Prednisone is a corticosteriod used to treat a wide range of chronic problems, such as asthma, lupus, arthritis, cancer, allergies and autoimmune disease. Since it is a powerful hormone, prednisone can give your dog immediate relief from uncomfortable symptoms. On the flip side, however, its powerful effect on the body can cause serious problems.

Length of Use

The type of side effects or problems caused by prednisone depend greatly on how long your dog takes the medication. When used only for a short time, the side effects generally are limited and temporary. If given over a long period of time, however, prednisone can cause permanent, serious health problems. If your veterinarian is recommending long-term treatment with prednisone, be sure to discuss whether the benefits outweigh the risks. Even though there are some serious potential side effects, for some diseases prednisone is the medication with the lowest risk.

Short-Term Side Effects

When used for short-term treatment, often for severe allergies or skin problems, prednisone can cause excessive thirst and frequent urination. These symptoms should abate as soon as the treatment is over, but in the meanwhile it may be necessary to let your dog outside frequently to prevent accidents. In some dogs prednisone can cause vomiting, diarrhea and lethargy. Contact your veterinarian if your dog has any of these side effects to determine whether to continue treatment.

Diabetes, Cushing’s and Addison’s Disease

Prednisone changes your dog’s body in many ways when taken for long periods of time. For example, high doses can raise your dog’s blood sugar level, eventually leading to diabetes. The constant high levels of corticosteroids can alter your dog’s hormones and metabolism, which can result in either Cushing’s or Addison’s disease. Signs of these illnesses include dry skin, a pot belly, hair loss, oily skin and weight loss.

Suppressed Immune System

Corticosteroids such as prednisone work by suppressing your dog’s immune system. This can stop autoimmune diseases or allergies in their tracks, but it also leaves your dog vulnerable to illness and infection. For example, a small cut that would normally heal without incident can become infected because your dog’s body cannot react to protect him against bacteria in the wound. Keep a close eye on your dog while he is taking prednisone and contact your veterinarian immediately if he shows any sign of infection or illness.

Other Side Effects

Long-term use of prednisone can lead to stomach ulcers, changes in behavior, stunted growth, kidney disease, colitis and fluid retention. Stopping the medication suddenly can lead to serious problems, such as a heart attack. Your dog should be tapered off of prednisone.

Spaying is the most common abdominal surgery performed on dogs, with most recovering just fine. However, the operation still is major surgery and complications can arise. In a rare worst-case scenario, the dog succumbs during the surgery, due to a reaction to anesthesia or other issue. While there’s nothing you can do about that dire situation, you can keep a careful eye on your dog while she recuperates and seek immediate veterinary attention if needed.

Loose Sutures

Among the most common problems occurring in the recently spayed dog concerns loose sutures or stitches. That’s why your vet recommends using an Elizabethan collar on your dog for about a week, until her incision heals. Yes, your dog hates this “cone of shame,” but it prevents her from licking or chewing the incision. After you bring her home, check the incision a few times daily. If it appears inflamed or swollen, or any pus is seeping out, contact your vet immediately. While slight bleeding for a day or two after surgery is normal, call your vet if there’s significant bleeding. In a worst-case scenario, the incision opens and your dog’s intestines protrude. If that happens, get her to an emergency veterinary hospital at once.

Seromas and Abscesses

Dogs might develop lumps or swelling at the site of the incision. It’s important that your vet examine your dog and make a diagnosis, because these lumps have varying causes. A seroma may form underneath the sutures, filled with watery, reddish fluid. Keeping your dog quiet, as the vet recommends, lessens the odds of seroma formation. Your vet makes a diagnosis by taking a fluid sample. If pus rather than liquid emerges, your dog has an abscess, which means infection-causing bacteria have invaded the incision. Dogs with abscesses often are in pain, compared to those with the normally pain-free seromas. While a seroma might resolve on its own, abscesses require drainage and your vet will prescribe an antibiotic regimen.

Canine Hernias

Hernias occur when the sutures in your dog’s abdominal wall collapse. This can result in fat, intestines and even internal organs falling out of the abdomen and protruding beneath the skin. If the hernia consists only of fat, it shouldn’t cause your dog pain or serious consequences. If your dog appears in pain from the lump, suspect that the protrusion consists of intestinal parts or even organs (commonly the bladder) and get her to the vet immediately. Your pet might require emergency surgery to save her life.

