Comments on Apoquel : Dog Drug With a Dark Side - Homeopath Vet

My 8-year-old English/American Bulldog who was completely healthy (just had a full panel of blood work and examination) and still very active
was put on APOQUEL for his ongoing skin allergies on March 26, 2021. The end of May (started May 24th) we noticed a few changes in him. He’d become lethargic, aggressive towards our other dog, eating slowed down, sleeping more, trouble with stairs, jumping on bed/couch (never had issues prior), overall not himself. We thought maybe getting older, but still monitored with a journal. Beginning of June (June 3rd) we noticed more issues. He would randomly cough/choke out of nowhere, then little short coughs while breathing. I called the vet, sent videos an journal of issues. They didn’t seem concerned, but made an appointment June 8th, 5 days away. 2 days after we called (June 5th) we noticed his head tilted to the side a little while walking. The 3rd day (June 6th) we saw his head while tilted was shaking, and then the head shake got quicker, and constant. He would walk slowly to a room while shaking a stare at nothing for like 5min . This all happened in about 2.5 hours.. We rushed him 2hrs away to PennVet, the University of Pennsylvania veterinary hospital (one of the best animal hospitals in the country). During his examination they said ALL his LYMPH NODES were SEVERELY SWOLLEN. After 3hrs there unfortunately we had to make the decision to let him go. The THREE veterinarians who tried to save my baby all agreed the APOQUEL caused the lymph nodes issue, that led to the neurological issues and ultimately killed him. My 100% Completely healthy absolutely amazing dog, who never had a health issue other than allergies was now dead less than 3 months after taking APOQUEL! These are no ordinary vets, they are Ivy League veterinarians and are considered among the best in the country. They advocate against Apoquel and said they have petitioned to have it pulled, and will continue to till it is. I 100% trust their judgment and this is now where I take all of my animals (2 dogs, 3 cats) for routine and emergency care.

Apoquel killed our 8 yo Airedale by allowing hemangiosarcoma of the spleen. Please help take it off the market! Too many stories like this! Stop the madness!

My 6 year old Irish setter who was on levothyroxine developed a persistent ear infection. The vet referred me to a Dermatologist.
After many expensive procedures and several compounded medications she put him on long term Apoquel. He had taken the drug for over a year. My very vibrant otherwise healthy Irish collapsed. Rushed to emergency and found he had osteosarcoma of the heart. He died the next day.

Our beautiful boy Fletcher was prescribed Apoquel by our trusted vet when he was around 4 for all his itchies. It was a miracle cure! We asked about long term side effects. They said it was safe. We just lost him at the age of 8 to a very aggressive lung cancer that seem to just appear out of no where. By the time he showed symptoms, the cancer had taken over his lungs. We said goodbye 2 weeks after his diagnosis ????

Apoquel killed my dog I’m positive of this my almost 13 year old Pitt bull mix named Muffin had bad allergies she was on another drug temaril p with no issues it was a steroid I did not like the idea of side effects and was told Apoquel was safer what a joke , So I put my dog on this she was on it for 4 and a half to 5 months she wound up with back to back Utis that were bloody then she got severely lethargic plus her one eye blew up in the 3rd eyelid like the worst case of cherry eye you have ever seen . I stopped the drug but a little to late she was sick x rays of her lungs revealed cancer all in her lungs but she had had previous scans of her lungs not long before that showed her lungs were clear and fine until they were not I’m sorry I believed this drug was safe as it clearly is not I’m heartbroken forever now .

We started our 7 yr old American Staffy on apoquel around nov last year for itching. She suddenly became ill on Saturday with blood in urine then hemorrhaged massive amounts of blood at the vet and they said they thought she had a tumour in bladder or liver and had to be euthanised all within 12 hours of her looking unwell. I’m so heartbroken and worried the apoquel caused this :(

My beautiful and gentle souled golden retriever /lab mix is 6.5 years old.

About a year ago (age 5) she started getting mild allergies shortly after receiving a vaccine. (I was opposed to her getting it).

It was only once the allergy got more severe (her fur starting to thin out in areas, paws going pink, ears having dirt in them) that I agreed to the apoquel, which she has been on since October. Our vet told us there were no side effects and she’s comfortable with her being on this for life.

