in the summer with any flare ups of itchiness. About a fiver from the chemist, I'd just feed one a day as and when he needed them. You could also add rock sulphur to his water bowl (from the pet shop). They won't interfere with anything else you give but might just give him the relief he needs.
 
I would think fish for dogs rates highly on the commercial dog food list and there is not much more you can do with cooked foods but I do take issue with them on why a feed needs to contain 30% Potato and with Wellbeloved on their use of the word "Natural" when much of their food is bulked with rice. Rice is almost pure starch and is deficient in the proteins a dog needs being a plant and not flesh. The same can be said for peas and beans which are on the increase as an ingredient.

There are now more food intolerances reported in dogs to rice. Sadly this appears to be increasing with each generation and with how long a dog has been fed on most dried foods (I have found this with rescues taking a lengthy time to detox when put on raw). Any form of starch is just not needed by dogs and is a bulking agent added to keep unit costs down (rice is a very cheap commodity), extend shelf life in dried diets and fill the dog up on a cooked diet.

I also see that sugar beet pulp is now creeping up the list of ingredients on dog foods too! Basically plant proteins are poor fare for a dog but they are cheap so you see sunflower, linseed or vegetable oil in a lot of foods where they should really contain oils of an animal base, which I see are used in fish 4 dogs.

Sadly with a lot more dogs, often some pretty strong drugs are needed to deal with the results.
 
My Bulldog now has to be on long term steroid use because we have exhausted every avenue of diagnostic and treatment ideas going. He is not allergic to anything the RVC can test for and no dietary suggestions have worked.

His condition is such that we have had to weigh up the quality of life factor and his constant scratching and bleeding is not an acceptable quality of life. The only thing they can put it down to is possibly and immune system fault but are not sure.

He has the bare minimum steroid to keep him comfortable, currently half a tablet every other day. The vet has said the only thing I need to be aware of is his body weight in that he must be kept slim. Its true they have given him an increased appetite.

I have tried Biotic Biotin and it made no difference at all. I have noticed a difference in their mobility supplement though and still use that.
 
My Bulldog now has to be on long term steroid use because we have exhausted every avenue of diagnostic and treatment ideas going. He is not allergic to anything the RVC can test for and no dietary suggestions have worked.

His condition is such that we have had to weigh up the quality of life factor and his constant scratching and bleeding is not an acceptable quality of life. The only thing they can put it down to is possibly and immune system fault but are not sure.

He has the bare minimum steroid to keep him comfortable, currently half a tablet every other day. The vet has said the only thing I need to be aware of is his body weight in that he must be kept slim. Its true they have given him an increased appetite.

I have tried Biotic Biotin and it made no difference at all. I have noticed a difference in their mobility supplement though and still use that.

How awful for you

Thanks for the replies, everyone

She has started her course, 2nd dose today, hope to see an improvement soon
 
Top