Other Post-Spay Complications

It’s not unusual for dogs to suffer from constipation after spaying. If she doesn’t move her bowels by the fifth day post-surgery, ask your vet whether you might give your dog a stool softener. Your vet can recommend a specific brand and dosage. If she doesn’t have a bowel movement with a few days after consuming the stool softener, take her to the vet. Some female dogs develop urinary incontinence problems after spaying. If dribbling or more serious incontinence doesn’t resolve itself within a few days after the surgery, contact your vet.

ThinkstockIn households with school-aged kids, summers are typically full of fun for everyone in the family – including the dog. But what happens when the kids head back to school in the late summer and the house is suddenly quiet and lonely?

With this sudden change in daily routine, your dog may experience depression or separation anxiety. Separation anxiety is triggered when dogs become upset because of separation from the people they’re attached to.

Signs your dog might be suffering from separation anxiety include destructive or anxious behaviors like:

Howling

Chewing

Pacing

Housesoiling

Attempting to escape from the house or yard

The good news is there are things you can do to help relieve your pup’s distress. The Oregon Humane Society offers these tips to help your dog overcome the “back-to-school blues.”

Schedule an appointment with your vet. Your dog’s anxiety might have an underlying medical cause or your vet might have some additional ideas to help relieve your dog’s stress.

Consider preparing Kongs stuffed with peanut butter or some other favorite treat. Working to get the treat out will provide your dog a distraction from his stress and hours of enjoyment and mental stimulation while you’re gone.

Check out some doggie day cares in your area. A day or two of supervised play and exercise may be beneficial to your lonely dog.

Take your pooch for long morning walks to get him plenty of exercise and tire him out.

Spend quality time with your dog when you are at home; include him in family activities to assure him he’s still an important part of the family.

　　If Rover is driving you crazy and destroying the house in the process, it might be time for some behavior lessons. While picking up the phone and calling a trainer might sound appealing, your budget might not allow for it. The good news? You can do all the training yourself for next to nothing, as long as you’re willing to invest the time and energy into it.

1Buy a dog training clicker. This is a small plastic device that sells for less than $10 online or at pet stores everywhere. A clicker is a tool for positive reinforcement. You simply carry it with you and when Rover does something you approve of, you click the device and then offer a reward. Soon Doggie will understand that certain actions make you happy and earn him a treat, and he will start repeating them more often.

2Use verbal cues along with the clicker. For example, say “sit” or “wait.” When Rover obeys, click and then reward the behavior. Teaching Doggie basic commands costs nothing — except for the cost of the treats — but it helps him understand you’re in charge.

3Socialize your dog. If you have a local dog park, this is a great free opportunity to teach your dog some social skills. Doggie not ready to go out into the world and meet others? Set up some play dates in a more controlled environment, such as a friend’s backyard or a quiet section of the beach. Once there, keep an eye on Doggie so you can correct him when he behaves inappropriately with another dog.

4Download an app for your tablet or smartphone. There are plenty of free or low cost — $2 or less — apps that guide you through a training program. Some have specific goals, such as helping you teach your dog commands, while others focus on behavior problems. Some apps allow you to keep track of your training progress so you know what you’re doing and where to go from there.

5Make your own pet deterrent by mixing one part fresh lemon or orange juice and three parts water. Or try mixing one part vinegar with five parts water. Add the mix to a spray bottle and spray furniture or other areas you want to keep doggie-free. You can also booby trap your kitchen counter by placing aluminum foil or pop cans right near the edge. Next time Doggie wants to jump up or steal something from the counter, he’ll create an avalanche of things — hopefully scaring him enough to deter him from trying again.

What would you give to make your pet’s behavior problems disappear? Believe it or not, most issues can be resolved in three simple steps. Follow along, and your pet will be humming “Ain’t Misbehavin’” in no time!

ThinkstockRule Out Medical Problems

Be careful not to confuse a behavior problem with a health issue. For instance, cats with feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) often urinate outside their litter boxes. Prescribed medications can also have behavioral side effects. Consider the commonly prescribed medicine prednisone, an anti-inflammatory steroid. Side effects include increased water consumption and, as a result, increased urine output. Some of the cleanest dogs I know have house-training lapses when taking prednisone, unless their guardians provide additional elimination walks. Whenever medication is prescribed for your pet, ask about the side effects so you can be prepared.

