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

One of our dogs has been chronically itchy for much of his short, 2 yr old life. He does not get vaccines, gets a raw (mostly organic) diet including fermented veggies, and good quality oils. We are very fortunate to be able to see a vet who practices homeopathy as well & she recommended a couple of different remedies that provided some short-term relief but the itchiness returned. I recently came across an article that indicated that olive oil can cause itchiness and as that was one of the oils he was receiving, I stopped giving it to him. The itchiness stopped almost immediately! I am so thankful to all of you who are willing to share your wisdom with those of us who are so eager for it. You make all of our lives better and I am eternally grateful!

I have a foster dog that has been on Apoquel for about a month. It has been working great and after being on it for a day. Now I am worried.
Brutus is a 5 yr Bulldog. He was a bloody mess and one of the most miserable dogs I have ever seen.
We have switched to all dye and perfume soaps, shampoos and cleaning products. Grain free limited ingredients and poultry free food. Medicated baths, coconut oil etc. He has been on benadryl, zyrtec and chlor tabs all with minimal relief. Tagalog shot worked about a month.
Brutus when he is not feeling well growls at some of his caregivers. He is a powerful dog and if I can't feel safe in leaving him his options are not good. His attitude has been great and now hearing this I am not sure what to do for him. I love this dog and want to do what is best for him.

This really upsets me. I have trusted my Vet implicitly for over 30 years. My Brodie has had seasonal itchy skin for about 6 of his 9 years, getting a Kenalog injection every September, along with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds when he's a hot mess. Vet was excited to offer Apoquel to us and I saw a big improvement, almost a "cure" since the first daily pill in April this year. At the same time, I changed his food from grain-free to FD Raw. I thought we had achieved something wonderful until he developed large black spots on his back, which are very obvious to see through his white hair, but also a pool of oily skin and hair that extends from his neck to just short of his tail. Now you write that Apoquel may have done this. I have spent a lot of time and money seeking to make him comfortable and non-itchy. By the way, he went to the Vet for his annual exam and Rabies injection and he already had the newly-oily skin. So, now what?

Very good article. I am looking forward to part II next week. As you know, I have had a very itchy yellow lab, Jake. He was a rescue that came to me on horrible food and had been over vaccinated by the time we rescued him. I am so thankful to say that with the help of your homeopathic expertise, along with feeding him a raw diet and probiotics daily, he has turned into an absolutely beautiful dog. He is no longer suffering with constantly itching himself, red bumps, and a greasy smelly coat. Unfortunately, however as an owner of a pet store, we hear horror stories daily from our customers who have placed trust in Dr. Whitecoat and as a result have dogs that are suffering greatly. We have customers telling us everyday that they are giving their dogs a variation of apoquel, atopica and allergy shots. They are so focused on the "quick fix" that they have lost sight of the damage they are inflicting on this poor animals long term health. Although we work to show them an alternative by following the natural path (and many follow it, Thank Goodness), there are some that have so much trust in Dr. Whitecoat that they would rather risk the long term effects for a temporary relief. We know we have a lot of work to do to help more and more people see the benefits of following the natural path. We are so thankful that we can send our customers to your blog and website to help reiterate our message!
Thank you!

Jackie, a two year Golden and, my good friend,was put on Apoquel after trying so many other drugs from the Vet and, It worked so well I couldn't believe it. About two months in , it has stopped working and Jackie is chewing on himself again. I am hurting so bad for him but I am so stupid about what to do it's making me crazy!! Where can I find this RAW DIET ? I am taking him off the Apoquel .

You're going to make me wait until tomorrow to read the rest?!
Our GSD was diagnosed with Pancreatic Insufficiency around 5 years ago. The symptoms are well-controlled with enzymes in his food. We've had problems with itching for years. Allergy testing revealed a sensitivity to lobster (I'm not kidding) and nothing more. We put him on Apoquel out of desperation, but I've never been happy about it. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's post!
Do you think that Quinten's Itching could be related to his PI?

My 10 yr old dachshund suffers from food and grass allergies. Not only does he itch like mad he also gets interdigital cysts from being out in the grass and the chewing his paws. We keep him off the grass altogether now and have trained him to go on pee pads. We had him on the Apoquel on and off for 2 yrs, but have pulled him off it months ago when we noticed he was getting fatty tumors all over all of a sudden. I am looking forward to the second part of this article

I had a young terrier, Ruff, who suffered from dreadful itches. After advice from a homeopathic vet I put him on natural food and he never had another vaccination.
Ruff lived to 18 and never had another itch.
Another tip to prevent cataracts forming. Give dogs raw or cooked carrot with their meals. If they're not very keen, grate the carrot and mix it thoroughly with their meal. Whenever I've been able to feed carrots to a dog for most of its life, they have not had cataract problems in old age.

My 10 year old Puggle has been on Apoquel since June. In the last 2 months it has lost some effectiveness, she has had a seizure, has red swollen lips, has some weakness on her left side and a small fluid filled cyst on her abdomen. We have her on a reduced dose of Apoquel and she is going in for a work up on Wednesday. She still spends most of her day chewing on her feet, but does sleep good.

