Dog on steroid - quick question :)

[Ocean]

Hello a newbie here,

My dog has recently been put on steroids for a skin allergy, she's back at the vets next week to be weaned off of then, Do I need to feed her a bit extra? I know in humans it can leave them quite hungry and thirsty more than usual so i'm wondering if its the same for dogs?

every time someone goes to the kitchen she runs out to her food cupboard as if she's still hungry, I've given her a bit extra tonight but I just wanted some advice

[lvpets2002]

Welcome to Pet Talk & Enjoy All..

I cannot help you with your question, but I am sure someone here can help with advise.. We would love to see pics of your baby..

[Catlady711]

Yes steroids will make them drink and eat more. Let your doggie have all the water she wants assuming she doesn't start having accidents. Maybe allow her just a little more food assuming she isn't already very overweight. Break the feedings up so she's fed more often through the day sometimes helps. You don't want to allow her to eat too much extra or you'll end up with alot of weight that may cause more problems and be harder to get back off.

[Karen]

As a human who has been on prednisone a couple times, I can attest to the fact that it makes me VERY hungry. I'm talking "buy me the whole grocery store worth of food and cook it please" hungry. It does not, however make one's stomach any bigger, so if I cooked, I'd end up making way more food than I could possibly eat.

In your dog's case, just keep low-calorie snacks on hand, like raw carrots for one good example, to avoid a lot of weight gain. The hunger is all illusory, and if you give in to it, people have been known to gain a lot of weight f on it long-term. So low-calorie snacks are the best bet, and don;t let her near the credit card or she'll be ordering truckloads of dogfood!

[Ocean]

Lol =) I'll make sure she's got no access to my cards!

Thanks for the replies, we've been bulking her dinner up with carrots because she's mad about them anyway and that seems to be doing the trick quite nicely, she's a good weight so its not too much of a worry about feeding her a tiny bit more, she has a few milk bones for breakfast and then maybe a odd treat throughout the day, we try to stick to the natural treats so they clean her teeth too, then a main meal at dinnertime which is now being bulked up with carrots which she is really loving, she's mad about them =)

[Karen]

Our Saint Bernard loved loved loved cooked carrots, she would beg for them even more than steak! And of course raw carrots are good for the teeth anyway! Tell her she can have my share, as I am now allergic to carrots!