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Discuss steroid treatment with your vet. Follow treatment instructions. Monitor your Golden Retriever for side effects. Use other skin allergy therapies with steroids.
Steroids are anti-inflammatory. By decreasing inflammation, steroids help a dog with CAD feel less itchy. However, steroids have serious long-term side effects, including increased drinking and urinating, liver enlargement, high blood pressure, and a weakened immune system. Because CAD requires lifelong therapy, you and your vet will need to discuss the safest way to use steroids to treat your Golden Retriever's CAD. Even though steroids rapidly reduce itching and inflammation, your vet's goal may be to limit or even eliminate the use of steroids for your Golden Retriever. Prednisone is a type of steroid used to treat CAD. Steroids can be given as short-term relief for flare-ups (temporary episodes of itchiness). They can also be given for the duration of an allergy season, as long as the season is short (a few months or less). As a third option, steroids can be given as long term, low-dose therapy. Your vet will determine which type of steroid therapy your Golden Retriever will need. If your Golden Retriever needs long term steroid therapy, your vet may prescribe a low dosage to be given every other day. Your vet would start with an initial dosage, then gradually decrease that dosage as your Golden Retriever's symptoms improve. Do not make changes to the steroid dosage on your own. This could make treatment more challenging. If your Golden Retriever is on long term steroid therapy, monitoring for side effects is very important. In addition to observing your dog at home, your vet will want to see your dog regularly to analyze blood and urine samples. For example, because steroids can cause liver enlargement, your vet will want to look for increased levels of liver enzymes in your dog's blood. If you notice any side effects (e.g., drinking and urinating more often, diarrhea, increased panting) at home, contact your vet right away. You do not have to wait until your regularly scheduled appointment to have your Golden Retriever examined. In addition to steroids, your vet may prescribe other medications, such as antihistamines, with the goal of limiting or eliminating steroid use. Follow prescription instructions for these other medications. Your vet will determine if the other medications are working well enough to start phasing out the steroids from the treatment plan.