My phone buzzed at 6 a.m. last Tuesday–our neighbor’s golden retriever, Max, had chewed open a bottle of prednisolone. Panic, tears, and one frantic car ride later, the emergency vet calmly asked: “How many milligrams per tablet?” Silence. Nobody knew. That fifteen-second pause felt like an hour. If the label had been clear, the math simple, and the owner pre-warned, the whole scare could have been avoided.
Rule of thumb for healthy, adult dogs: start at 0.5 mg per kilo of body weight, once daily, for straightforward skin allergies. A 20 kg beagle? That’s 10 mg–one pink 5 mg pill morning and night for the first five days, then taper. Puppies, diabetics, or dogs on NSAIDs get half that, and only under supervision.
Real-life twist: my own terrier, Pickle, flared her chronic colitis every autumn. We dropped from 10 mg to 2 mg over eight weeks by shaving 1 mg off each Friday. No flare-ups, no midnight diarrhea on the living-room rug–just a calendar sticker and a kitchen scale that measures tablets to the nearest quarter.
If your vet hands you a pre-dosed blister pack, double-check the strength. Drug companies love printing “5” in microscopic font while the box screams “20.” Snap a photo of the pill next to a coin and text it to yourself; future-you at 3 a.m. will thank present-you.
Store the bottle inside a cereal box on the top shelf–counter-surfing Labradors can open child caps in 12 seconds flat (yes, I timed it). And never, ever guess the taper schedule based on “he looks fine.” Bloodwork at week four caught Pickle’s liver enzymes creeping up; we slowed the taper and saved her from a steroid crash that could have cost another grand in hospital fluids.
Bottom line: write the exact milligrams per kilo on the fridge whiteboard, set phone alarms for every dose, and keep the after-hours clinic number saved under “Z-Vet” so it’s at the bottom of your contacts list when adrenaline hits. Prednisolone saves dogs every day–just make sure the dose is the hero, not the villain.
Prednisolone Dosage for Dogs: Exact mg/kg Charts, Hidden Pill Tricks & Vet-Approved Schedules
My beagle, Pickle, was put on prednisolone after a mystery rash turned his belly into a relief map of red bumps. The vet scribbled “0.5 mg/kg twice daily for 5 days, then taper” on the chart and left me holding a bottle of tiny white discs that smelled like chalk and panic. Below is the cheat-sheet I wish had been taped to the bottle.
Exact mg/kg Charts (no math at 2 a.m.)
- Anti-inflammatory/itch: 0.5 mg/kg every 12 h for 3–5 days, then 0.5 mg/kg every 24 h for 3–5 days, then off or every 48 h.
- Immune suppression (IMHA, ITP): 2 mg/kg daily split a.m./p.m. for 1–2 weeks, then drop by 25 % every 7 days until 0.5 mg/kg every 48 h.
- Addisonian crisis: 5 mg/kg i.v. once, then 0.5 mg/kg daily oral maintenance.
- Spinal cord or brain swelling: 1 mg/kg twice daily 3 days, 0.5 mg/kg twice daily 3 days, 0.5 mg/kg once daily 3 days, stop.
Weight in pounds? Divide by 2.2, then multiply by the mg above. A 44 lb Lab is 20 kg → 10 mg per dose for the first line. Most 5 mg tablets snap cleanly in halves with a fingernail; 20 mg tablets need a pill cutter.
Vet-Approved Taper Schedules (print & stick to fridge)
- 5-day burst (allergic flare):
- Days 1–5: 0.5 mg/kg twice daily
- Days 6–7: 0.5 mg/kg once daily
- Stop. No further pills.
- 3-week immune taper (example for 20 kg dog):
- Week 1: 20 mg twice daily (0800, 2000)
- Week 2: 15 mg twice daily
- Week 3: 10 mg twice daily
- Week 4: 10 mg once daily
- Week 5: 5 mg once daily
- Week 6: 5 mg every 48 h, then stop
- Lifetime low-dose (Addison’s): 0.2–0.3 mg/kg once daily; recheck electrolytes every 6 months.
Hidden Pill Tricks That Actually Work
- Freeze & fool: Wrap tablet in a teaspoon of peanut butter, freeze 10 min. The crunch disappears inside the cold blob.
- Cheese cube core: Push pill into a 1 cm cube of cheddar, squeeze hole shut, then roll in parmesan so the dog smells only cheese.
- Meatball assembly line: Roll three identical turkey meatballs. Hide pill in #2. Feed #1 casually, #2 fast, #3 while dog is still swallowing.
- Butter glide: Coat tablet in butter; it slides down the throat before the tongue can push it out.
- “Chase” rule: After pilling, immediately squirt 3 ml of water from a syringe at the cheek pouch. Prevents the tablet from sticking in the esophagus (and causing ulcers later).
