prednisolone

[bill88 6]

Walked the dog's before work this morning, and noticed my terrier bitch had a bald patch about two inche's long on her back.Have just arrived back from the vet,her diagnosis was flea's! the cheeky fecker even gave me a dressing down about why the dog had flea's.I told her to check her records and she'd see that i buy quite a lot of Frontline from them,what the feck did she think i was doing with the stuff,drinking it? The dog's get done every 12 weeks,and in all honesty Frontline ain't that cheap.I haven't seen any of the dog's scratching and neither had the bitch,i just noticed the bald patch.

The vet has given the dog, Cephalexin, and Prednisolone.Now the antibiotics i'm familiar with but what is Prednisolone? and what is it used to treat? and why the antibiotics?

I've been using this vets for year's mainly because,the vet i usually see is very working dog friendly,and is more concerned with the dog's health and well being thatn asking daft question's,but the idiot i seen today has really got my back up.

[diggory 130]

i think prednisolone is a steroid,used in humans for inflammatory conditions

[bill88 6]

i think prednisolone is a steroid,used in humans for inflammatory conditions

Thanks mate,but can't understand the diagnosis,or the two lots of medication,as the dog isn't scratching and i cant see any sign of flea's.My usual trick is to check visually on the underside then give the dog a wipe over with a baby wipe,no blood no fleas.

[Guest MOLLY]

If there is no wound or inflamation or irritation i cannot see the reason for prescribing ab's never mind steroids

 

My bitch has a bald spot almost constantly now. When it first appeared i thought she had pulled the hair out going under a shed, (thast exactly how it looked) there were stubbly bits as well as bald skin. It clears up by itself, then reappears then clears up etc and i can find no reason whatsoever for it? It is however itchy for her....she is actually pulling the hair out everytime she scratches. No inflamation, no injury and definately no fleas. I cannot understand why she does it, and its the same place all the time, never has it anywhere else on her body?

 

 

 

MOLL.

[bill88 6]

If there is no wound or inflamation or irritation i cannot see the reason for prescribing ab's never mind steroids

 

My bitch has a bald spot almost constantly now. When it first appeared i thought she had pulled the hair out going under a shed, (thast exactly how it looked) there were stubbly bits as well as bald skin. It clears up by itself, then reappears then clears up etc and i can find no reason whatsoever for it? It is however itchy for her....she is actually pulling the hair out everytime she scratches. No inflamation, no injury and definately no fleas. I cannot understand why she does it, and its the same place all the time, never has it anywhere else on her body?

 

 

 

MOLL.

Thats exactly it Moll,looks like the hairs have been cut rather than it being bald skin.Reckon the vet is a feckin quack.£28.75 for feckall,really don't like giving my dog's any kind of tablets if i can help it,what dya think i should do?

[Guest MOLLY]

I really dont like to tell people what to do with their dogs Bill, i would hate to be wrong.

But if it were me, i would wait for a while to see what happens. Unless something is severe or life threatening i never rush to the vets anymore, i always give things time to sort themselves out naturally first....the body is amazing for healing its self without being pumped full of chemicals. If it does not appear to get better or go away in a week - 10 days then start the treatment. I doubt she will die or suffer from a bald patch untill then?

 

Does she live indoors Bill?

MOLL.

[antg 1,816]

prednisolone can be used for rheumatoid arthritis, inflamitry and allergic conditions and bronchial asthma.

maybe he has prescribed it thinking your dog may be alergic to something.

[Guest MOLLY]

maybe he has prescribed it thinking your dog may be alergic to something.

Thats why i asked about living indoors antg. This terrier a plus another kept getting bald patches, would itch constantly, all over them. I kept treating them for fleas even though there was never any evidence of them.

Anyways cutting the story short they were allergic to washing powder, lurcherbitch advised using Persil non bio only and it completely worked.

MOLL.

[FastDogz 155]

Just be careful with them steriods - The bloody whitecoat put my Greyhound lad on steriods a few weeks back for a piece of disaligned cartlidge under his vertabre - cant remember name of the meds but they was steriods.

Had my dog vomiting blood with clots in it and shitting black tar (digested blood) which then of course led to more meds to ease whatever they had done to his guts - also he dropped loads of weight and had a dull wirey look to his coat

Beggining not to trust vets as far as i can throw them personally - my dogs now off all meds and *touch wood* is pain free and fit as a flea

[redmoor 0]

A dog who is sensitive to fleas, only has to have been bitten by one flea to develop a allergy/bald patch. Fleas only live on the dog a small percentage of the time, so generally you wont see any fleas unless they have a heavy infestation. Mites from straw can also cause that sort of 'baldy' patch that your pic shows. Advantix* is the best flea and tick treatment, as with Frontline it must be re-applied every 4w otherwise it wont be effective.

 

* Advantix is not safe if you own cats.

 

We often see animals develop bloody diahorrea and vomiting when they are given NSAIDs like Metacam or Rimadyl..these should never be given on an empty stocmach..always with food.

Edited July 22, 2007 by redmoor

[Guest MOLLY]

The bald patch would not be in the exact same place all the time though?

MOLL.

[redmoor 0]

Oddly, the patch is more than often in the same place..the other reason we often see a patch of chewed hair like that, if it is near the hind quarters, or the flank or sometimes even over the top of the tail..is full anal glands, i have seen dog chew a hole in their thigh because of the pain of blocked/infected glands. For some reason a lot of dogs allergic to fleas will all bite roughly the same area.

[Guest ceredigion bull cross]

personally speaking my dogs live outside in kennels and sleep on straw all year round , i tend to cover the straw in flea powder when ever i change or top up there straw bedding ......the method in my madness is ....dogs roll in bedding and flea powder them selves ..... i rarely get problems with fleas ...hope this is of help to anyone

[Guest MOLLY]

Oddly, the patch is more than often in the same place..the other reason we often see a patch of chewed hair like that, if it is near the hind quarters, or the flank or sometimes even over the top of the tail..is full anal glands, i have seen dog chew a hole in their thigh because of the pain of blocked/infected glands. For some reason a lot of dogs allergic to fleas will all bite roughly the same area.

Its not chewed it is scratched redmoor, it clears up itself, then reappears just as it was almost fully grown back. It is in the centre of her back, and she has no problems with blocked anal glands. The clearing does not coincide with the flea treatment either.

Another 2 reasons i know its def not fleas with my bitch, apart from the fact im obssessive about them Im VERY allergic to flea bites and they just love the taste of me, whenever they have caught fleas inbetween treatments i am bitten to death. Plus ive an old cat who is also allergic.

When dogs live indoors as mine do and are inspected as much as mine are i would definately see some signs of fleas at some time, be it fleas, flea dirt or an increase in scratching. Plus if it was an allergy then she has only just developed it at 4yr old?

I'd love to know what it is though?

 

The patch looks darker in this picture due to bushing the last 2 days, no coat means no protection so it is scratched to bits from the brambles etc.

 

 

MOLL.

[redmoor 0]

Animals are more prone to allergies as they get older, simply due to the fact they have been around longer to be in contact with them. Skins are always a nightmare to get to the bottom of, as so many things can affect them and cause itchiness/hair loss..i've seen dogs allergic to dust mites, airborne sprays etc. Food is usually the first thing to try..but finding a food that they have never had any contact with can be very difficult. Allergy foods are available on the pet market now but are still very expensive (about £58 for a 15kg bag of RC Sensitivity..this contains capelin and tapioca). JW's Fish and Rice seems to agree with some dogs and its gluten free. Other foods to try are Coley and Duck.