Bulldogs World

Long term use of prednisone lessens the body's ability to fight infection, suppresses the immune system. Don't know why vets prescribe it, in my opinion, it can cause more harm then good. If it is to help with itching, an antihistimine will do the job.  You will have to ask your vet how to "step down" the dosage to zero, you can't just take him off of it.

Trust me on this one, I have personal experience with the effects of prednisone.

Our 2.5yr old bulldog had skin issues for about a year straight... finally, we have figured out the best remedy for him.  Cyclosporine (a-topica) 50 mg every other day, Wellness Core reduced fat food - grain free, the only treats he gets are Gerber chicken sticks (yes, Gerber the baby food) and ice cubes... all grain/gluetin free!  And we bathe him 1-2 times/week with Mel-A-Ket medicated shampoo!  We have been skin irritation free (knock on wood) for close to 5 months now!!!  GOOD LUCK with your baby!

at the same time?  Wow!  That seems crazy.  I would take him off of all the medications.  Have a skin scrape done and cultured and go from there.  You make need to change protein source on your food.  I have 2 dogs that don't do well with Salmon.

Hey there,

I'm sorry to hear about the skin problems :( I know that we went through that too and it was so miserable for us and our puppy!  I just wanted to share with you what worked for us.  We do not feed any grains.  I feed Darwins raw diet..it gets delivered to your front door and my bully LOVES it.  It stopped all "hot spots" rashes, interdigital cysts, ear infections, tail infections.  It was seriously an amazing thing to see him respond so well.  I know every dog is different but I just wanted to let you know about what worked for us.

Good LUCK

I so appreciate everyones suggestions. Rex has been so good for so many years, just with minor issues until now. He is soon to be 10 (YIKES did that go fast) so we've been dealing with this since he was 6 months old. And yes, he has been on predisone for all these years. It has been a difficult journey and decision to leave him on pred. He has been free of issues until last year when he got a bad baterial infection which did clear up on antibiotics in a couple of weeks. He is allergic to oak trees and last year we moved to forest of oak trees. Although he does not spend a lot of time outside, I imagine there are oak molecules all over the yard. This year around the same time he got this bad infection again, which i thought was the same bacterial thing, but it didnt get better and last week the vet put him on ivermectin, a treatment for demodex mange. He seems to be getting better now, but i imagine this is a side effect of the long term use of the pred weakening his immune system(he has be on 5mg daily for years) like i said, we knew the risks and made the decision based on lots of trial and error and results. BUT, along with the new meds, we are switching his diet now. I got a great book, Dr. Beckers real food recipes for healthy cats and dogs and am following it. She talks about raw and cooked diets. I have to say, I am doing cooked, just because i cannot deal with raw meat ( it makes me almost vomit) and we will see what happens. We are committed to feeding him real food now, and hoping we can wean him off the pred eventually and that his immune system will be able to heal somewhat if possible especially at his age. Well, the good news is that the meds are working now, he is happy again and playing and chewing and hopefully he will continue to get better and that this is not a prelude to any other serious health problem for him. Thanks again all for suggestions-bulldog hugs to everyone :-D