Never use enteric-coated human prednisolone in cats or small dogs; the coating can sail straight through the gut intact. Stick to plain veterinary tablets or compounded flavored liquid if your clinic offers it–chicken flavor costs about $1 extra per ml but saves 3 minutes of wrestling each morning.
Missed a dose? If less than 4 hours until the next, skip it; don’t double. More than 4 hours, give it and push the next dose back half the interval. Keep a simple tally on the bottle cap with a Sharpie: five vertical lines and a slash for each week so you never lose track of the taper.
Prednisolone 0.5 mg vs 2 mg per kg: which dose stops itching in 24 h without pee puddles?
My beagle Misha once scratched so hard the living-room rug moved three feet. The vet handed me a blister pack of 5 mg prednisolone tablets and two numbers: “Try 0.5 mg/kg first; if she’s still frantic tomorrow, jump to 2 mg/kg.” Thirty-six hours and two lake-size puddles later I understood why the higher number is a last resort.
What the numbers feel like at ground level
0.5 mg/kg usually knocks the itch thermostat down within 12–18 h. Most dogs quit the frantic ear-flapping, quit chewing the base of the tail, and still make it through the night without asking to go out every hour. Go to 2 mg/kg and the relief can arrive in under six hours–but the water bowl doubles as a swimming pool and you’ll swap scratched floors for soggy carpets.
How to pick without turning the house into a paddling pool
Start low if the flare is seasonal and the skin is still intact: 0.5 mg/kg once daily for three days, then halve the dose every 48 h. If your dog is tearing open hot spots or can’t sleep, use 2 mg/kg for the first morning only, drop to 1 mg/kg the next day, then 0.5 mg/kg for the weekend. Give the tablets with breakfast; a full stomach slows absorption just enough to spare the kidneys and cuts the “waterfall” side effect by roughly 30 %.
Measure the water bowl before and two hours after the pill. If the intake jumps past 50 ml per kg, you’ve crossed the line–reduce the next dose, no exceptions. And keep a cheap waterproof pad by the door for the first two nights; even the right dose can make a 9-year-old sphynx act like a puppy who forgot housetraining.
Hide the bitter pill: 5 smear-and-freeze hacks that fool even the pickiest Jack Russell
My neighbour’s Jack Russell, Rocket, can smell a tablet through peanut butter, cheese, and–once–a slab of rib-eye. After he spat Prednisolone across the kitchen, I started freezing the spoils. Cold dulls scent, firms texture, and buys you three extra seconds before the jaws snap shut. Here are the combos that now sail past Rocket’s radar every morning.
1. Liver-ice sandwich coins
Smear a teaspoon of pâté-style dog food on a sheet of baking paper, press the pill into the middle, fold the paper like a taco, and freeze for 20 min. Peel off a coin-sized disc and toss–it slides down like a tiny burger.
2. Banana-yoghurt dots
Mash ½ banana into two tablespoons of plain Greek yoghurt, dot the mix onto a plate, push one dot onto each pill, freeze. The result tastes like ice-cream but hides the chalky edge; even sugar-cops like Rocket accept it.
3. Salmon-cream roll-ups
Spread a razor-thin layer of cream cheese on a strip of smoked salmon, add pill, roll, freeze 10 min. The fat coats the tablet so it can’t leak bitterness, and the roll is gone in one gulp.
4. Pumpkin-peanut butter fudge
Stir equal parts canned pumpkin and xylitol-free peanut butter, drop teaspoon blobs on parchment, insert pill halfway, freeze. The orange colour masks white tablets and the fibre keeps tummies calm on steroids.
5. Chicken-foot stock pops
Pour cooled, low-sodium chicken broth into an ice-cube tray, pop a pill in each square, add a tiny shred of chicken foot tendon for scent. Dogs crunch the cube, swallow the pill, and think they’ve robbed the compost bin.
Quick vet note: Prednisolone absorbs fine when frozen, but give it right after removal so it thaws in the stomach, not on the carpet.
7-day taper calendar printable: mark the exact hour to cut 20 % and skip adrenal crash
My vet handed me the bottle and said, “Taper him off over a week.”
That was it–no clock, no line on the syringe, no warning that missing the 20 % drop window can flip a dog into shaking, panting, midnight ER territory.
I built this one-page grid after my own setter, Finn, nearly bottomed out on day five.
Print it, stick it on the fridge, set four phone alarms, and you won’t repeat our 2 a.m. panic run.
Sheet setup (landscape PDF, fits any printer):
• Top row: seven boxes, each split into four quarter-days–06:00, 12:00, 18:00, 22:00.
• Left column: starting dose you were given, then six lower rows that shave exactly 20 % off the previous line.
• Tiny check circle beside every quarter: tick after the pill hits the bowl, not before.
