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

I have four dogs three GSD's and one Staffy. I am aware of everything that I put in to both mine and my dogs bodies. I am budget to make sure that I am able to afford the best quality raw meat for my pets it is always free ranging animals and organic if possible no commercial dog food. The Staffy and my 13 year old German Shepherd have had vaccinations in the last 18 months but only because they are both rescue and it is required whilst in refuge. The Staffy is fine but in the time I have had the old Shep there has never been a day he has not scratched and every step he will lift a rear leg and scratch his stomach as he has dislocated hips he then stumbles. I did try apoquel on him but after two weeks there was no difference so I ceased its use. I also have a 6 year old rescue GSD who at the moment is covered , literally, in oozing sores or infected scabs. His ears are infected and he can not be touched and he is scratching at his eyes. I have been to our natropathic vet and tried vinegar, manuka honey and a score of other things to ease his discomfort as well as changing his food around to see if one meat base was better than another. Today I have given in and am about to order apoquel. I have no chemicals in my house no flyspray no carpets and all my clothes are washed in a laundry wash that is organic. He had tried apoquel briefly when he finished of the older dogs script after first being checked at the vets. I refuse to use any chemicals for ticks or fleas on his body and instead do a nightly check.. This dogs joy in life is sheepherding and after stopping over the heat of summer his skin has not improved and he is miserable and moans a lot. So tomorrow I will collect his apoquel and I will use it just to give him some relief. I have tried all that has been recommended holistically. I am worried about using it but he can not continue the way he is. We will also be researching a different environment for him where climate may make a difference and sell up and move if need be.

My dog has sensitivity and its been an on and off problem. this past year has been awful however, and EVERY vet I went to prescribed him so much sh** to take I know his immune system is super off now. Turns out, if the first vet had just given him dewormer, he would have cleared up instantly, along with some good shampoo for the skin. She wanted me to pay around $4-600 for all this and that. I'm at a loss what to do now, I looked up other medicines such as this Apoquel, and I'm outraged at this whole Western ideal of "creating patients". Seems this drug, and many high priced vets only want patients to keep returning rather than actually helping. Mr. Will Falconer, do you have any sensible recommendations?? I rub my boy down with coconut oil to help but his inflamed red belly flares up all too often.

My pitbull/mix at 6 months old when getting spayed, I was told she had a skin infection and she was put on antibiotics and prednisone this continued till she was 4, the vet changed her meds from prednisone to aproquel which he told me it could affect her auto immune system but not likely, sure it worked within hours but 2 months later she went paralized we rushed her to vet after vet by now she was completely mobile and the doc said she would need to see a nuerologist, we headed off to Buffalo specialty vet clinic and after an MRI she was diagnoises with an auto immune disease. I told them about the aproquel and they had her on predisone this was on a Saturday and Monday we picked her up and she was walking on all four. She had a very long recovery and next month will be one year and she is doing well, but still has many skin issues. Please do not put your babies on this terrible medicing

I have a 2 year old Shih Tzu named "Chewie", he had been licking and biting his underarm n paws till they bleed, we took him to the vet so often he is now afraid to get into a car. We tried EVERYTHING to get this Nader control, with no relief. We then tried the med prednisolone, along with antibiotics for the infection, as you know this is only temporary . After doing all the tests and research we then started him on Apolquel, yes as in an medication long term use isn't a good thing, but his quality of life is a top priority. That being said, he a total different animal ! He's not itching or biting and is a charming lil guy now. Can it be harmful long term ? Only time will tell, but to have hm suffer day n night until we can figure out what to do is not the right thing to do either. So, we have to weigh the risk vs reward for each animal , then , make a well educated decision on what path to take. He has had a tough road so far with having 3 major operations in his first year of life ( he had undergone a liver shunt operation as well as 2 other major operations that cost my family well over $15,000 that we had to scrap up by selling my car, and other things) but, this lil guy means so much to me, I did what I could for him. Are we suffering for his health? Yes, so, for as long as we have him, I don't want him to suffer day n night , Apoquel has saved him from the agony of unnecessary itching.... hope this ma help one way or another for someone that puts their pets health a top priority if you are going to have them in the first place..........thank you for your time.... Michael....

