Prednisone for Dogs: Uses for Dog Cancer and Other Medical Conditions.

 What is prednisone for dogs, why is it prescribed so often, and how can it help your pup?

 Sometimes, prednisone for dogs can seem like a ‘magic’ pill that makes dogs feel better when they suffer from conditions such as allergies, immune-mediated diseases, or even cancer…

But while this drug can help a lot of dogs, it’s important to compare the risks versus the benefits, especially when using it long term.

If you’ve had dogs or other pets for whom steroids were prescribed, you may have given them prednisone or its very similar cousin prednisolone—or even both forms at different times in your pet’s life.

  Prednisone and prednisolone, commonly used glucocorticoids in pets include hydrocortisone, dexamethasone, methylprednisolone, triamcinolone, and others.

These drugs are steroids. But, they’re not what might typically come to mind when you think of a “steroid.”

Prednisone for Dogs With Cancer

Prednisone is helpful with a wide variety of cancers, especially lymphoma.Sometimes, prednisone is used as part of a chemotherapy protocol and has a direct effect on cancer growth and spread.

Other times, it’s used for what we call “palliative therapy,” meaning that whether or not it changes the course of the disease, it can make your dog feel a lot better.

While it’s not right for every dog nor every type of cancer, for some patients, prednisone can really give them a good quality of life