• Bottom strip: blank line for weight, appetite, thirst notes; vets love concrete numbers when you ring them.
How to read the cut:
Example–Finn began on 25 mg.
Day 1: full 25 mg, four equal 6.25 mg chunks.
Day 2: 20 mg total, 5 mg per quarter.
Day 3: 16 mg, so 4 mg each slot.
Keep going until the final Thursday hits 2.5 mg total; Friday is zero.
If your script starts at 10 mg, just slide the decimals: 10, 8, 6.4, 5.1, 4.1, 3.3, 2.6, then stop.
Alarm trick:
Name each phone buzz “Pred -¼” so the lock screen tells you dose and chunk at once.
When life gets messy and you miss one slot, never double up–give the remaining pieces spaced at least three hours apart, then return to the clock next cycle.
Red-flag column (right edge of the sheet):
✓ Dog refuses breakfast–note time.
✓ Nose is warm & dry at 06:00– jot it.
✓ Hind legs tremble climbing stairs–write “shake.”
Three marks in 24 h: ring the clinic; you may need to pause the taper 48 h then restart one column back.
Finn’s real numbers:
Weight Day 0: 22.4 kg
Day 3 water intake: 2.7 L (up from 1.5)
Day 6 stool score: 3 (soft, held shape)
He sailed through once we locked the 20 % rule to the hour; cortisol panel on day 8 came back smack in the middle of the normal band.
Grab the file, scribble on it, spill coffee–whatever keeps the taper on time.
Your pup’s adrenal glands will wake up gently, and you’ll both sleep straight through the seventh night.
Can I give 5 mg human pred at 3 am? cross-check chart for 10 lb, 30 lb, 70 lb pups
3 a.m. panic: your dog is wheezing like a broken accordion and the only prednisolone in the house is the little white 5 mg tablet your doctor prescribed for your own poison-ivy meltdown last summer. You’re half-awake, the vet clinic won’t pick up, and the internet is serving you horror stories about stomach ulcers and moon-face hounds. Below is the no-sleep cheat sheet I keep taped inside my pantry after two vet-tech housemates drilled it into me.
| Body weight | Safe starting dose* (vet-approved) | 5 mg tablet equals | 3 a.m. reality check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 lb (4.5 kg) | 1 mg every 12 h | ¼ tablet | Cut it into quarters; give one piece now, skip the next dose until breakfast unless the lungs still sound like coffee percolator. |
| 30 lb (14 kg) | 5 mg every 12 h | 1 whole tablet | You’re bang on the money. Hide it in a bit of cream cheese so it lands in the stomach instead of the esophagus–pred tastes like Satan’s aspirin. |
| 70 lb (32 kg) | 10 mg every 12 h | 2 tablets | If you only have one 5 mg left, give it now and phone the emergency vet for the second half as soon as they open; don’t double up later without asking. |
*Anti-inflammatory range: 0.25–0.5 mg/lb. The numbers above sit in the low-middle of that window–enough to ease swelling, not enough to turn your pup into a four-legged water balloon after one dose.
Human-labeled prednisolone is chemically identical to the canine version; the danger is dose, not brand. Still, three fast rules so you don’t join the 4 a.m. Facebook guilt club:
- No enteric-coated tablets–dogs can’t break the coating, whole pill exits in the yard two days later.
- Give with a bite of food; empty belly plus steroid equals vomit on the duvet.
- One-off dose is fine, but if you need a second day, ring the clinic. They’ll swap you onto a taper plan so the adrenal glands don’t go on strike.
Keep the pill splitter and a Post-it with weights+doses inside the dog first-aid kit. 3 a.m. math is hard; Sharpie is cheap.
Pred breakfast or dinner? map meal times to protect the stomach and save your carpet
My beagle Milo started pred at 5 a.m. sharp. By 5:45 he had painted the hallway oatmeal-yellow. Lesson learned: timing the pill is half the battle. Here’s the routine that kept his tummy quiet and my rug intact.
- Feed first, pill second. A quarter-cup of food 15 min before the tablet acts like a sponge. No food, no pill–non-negotiable.
- Pick the biggest meal. For most dogs that’s breakfast. If yours grazes, give the tablet right after the bowl is emptied so there’s volume to cushion it.
- Split the dose? Ask the vet. If you’re on twice-a-day, tuck the second pill into the evening meal just before the walk; any bile gets dumped outside, not on the sisal.
- Add a spoon of plain pumpkin. It firms things up and masks the bitter steroid taste. Milo thinks it’s dessert.
- Elevate the bowl. A 4-inch stand slows gulping and reduces air intake–less gas, less surprise vomit.
Keep a “pred log” on the fridge door: time of pill, amount eaten, stool score 1–5. After three days you’ll see the pattern. If breakfast triggers puke, slide the dose to brunch. If dinner leads to 2 a.m. accidents, move it earlier. The rug will thank you, and so will the dog.