Thank you for this information. I have a 4 year old West Highland Terrier and she just developed an itch where she has chewed the hair off her rump in three places. This itching is new just in the last couple of weeks. Other Westie owners have recommended this drug. Im not a big believer in giving my dogs lots of vaccinations and medications as the breeder told me that it shortens their life by several years in his experience. I only give her rabies shots as required by law after her intitial puppy vaccines. I don't allow her to go to dog parks or be around other dogs except my other dog. In fact the groomer doesn't crate dogs in the shop and you have to bring your dogs in right at the appointment time and pick them up right on time so they don't interact with the other dogs. I have a vet appointment for her next week but I have been trying to make some enviornmental changes which seem to be helping. I told the groomer to ONLY use hypoallergenic shampoo on her and I have changed the shampoo at home, she eats turkey, peas and sweet potatoes. In this past week the hair has started to grow back slowly. Any other suggestions?

I agree with what most have said about vaccinating your dogs but you can't board them or take them to daycare without them so that leaves me a prisoner to vaccinating my dogs. I honestly don't believe my dogs will EVER get rabies or distemper since I don't live out in the country and the only thing I believe they need is heartworm testing each year ( I keep them on Heart guard)

I posted my story here on 10/19/16. Since then I've been torn about what to do. Ramona's "spot" was always about the size if a quarter in the past. It came back with a vengeance and now covers a good 3 square inches on her flank. I am SO tempted to just buy the damn drug that cleared it up so beautifully.
It was put to me as the best thing since steroids, without the life-shortening and physical side effects. Our Lab had steroid injections for the last half of his life, 2-3 times a year, and lived to be just shy of 15 (really old for a Lab) even though we were always warned of the dangers.
Ramona has never been given steroids - should I go to them as the lesser evil? She's 9 yrs old and still behaves like a puppy - playful, full of spunk and energy, no signs of, age whatsoever (perfect vision and hearing, etc.). I'm just torn.
And by the way, she doesn't gnaw at the area, she seems to barely know it's there. But it's spreading fast ...

I am a professional dog groomer of 20+ yrs experience. My business is now located next to my house. So, my 3 dogs ( a yellow lab, a boxer, and a King Charles) are all with me in my shop all day, every day. Since they are all exposed to other dogs on a daily basis, you would think that they could be subjected to any number of dog-transmitted problems. However, the only problem I have encountered was last year when they were exposed to kennel cough. My King Charles' did not get it because his treatment must have been more current than the other 2 dogs. But, both my boxer and yellow lab got it. So, I am more careful now to make sure that they are current on their kennel cough treatments. But, I do think that the annual injections for rabies, parvo, etc. have caused the immune deficiency in my yellow lab. My last yellow lab never had a skin problem when she was in America, where I lived. She didn't develop a skin problem until she came here and was made to have yearly injections. Back then the only treatment was steroids. That's what ended her life. Her liver shut down after months of treatment and she bloated up to the point she nearly exploded. Since she was already very overweight, it was not as noticeable as it should have been. When I finally contacted the vet, it was too late -- they couldn't drain all the fluid out of her before she died. Anyhow, I was adamant that I would never again subject any of my animals to steroid treatment. Apoquel was the non-steroid treatment that my vet suggested for our Maggie. Since she has been on the Apoquel, all of her hair has grown back and the smell of her is gone. However, lately I have found that the cost of it is not within what we can maintain, therefore, I have had her off the medication for the past week. But, since she has been off the Apoquel, the itching is restarting. So, I have had to search out other suppliers of this drug for her.

My chocolate Labrador is allergic to 3 different types of grass, oats and house mites. She was chewing her feet to the point she made her pads bleed and could barely walk they were so sore. She's been on apoquel since 2014 with no problem. Itching/chewing is still under control, weight remains the same and she hasn't displayed any of the side affects that others describe. She isn't immunised, hasn't been since she was a pup and she's 7 now so the apoquel is the only thing in her system, not sure if that's why she seems to be okay on it.

Two year old black Lab female spent her first summer with bumps on her face, neck, itching, staph, bacterial infections and drugs. Spectrum allergy test showed grasses/trees in mid 100s. Spent the winter doing acupuncture. Did phosphorus homeopathy. Second spring brought more itching, shedding. Started Apoquel. Dog no longer seems to get relief. Itching and shedding all summer, but no bumps, no antibiotics. Puppy vax x3, booster of parvo/distemper only, rabies at 9 months. Titers are all high. On a raw diet since 7 weeks. I don't want to do allergy shots. Any other suggestions? Thank you!