The more I read on these chemical “cures”, the more I see how they hinder as opposed to help. It’s evident that if it’s (symptom) supressed one place, a new symptom surfaces elsewhere, until you’re on a rollercoaster of constant care. If such drugs cause undesirable side effects in animals, I’d be curious to read the pharmaceuticals’ QC (Quality Control) Test lab results… or they’re just marketing the drugs anyway?

My dogs took the drug and got the dark spots all over too. They were very itchy and developed crusty oozing sores. After 3 months it has just about totally cleared up with homeopathic remedies purchased from elixirs.com
I had them on bio plasma, sulphur, staph/strep, silica, allergy combo and histamine. I also bathed them with Grandma's lye soap and kept their skin extra moisturized with coconut oil. Itching and biting is gone and both are acting much better. Richard's incredible skin spray also helped. I also gave them homeopathic candida alb. Their eyes were also crusted over midway thru. I thought we were going to lose both of our little dogs, a maltese and a bichon. No more vet meds for either of them.

This was reccomended to me to many times, and I see it being reccomended almost daily to at least one pet owner.
My dog had severe allergies (outdoor and 3 food ones) and would itch night and day until her ears and eyelids and mouth would bleed - but I refused to give this (or Benedryl). After switching to raw diet, a few supplements including Transfer Factor and 9 months working with a homeopath her itching GOOOOOONNNNNEEEEE !!!! :D I am beyond thrilled and I know that SHE is very happy too! :)

I have a 7-year old Golden. We have just come out of about a 1-year struggle with itchiness and hotspots. She, as of now, is completely healed. I had to really attack this problem from several different angles. Food, bathing, supplements, positive reinforcement. Food: she is on a raw diet and was fed only chicken for the first 6 years or so of her life (a mistake in hindsight). She runs hot and chicken is a 'hot' food so she now gets no chicken, ever. Only a variety of neutral or cooling raw meats. Bathing: she gets groomed once a month. I was lax in bathing her, thinking I could do it myself, consequently I did not bathe her often enough. She tends to get oily skin which I think is irritating to her. Supplements: this is where it gets kind of involved but worth it. Salmon (genuinely wild) fish oil daily. MSM daily, spirulina daily, curcumin daily, 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar a day, 1 teaspoon kelp a day, a Vit C capsule, A B-12 capsule, a probiotic capsule daily, about a teaspoon of coconut oil daily. When she was scratching a lot, I had to keep myself from running over to her and treating it because, of course, that was reinforcing. I have a spray bottle with a watered down mix of Rescue Remedy. I'll spray that on a spot she is fussing with although I haven't had to do that for a while. I keep it and a hotspot remedy close by just in case. That scratching thing will drive you nuts not the least of which you know they are suffering. Someone recommended Apoquel to me a while back. I instinctively was not ready to go in the 'chemical' direction. Glad I didn't after reading this article. My dog has not had the itches for about 2 months, her groomer is impressed with her condition, and I could not be more pleased. She is still on all the supplements.

I do know the misery of a severely itchy dog. I also have exerienced the apparent lack of understanding, or perhaps shear lazyness of several vets who just sigh and say "yeah, allergies are tough". Not at all helpful. We have learned after a few years of our lab mix cycling back and forth from serious itching and chewing to good health and back again that possibly it never was allergies! No vet ever diagnosed demodec mange, yet once we diagnosed it ourselves and found a non drug treatment, our guy has remained healthy. Still keeping fingers crossed that it's all behind us, but we're ready to re-treat should the itching begin again. He's had the mange twice, so seems susceptible (messed up immune system) - even though one vet told us that virtually never happens, especially with an adult dog. If he doesn't have mange why does the treatment work so well?? btw, the treatment is called Mite Avenge by Happy Dogs Naturals.

Hmm.. Interesting. I'm sure the drug is helping pets but the long term effects of using are not good so I would stay away. But my dog has never really been a scratcher. I would still try to find a natural solution, and definitely re-look at diet. Keep things simple. Go back to basics.

This drug has been recommended for my itchy dog recently. Thank goodness I declined each time it was suggested. Now after many years of improving my dog's diet, quality supplements etc with much improvement in symptoms we will try a fecal transplant.

I had a client with a Havanese that used this drug until she noticed dark spots appearing on his skin! I actually heard they pulled his drug, reworked it and put it back on the market. Hmm.

My Cocker was scratching incessantly, and chewing his feet. His white paws were stained brown from saliva. I tried changing his diet to a strictly grain free food...made sense to me. (wolves don't eat grains, realizing a Cocker is a LONG way from being like a wolf, but the principal is the same) LONG, very long story made short, he no longer chews or scratches, and his feet are fluffy and white with no more staining at all. I am really glad I started with diet, and not a drug. It was a desperate time, but this drug is NOT something I would have tried, since I read every review I can find before I give him anything new. Thank you for your blog

Thank you for writing about this drug. I have fairly healthy animals in my care, but I like to be aware of what kind of drugs are being used for itchy animals and how it affects them long term. Very helpful for my clients who have animals with excessive itching. They often come to me as a last resort after seeing Dr. Whitecoat for this issue and search the net for a natural solution when the drug therapy and RX foods fail to help their beloved pets.

Often itching is caused by over vaccination. Mandatory three year rabies laws must stop! Our dogs only need 2 rabies shots per lifetime! Vaccines cause auto immune diseases.