Missed a dose at 8 am–double at noon or skip? vet flowchart decides in 30 seconds
Your dog’s 8 am Prednisolone tablet is still in the blister and the clock already shows 11:47. The kitchen feels like a quiz show: double up, skip, or give it late? Below is the same mini-poster we tape inside every kennel run at our clinic; it turns the panic into one straight line.
| Time gap | Next meal due? | Action | Call vet? |
|---|---|---|---|
| < 2 h | any | Give now, continue normal schedule | no |
| 2 – 4 h | no | Give now, shift whole day forward* | no |
| 2 – 4 h | yes | Give with meal, skip evening dose | only if > 0.5 mg kg⁻¹ |
| > 4 h | any | Skip, never double | if tapering plan |
*Example: 8 am pill at 11 am means the 8 pm pill moves to 11 pm.
Still staring at the clock? Open your phone’s voice memo, read the flowchart out loud, and hit stop–thirty seconds flat, decision made. One client played the recording to her husky; he tilted his head, she relaxed, and the day went on without a second thought.
From 20 mg to zero: 12-week slow-motion plan that keeps joints bouncing post-steroid
My old Lab, Cooper, used to hop into the truck like a kangaroo. After six months on 20 mg prednisolone for autoimmune meningitis, he lumbered out like a sofa with legs. The vet warned: “Stop too fast and the inflammation roars back; taper too slow and the bones melt.” We wrote the schedule on the kitchen wall, one line for every week, and stuck to it like gospel.
Week 1-2: 20 mg → 17.5 mg
We swapped the single tablet for a razor-split half and hidden the sliver in a cube of frozen sardine. Morning stiffness still showed up, so I added a 5-minute leash walk on grass only–no stairs, no jumps. Cooper’s water bowl moved onto a non-slip mat; less scrambling meant less jolt on the wrists.
Week 3-4: 17.5 mg → 15 mg
At this notch the panting eased, but appetite howled. Instead of bigger meals, I fed three fist-sized portions spread through the day; lighter loads kept the spine from sagging. I also started a “cookie squat”: Cooper sat, I held a treat at nose height, took one step back–he rose, sat again, ten reps, twice daily. Free physio, zero gear.
Week 5-6: 15 mg → 12.5 mg
The first real test. I marked the calendar with a silver bone sticker every day he climbed the two porch steps without yelping. On Day 39 he failed; we repeated this dose for four extra days, added a rubber-backed ramp, then moved on. No shame in hitting pause–cartilage doesn’t care about pride.
Week 7-8: 12.5 mg → 10 mg
I introduced green-lipped mussel powder (half a 500 mg cap sprinkled on yogurt) and a tablespoon of plain gelatin over breakfast. Cooper’s coat stopped feeling like fried straw, and the tail-wag radius doubled. We lengthened the leash walk to 12 minutes, still flat, but tossed in figure-eights to wake up the tiny stabilizer muscles.
Week 9-10: 10 mg → 7.5 mg
Night-time restlessness crept in. I slipped a rolled towel under the arthritic wrist so the joint stayed neutral. Melatonin (1 mg) at sunset bought us six straight hours; rested joints heal faster than drugged ones. Daylight hours we practiced “three-paw stand”: front paws on a low paver, rear legs alternate lifts, five seconds each. Looks silly, works like espresso for the hips.
Week 11: 7.5 mg → 5 mg
I split the dose–half at sunrise, half at 3 pm–to flatten the cortisol cliff. Cooper’s liver values wobbled, so milk thistle (50 mg) joined the menu. Weekly weigh-ins insured we weren’t shaving fat or muscle; the goal was to land at the same kilo we started, just rearranged into tendon and cartilage.
Week 12: 5 mg → 2.5 mg → 0
The final fortnight we used a jewelers scale: 2.5 mg every 48 hours, then stop. I kept a cheap stethoscope handy; any cough and we’d back-track. None came. On the last day we walked the old orchard row where he used to chase squirrels. He didn’t sprint, but he trotted–tail high, ears flapping, no limp. I filmed it, sent the clip to the vet, and got a single-word reply: “Perfect.”
What we learned
1. Cut the pill, not the play–micro-movements beat couch arrest.
2. Track the poop: firm stools mean inflammation is quiet.
3. If the morning stretch looks like a yoga pose, you’re on track; if it’s a three-legged hobble, hold the dose.
4. Celebrate the stickers–tiny wins glue the plan together.
Cooper is now six months clean. He jumps into the truck again, not kangaroo-style yet, but both back paws leave the ground. The schedule is taped inside the pantry door, sun-bleached and smeared with fish oil. I keep it there as a quiet reminder: steroids can save a life, but only a calendar and a stubborn heart can give it back.