I just had to chime in here, and this is worth the read!!
My 14 yr old healer had flair up after flair up of skin problems when I lived on the East Coast for 3 years. I attributed it to allergies and/or the fact that I had to give her heart worm and Advantix II while I lived there. My vet would give her antibiotics and it would clear up, only to come back again.
I moved back to the SW and she was fine for about a month. Then she flared up again. Once again, she was prescribed antibiotics and also an anti fungal shampoo. No improvement.
Today, I took her to a different vet who prescribed Apoquel. I asked about the side effects, etc.. He told me how this drug "turns off" the itch receptor in the brain. Of course I was concerned about masking the underlying problem by giving my dog drugs. HOWEVER, previously, my dog would lick and chew until I put the cone of shame on her. Once I put the cone on, she wouldn't even bother trying to lick. as soon as I would take the cone off, she would gnaw again.
My dog hasn't licked or gnawed at all tonight, and I have only given her one dosage. So, long story short: My dog NEEDS to have her lick/chew receptor turned off. It is a habit for her. I will keep you updated. :)

Hello all,
I hope everyone that is thinking about using Apoquel for their pup reads my story in hopes of getting this horrendous drug off the market. (Like that will ever happen, right big pharma?)
Shortly after picking up my baby German shepherd Blaze for the very first time in 2010 from the breeder we noticed every allergy symptom known to man. As each year passed it got worse and worse, spending thousands of dollars (yes, I said thousands) trying to cure it or even put it at bay so he wasn't entirely miserable. We settled with him on a maintenance, low dose of Prednisone. (Another nasty, nasty medicine) This made him gain a lot of weight, but hey he wasn't scratching till he bled anymore right?
In 2015 we finally ended our 6 month wait to get him on Apoquel, this "amazing, wonder drug"! I picked up his prescription with happy tears a flowing, thinking this is the end of his pain from allergies. I gave him his very first dose of Apoquel on July 17th, 2015. That night he was in EXTREME pain. Couldn't lay down without screaming! Would not eat or drink a single thing. He was no longer my baby Blaze. This drug took everything from him, and me. We spent the night in the E.R and spent 2,800 on testing, and were sent home with no answers. 4 hours later, my 5 year old baby boy passed away in my arms at home. We had a necropsy done on him and that too, came back inconclusive. My perfectly healthy 5 year old German Shepherd was taken from me from a stupid 5$ pill.
Blaze wouldn't want any other fur babies to be taken from this beautiful life, like he did.

Our 9 yr old pit bull Ramona has a long history of skin issues; from my understanding, pitties are susceptible to skin problems. Recently she developed - almost overnight - a scaley, raw, red, oozing patch on her flank about the size of a quarter. It quickly grew and we took her to the vet, who gave her an injection with a high dose antibiotic and sent us home with Apoquel 16mg. As instructed we gave her 1/2 tablet twice daily for 10 days. The infection cleared beautifully, her fur grew back in, and again as instructed we put her on a "maintenance" dose of 1/2 tablet per day. The vet said she may need it for the rest of her life, which we'd hoped wouldn't be true as we paid $80 for 25 tablets.
This clinic is probably the most expensive one in our area, and on my way out I asked the vet assistant if this was one of those drugs we could get at our own pharmacy at a cheaper price. She said she'd check but I never heard back.
We're now a little over a month out since her visit to the vet. The itching is starting again, and the infected patch is back in the same spot. I found your article when I searched to see if this is something we can get OTC or at Walgreens {it appears we can) but now I'm worried about this miracle cure. It worked so well and so quickly, I really hoped we'd found the answer at last. I'm just so disappointed, and frustrated.

I've found Apoquel to be a miracle for halting hives due to allergies in my Basenji. However, I am wondering if there is any connection to an exacerbation of IBS type symptoms after stopping Apoquel (possibly due to immunological issues). Twice now within about 6 - 8 days after stopping Apoquel, my dog had a severe bout of diarrhea, vomiting, loss of apetite requiring iv treatment for dehydration and antibiotics. Could be coincidence or not????? He was only on the Apoquel for a couple of weeks - just long enough to get allergy symptoms under control. He has always had a "sensitive" digestive tract, so we could be looking at other issues - IPSID or EPI or IBS or IBD. (Or he's a sensitive boy...?) And how would apoquel play in to any of these? The tests for some of these are more expensive than I am able to handle right now, so doing the best we can with management and process of elimination.

This is all so disturbing. My Maltese has Addison's disease so he is on percortin and can not take additional steroid for his chronic itching. Apoquel has been the only thing that has brought him comfort. I have had the same vet for 30 years and he loves my dogs and I have a hard time believing he would give me something that would harm my baby Elvis.