We immediately noticed a significant difference in willow’s energy levels and personality. She was suddenly like a puppy again, which we saw as a positive.

But with this newfound energy, there have been some extremely out of character behaviours, and we are starting to see aggressiveness which had no place in her very gentle and loving personality prior.

Last night, when she turned that aggression towards me, I got thinking about what could possibly be causing this. The only thing which has changed in her life is the Apoquel. So I started looking online and came about this website.

I’ve now stopped giving her the medication.
Is aggression a known side effect?

My blue heeler suffered from itchy paws and would chew his pads raw. The vet suggested this new drug, Apoquel (this was 5 years ago). It worked really well! I had asked the vet if there were any side effects to worry about, and he said, "None that he was aware of." Somewhere around this same time, an ultrasound discovered a small growth on my dog's liver. The vet said we'd just have to keep an eye on it... 11 months later, the tumor had doubled in size, ruptured, and my dog bled out. I blame the Apoquel (and the vet!). I no longer go to that vet.

Can apoquel cause blindness?

My dog was prescribed apoquel twice a year for the past 3 yrs for allergies. He was 7 yrs old, the vet denied it being a hazardous drug and told me it doesn't cause cancer. My staffy last took it Aug 2025, he developed a spleen mass and died jan 21 2026. The vet never monitored him nor did blood work to ensure this drug wasn't hurting him. Vets are simply prescribing it most likely to get their kick backs. I would never give any dog this drug ever , and I'm not sure if I'd ever trust any vet again.

Yes I believe it killed my
Pitt mix Muffin I just put her down last night on Monday January 19 th with her lungs completely full of cancer I am beyond heartbroken we were together through everything for 13 years .

Im pissed! Apoquel is hurting my dog as we speak. He has an ear issue and im afraid his scratching at t is damaging the ear. Enter the vet here take these. Now he has a abdomine problem constipation etc. They said no sign of infection in ear and dont have a clue why its bothering him. Now he is worse off than ever.

My Yorkshire terrier was put on Apoquel for chronic itching several months ago. It helped a lot at first but over the last couple of months he has been nibbling at his feet. His behaviour also changed, he gets days where he appears really lethargic and depressed and occasionally can get quite aggressive towards other dogs. He also has times when he acts just really odd. Recently he has been gulping and hiccuping quite a bit and occasionally gets loose poop. The more I read about Apoquel the more I'm convinced it's that causing it. He has pancreatitis and recently had full bloods done so I know it's not that. I stopped giving it to him 3 days ago, I know it's early days yet but I'm hoping the side effects will disappear

My 7 year old giant schnauzer mix has seasonal allergies. My vet put him on apoquel at 1 year. He now has a completely shut down immune system, bacterial infections back to back that are now completely resistant to ANY medications. I continue to be gaslit by the entire veterinary staff that my dog is the ONLY dog that has EVER had a problem! I have spent thousands. The constant rhetoric is that I need to feed him science diet! He needs to be on flea/heartworm treatment. It's MY negligence that has caused this. I'm furious.

Maybe I missed it but I did not see the side effect our dog has. Apoquel makes him anxious which makes him bark constantly and very unhappy. I am an epidemiologist and I know a cause and effect when I see one. We have reduced his dose and is behavior is more normal but he is itching more which we manage with topicals. We have an appointment with a dermatologist three months from now because we've go to get him off this medication and yet not let him hurt himself with the scratching and biting. I've seen one study on the long term cancer outcomes in dogs on apoquel and the confidence intervals are so wide that it's clear that the study was not powerful enough to be "significant". What I saw in the results was concerning to me but I am not a dog cancer specialist to be clear.

My beloved Scout was given Apoquel before the age of 1 and on it until he died at 5 years old in July of 2024 he started to slow down a lot and just wasn't himself... he passed March 8th 2025 of cancer riddled throughout his whole body. I would NEVER recommend Apoquel to any dog owner. I firmly believe it took away the only thing that got me through CVOID. He had so much life to give us and now hes just gone because Drs dont tell you the seriously horrible side effects and conditions that this drug will give your pet! Take it from me stay far away!

