If Corgan is sleeping on cedar bedding, or any type of potentially treated bedding, get him off of it. My Mom's Aussie suddenly started itching and pulling out his hair and his bedding was partially to blame. The cedar and other shavings are made from chemically treated lumber scraps. Great, huh?
If he isn't already, get him on a natural dog food made with human grade, ORGANIC ingredients. I can't stress the organic part enough. Most dog foods are made of unspeakable parts of animals that have been injected and fed with all sorts of chemical and hormonal enhancements. It's a recipe for toxic soup and undoubtedly is to blame in so much of the increase in allergic reactions our animals have. Chazhound uses Flint River for his dogs; I use Innova for mine. If you will go to the website for Natura Pet at
www.naturapet.com and use the product wizard, it will help you choose the right food for Corgan. It allows you to compare everything from ALPO to Karma. It will not only let you compare food, it also tells you about each ingredient.
That may be the single most important thing you can do.
It might be very worthwhile to see if there is a holistic vet or one who uses alternative medicine in your area, or even a veterinary specialist. There is one near me, in Knoxville, who treated my big cat, Gonzo, after he was diagnosed with FIV. Since we were there regularly over the next year, I got to watch the long term progress of some of Dr. Swarthout's "allergy" patients and it was amazing. She only got the ones that the regular vets had given up on, and I will absolutely say that the woman is a healer. Dr. Swarthout told me once that one of the main reasons most vets didn't have much success treating "allergies" is because they haven't actually determined whether the condition is truly an allergy or is caused by a bacteria or fungus growing on or under the skin. A veterinary college can be a good resource, too.
You're absolutely right to be afraid of the prednisone. It is a steroid, and although it has great short term benefits, there is quite a bit of controversy surrounding long term use of steroids, or even short term over use, especially in veterinary application. We can tell our doctors when the side effects are getting bad, our pets can't, and by the time the effects are bad enough for us to see, it can be too late.
When did Corgan's reaction start? Was it sudden? What changed in his environment? Is it worse in the heat, and does it subside when the weather's cold, or is there no change? Does he spend a lot of time indoors with you? If so, his skin may be getting a bit dry, exacerbating the condition, especially if you have gas heat. I don't know if Huskies are like Malamutes, but I've been told the reason Malamutes don't have the typical "doggy" odor is because they don't have the oil glands in their skin that most breeds have; this makes them more susceptible to dry, irritated skin in home environments. If that is the case, perhaps a skin supporting supplement will help. Come to think of it, that's probably a good idea anyway!
Did your vet tell you what kind of allergies Corgan has? That's an important piece of information; what he's allergic to, is it a systemic allergy or a topical allergy? Did he swab any tissue samples of the affected areas for lab work?
I'll pull out some of my natural pet health books and see what they say, particularly on the subject of supplements to support skin health, and get back to you. Corgan looks like such a sweetheart, I just hate to think of the two of you having to endure this! It's no fun for either one of you.