I have a 2 year old spayed, female Shar-Pei that has had terrible reactions to steroids.

The drugs she has taken are: eye drops containing Dexamethasone and Vetalog injections.

She was given eye drops after her entropian surgery, but was discontinued after we talked to our vet about how Scribbles was acting. This was almost 2 years ago when she was a year old. She does not need any more eye medication and our vet has filed the incident in his records.

After being given these drugs Scribbles becomes very disorientated, lethargic, and acts out of aggression towards my other 2 neutered male Shar-Pei. She would all of a sudden and without warning, attack my other 2 dogs for no apparent reason at all. Never towards a human. Scribbles is usually a very sweet natured dog. She has her Canine Good Citizen Award and has been trained in competitive Obedience and Agility.

After given these steroids Scribbles is not thirsty at all and does not require as many potty breaks as is usually the case when dogs are given these drugs.

As I understand, the side effects my dog has showed are the least common associated with the use of steroids in dogs from what I read in this article:

http://www.gehrman-animal.com/resources/steroids.pdf

Strangely enough, Scribbles has also had the same reactions to carob dog treats. As soon as the source is taken away she returns to her normal loving and calm self.

Scribbles has also had a terrible reaction to too much Benadryl given to her. She gets irritated and acts as if there are bugs crawling on her, by jumping up quickly and moving from spot to spot. By doing this she becomes exhausted and will not sit or lay down until the Benadryl is out of her system.

I hope by writing this, pet owners of similar dogs can understand what is causing these very strange side effects in their lovable pets. Before finding the information .... I was worried that my sweet dog was becoming too aggressive and the thought that she might possibly have to be put to sleep was unbearable. Luckily I found this article that explained everything and now have my loving dog back.

Thank You,
Melissa Patrick
Missouri

3/16/04