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

I totally disagree with your comment. Please do not EVER give your dog this drug. I just had to put my Labrador Retriever down with lymphoma, just 2 weeks short of his 10th birthday. My dog developed allergies when he was 3 yrs old. He had many expensive tests done including blood work, allergy block testing done at 3 different vets (2 of which were skin specialists). One of the specialist vets tried him for 10 months on Immunotherapy injections with no success. The 2nd specialist vet, who also offered homepathic treatments, told me that I should stop giving booster vaccinations. He explained that puppy vaccinations last for 20 yrs and that annual booster shots are totally unnecessary and that they can actually trigger allergies. We moved location 2 yrs ago and our new vet offered Apoquel saying it was an excellent drug. She said the only thing we would have to do is get blood work done every 6 months to monitor his liver function. 6 months into using Apoquel, he developed a small tumor on his neck which they surgically removed and said it was benign. He developed a 5 inch hard round tumour on the inside of his hind leg. He developed another small tumour on his side (the same as the one on the neck). At this point he had been on Apoquel for 10 months. I looked up Apoquel on the internet and I told my vet that I was absolutely horrified when I read that the drug was only trialed for 30 days and that MANY dogs had died from cancer and other breakdowns of their internal organs due to their immune system being suppressed. She was angry that I had researched it online, so I changed my vets practice. This drug shuts down the auto immune system which can cause cancer! Our new vet tried Cytopoint but that made him red and itchy. I switched him to raw diet 1 year before he died and it helped a lot. At age 9-1/2 yrs old he developed swollen lymph nodes and I was told he had Lymphoma with around 21 days to live. My vet prescribed Prednidale Steroids which gave him another 3 months. We loved our dog dearly and spent more than £15,000 on his treatment over the years. Please don't give this drug to ANY dog as it has killed too many dogs.

Oh Jeanie, I am not sure where to begin. While Apoquel may start out seemingly like a magic pill, that takes away the problems of itching, I'm afraid it's turning off the immune system, which over time is a a real problem.
There are a couple of ways you can look at the problem.
The first way, merely covers up, masking the symptoms, all the while putting a damper on the immune system.
Look at it this way, if a fire breaks out in a school, if you go turn off the alarm, will that stop the fire from burning?
Of course not. I'm afraid giving
Apoquel for a terribly itchy dog, is a lot like turning off the alarm.
So what is itchy skin really a sign of? It's a sign of an immune system that has gone haywire, alarm bells are sounding, something is not right here.
So the second way of dealing with our problem is to see what might be setting these alarms off in the first place.
We know that vaccines confer immunity, from one single vaccine. Giving repeated vaccines to an already unwell dog, is like pouring gasoline on that fire. First step is stop vaccinating. As a vet tech, I'm sure you've read the fine print on the vaccine manufacturers label. Vaccines are only to be given to healthy animals.
As for the diet, those prescription diets with hydrolized proteins are micronized so small, the body doesn't recognize them as allergen. But again, we know that highly processed foods offer no legitamate nutrition.
High heat denatures the proteins, and all those sprayed on synthetic vitamins are likely toxic over time as well.
Grains? Well, again carnivores simply weren't meant to consume them.
You'll never see a wolf or coyote snacking on a cob of corn.
If you really want to help these animals to true wellness, no need to look any further than this website.
It's loaded with all the answers. You really should consider taking some of Dr. Falconer's online courses when they become available.
I'd suggest starting with the one, Avoiding Vaccine Damage first.
Just remember always keep an open mind when learning new information. Just because it is different than what you were taught in vet tech school, doesn't mean it doesn't have value. Quite the contrary.