I started my dog on apoquel on June 2024 since he had allergies, he was 3 at the time. On December I noticed he had lost some weight, but nothing worrisome. Throught the months he slowly became more disinterested in walking and playing, I just thought that it was a normal part of a dog becoming older. And then on April his allergies became worse, his vet recommended increasing apoquel's dose and give him probiotics. Did that, he pooped blood the next day, called in panic and he said to stop probiotics. I did that and got him on a soft diet, but he kept pooping blood (both black and bright red), he lost 2 kg in just a few days. Called again, I said that maybe it was because of apoquel, he said that he had never seen a dog experience any side effects with this drug, but that I should try stopping it just in case. I stopped it and he stopped pooping blood, now his poops are perfect! Now he has "no apoquel" in his records.
He got most of the lost weight back but now he has so much more eneegy, like before he started meds.
I feel so bad knowing that I harmed him thinking I was helping him...

My dog was six years old. He had no health problems besides itching/allergies which resulted in lots of paw licking, ear infections and tons of scratching. I thought I was doing the right thing by giving Apoquel because it was recommended by our trusted vet. That’s when everything went wrong. He had bloody diarrhea several times after starting the medication and every time it was the same
treatment ( bland diet and probiotics) which seemed to resolve it in the short term. Then about a year into the medication he had bouts of weakness in his back legs. They checked him for Lyme disease and he didn’t have it. Shortly after I noticed he was really just slowing down, sleeping more and not interested in playing fetch and I was reassured at another check up that sometimes dogs at this age (6) can kind of slow down a bit and be less interested in playing. In my gut, I knew something was wrong. His newest symptom appeared ( high respiratory rate while asleep) I took him to an ER vet this time where it was discovered that he had enlarged lymph nodes in his back legs. They did a bunch of testing and it was confirmed to be large cell lymphoma which quickly after spread to all his lymph nodes. He was only with us three short months after his diagnosis despite treatment. This dog was my soul dog and I will forever have to live with the guilt that I gave him this medication. The thought that I scraped and saved every penny to make sure I could afford this medicine for him that would undoubtedly be what caused his death, makes me sick. It has been over a year now that my baby crossed the rainbow bridge and I still cry every day and the guilt just eats me alive. If I could shout it from the rooftops I would , stay far away from this medicine!!!

My dog was 7. He was our baby boy. He was completely healthy, except for allergies, which would cause ear infections and problems with his anus - neither of which can be ignored. Apoquel worked so well. I did my research and read studies that noted there was no higher instances of cancer-related deaths among dogs taking Apoquel vs. those not on Apoquel. Well, after it killed my otherwise healthy boy, I have found numerous stories similar to mine that say otherwise.

He was THE BEST DOG! So smart, fun, funny, sweet, a natural support animal, a best friend and protective big brother. He even saved a small dog that he didn't know that had fallen through the ice in a lake. He was there with us through so much. We planned on him living so much longer. We were just about to switch him to Chinese herbs to prevent this before he was on it too long or before he was more susceptible to related issues as he got older. He died just as the vet received our first shipment.

Does anyone know of any class-action lawsuit? Or, where to even start with this?

I have 3 year old female York shire terrier.
She has been very healthy her entire life, we got her at 8weeks old.
She has had her shots on time and is mostly an indoor dog with a huge fenced in back yard.
But she chews constantly in the summer time. Is so miserable from itching.
Im as guilty as most pet parents who just want to relieve their fur baby of its misery. Two months ago I decided to try apoquel with her. The first 5 weeks it worked like charm. Happy doggy and happy home.
A couple of weeks ago I noticed she is having a clear vaginal discharge that is a slimy texture but clear in color. I'd say approx 3 table spoon size amounts at a time, maybe twice a day on average this has been happening. Im now concerned its a side effect of the apoquelihad been giving her. She has been off of it for 3 days now and is back to itchy s catchy, but I refuse to subject her to potential harm from this drug I had been giving her each morning. Im going to have to find an alternative with less risk for her. So thankful I found this information online when I started my research about this drug. Thanks for the helpful information..