I must DISAGREE about the (-) comments that APOQUEL is generating here. "Loki" my 11 y/o Miniture Pinscher has developed severe allergies since moving to Florida 6 years ago from NJ. Loki NEVER had any problems in NJ i.e., no itching, scratching like crazy, biting his feet, etc. When we moved to Florida, his troubles began. He would chew his feet until they bled...he would scratch and scratch and more scratching until his hair started to fall out. It was recommended to us about an Allergy Vet 90 miles away from where were live. We made an appointment. The Vet did all the tests and it came back with a report showing that Loki was highly allergic to the grasses here in Florida. Well...can't tear up the lawn, so we decided to go the route of injections. Fine...That worked for about three months and then..WHAM ! his breakouts came out worse. Now what to do. About a year ago our Vet told us about APOQUEL and the results...But...there was such high demand at the time for APOQUEL that the meds were being "rationed" i.e., so many pills according to how bad the allergies were. Loki was in the top three so he got a little extra. Finally, the meds became available and Loki is like a new Min Pin. NO ADVERSE REACTIONS AT ALL. His feet went back to "normal"...The occasional itch behind the ears...no chewing...his coat is back to normal and nice and shiny black. Say what you want but Loki, if he could "talk" would say that he is a "new Loki"...he's more active, even walks on the grass now. Before he would only walk on the concrete pavers we had. He went out of his way to walk on the pavers. Now, he even ROLLS in the grass !!! For Loki it was a game changer. And "knock on dog bones" he continues to be one happy Min Pin....THANKS to APOQUEL...

Chris,
I have a similar situation w/my lab. She had seasonal allergies that make her miserable during pollen season but once we get a hard frost, it's done for the winter. After doing everything else I could think of and would allow the vet to do I finally got the apoquel last summer. I followed the recommended 16mgx2 daily for a couple of days. Like you I had researched and found that it is not a good drug and can certainly create many other issues. So, I began breaking the 16mg pills in half and tried that dose. It kept her itch free so than I tried 8mgx1 daily and when that worked I went to as needed. I also give her 4life transfer factor and have used anti itch shampoos, vinegar, coconut oil, krill oil, she eats raw food and we try to stick to "cool" foods. When her itching began to ramp up this summer I started her on 8mg as needed but try to be sure she goes @ least 24 hours between doses. For the most part she can go 36-48 hours and sometimes even more between doses. We have learned to live w/some itching and found ways to help her to refocus and calm down when she begins to obsess w/the itching. We are nearing the end of the season now and although it is a process and sometimes very time consuming, she is able to enjoy her active self and continue her most loved activities outdoors regardless of the pollen load. I know the apoquel is problematic & honestly I do hate giving it to her but so far with the way we are administering it, we have not seen any issues. I do keep close check on her physical well being. We all have to live with the choices we make and do our best as guardians of our pets. I work all winter to build her immune system before the next pollen flies. Best of luck to you and your shepherd. I know how trying the situation can be!

My German Shepherd has been suffering from itching for almost a year now. He got so bad I had to take him to the vet because his hair was so greasy and he stunk so bad and his skin was all red and inflamed, and he started losing his hair in clumps. She put him on an antibiotic and an anti-fungal shampoo. He cleared up very quickly, but then slowly but surely it started to come back. I used to take him to be professionally groomed once a month, but he would become so greasy and stinky, he started needing to be bathed once a week. I started doing it myself. I put him on probiotics, enzymes, fish oil...none of it has helped. Finally, last week, his skin was so red again and the itching had become almost non-stop, I took him to a different vet. She put him on Apoquel and an anti-biotic. He started the Apoquel last Saturday night and almost immediately he had relief from the itching. I kept him on the recommended dose for 4 days (every 12 hours), but in the meantime, had researched and learned about how it compromises the immune system over time, and knew I wanted him off of it as soon as possible. As of Thursday, he was not itching at all, so I decreased the dose down to 1x a day at night, same thing Friday, and then Saturday did not give it at all. Today, Sunday, he's been doing great. He had very little itching both yesterday and today. Obviously, I still don't know the cause, and I will be seeking out some testing and possibly a dermatologist to determine that. But, I have to saw, I'm glad for the Apoquel, because it did give him immediate relief at least until his skin infection could start to clear up. One other thing I did find was something called Immune Strengthener by Only Natural Pet. It contains Rishi, Shitake and some other herbs and antioxidants. He started that last Saturday also. I don't know if that has been why he is not continually itching now that I've taken him off the Apoquel, but I do have to wonder if the mushrooms have helped him. I also changed the brand of enzyme and probiotic. Am now giving him MiracleZyme, which is a combination of both enzymes and probiotics and also Brewer's yeast.

My Chihuahua had her first (and only) injection of Apoquel in July and within the last 15 days has developed what appears to be Lymphoma (her nodes are really swollen... and we just had the biopsy sample taken today).
Has anyone else seen similar problems with this drug and lymph node issues? As one could imagine, I'm INSANELY worried right now.

Less is more. tl;dr