Watch Your Reward Process

To paraphrase Thorndike’s Law of Effect, rewarded behavior is likely to increase in frequency and unrewarded behavior is likely to decrease in frequency. Take Miss Puss. Each morning, she taps you on the face at four o’clock, letting you know that she’d like a can of kitty morsels. She seems in dire need of a meal, so you do her bidding—and unwittingly reward her behavior. You can bet she’ll be back the next morning! She has learned that tapping yields tasty treats. However, if you had turned a cold shoulder to her early-morning pleas, Puss would have had no reward and no reason to try that tactic again.

What to do? You resolve to hang tough and ignore Miss Puss’s entreaties from now on. But be warned: what started out as a gentle love tap may now escalate to a forceful, extended-claw swat. This worsening behavior is called an “extinction burst.” The animal throws everything she’s got into the behavior that once netted her a reward, testing what it may take to garner a payoff before she gives up and moves on. Her poor guardian must remain unmoved in order to extinguish the misbehavior. Giving in teaches the animal that a concerted effort just might work.

Sometimes, figuring out what rewards an animal can be tricky. Consider canine greeting behavior. You walk through the front door, and Bouncing Betty greets you with a well-placed slam to your solar plexus. You double over in pain and holler a few choice expletives. Is this rewarding to Betty? Yes—you have lowered your face closer to her, and she has your attention. Dogs are like children—both prefer negative attention to no attention at all. Withdrawal of attention (walking back out the door or turning to face the wall) whenever her paws are off the floor would remove Betty’s rewards. To encourage appropriate behavior, teach her to sit, or pay attention to her only when she has all four paws on the floor. Note:

Sometimes we are so relieved when bad behavior has stopped that we don’t acknowledge good acts. Don’t

forget to add a quiet “good pup” or slip Betty a tidbit to celebrate a job well done.

Consider Environmental Management

Some guardians are training junkies—in the best sense. For them, resolving problems by teaching alternate behaviors is a pleasure. Others are less committed to training and more interested in keeping things simple. If that is your philosophy, environmental management may suit you better. Does one really need to spend countless hours creating setups to teach Snoopy to stay out of the garbage, when just keeping the trash can out of reach would suffice? Don’t want the cat on the bed? Close the bedroom door. Hate it when the puppy eats the kids’ toys? Put the toys away when the pup is out and put the pup away (in a crate or gated area) when the toys are spread all over the living room. It’s quick and easy and may be just what the overscheduled guardian needs to resolve certain problems. Note: Please make sure not to abuse this solution by socially isolating your companion animal in a crate, garage, yard, or basement for long hours every day.

People may find this habit hard to understand, but many dogs tend to indulge in eating feces — their own or those of other animals.

Here are a few reasons why your dog might eat poop:

Mother dogs eat their pups’ stool to keep the whelping area clean, and pups may mimic this behavior. This behavior tends to fade during adulthood, but some dogs continue throughout life.

Some dogs indulge due to boredom, stress or because they consider it a sort of delicacy.

Dogs have fewer taste buds than humans and that may be part of why they seem to be less selective than we are in regards to what they will put into their mouths.

In some cases there may be an underlying medical cause, such as lack of sufficient nutrients in the diet. Be sure to check with your vet to rule this out as a possible cause.

ThinkstockIf your dog is eating his own poop: This problem is fairly easy to resolve. Since it’s easy to predict elimination when your dog is on a walking schedule, promptly discard feces so your dog does not have access to them. If possible, bring a toy with you to distract your dog as you clean up (allowing him to focus on you cleaning up his stool may inadvertently increase its perceived value).

If your dog is eating your cat’s poop: Put the litter box in an area where your dog can’t have access to it or confine your dog in an area away from the box.

Regardless of whose stool your dog is eating, avoid reprimanding them for doing so, as this may result in your dog simply waiting to do it when you are gone. If you catch your dog, try to remain calm, as your urgency might exacerbate the problem.

Q: Why is my dog so afraid of thunder and how can I make him less scared?

A: Many dogs are afraid of thunder simply because they do not understand what it is. Dogs hear this loud noise and perceive it as something threatening.

ThinkstockSome dogs try to go under tables, in bathtubs, or in any other places that make them feel secure. It is ok to allow them to do this.

It is important, however, not to try to soothe your pet too much. Doing so can actually encourage his fear if he senses any insecurity in your voice.

During a thunderstorm, try to provide a background noise for your dog, such as TV or radio. This may help to somewhat drown out the noise of the thunder. You can also try to get your dog’s mind off the storm by playing with him.

There are some dogs that require sedation when there is a storm. Consult your veterinarian so that they can prescribe something to calm your dog during a storm.