Comments on Cytopoint Injection: High Tech Answer to Itchy Dogs?

I really appreciate articles like this. I am by no means thinking this is a wonder drug, nor is Apoquel. However for us, it is a chance at a possible improvement and quality of life for our 7 year old dog - who we believe was vaccine damaged by the breeder prior to coming to us, and we’ve been in hell dealing with her itchiness and subsequent eat/paw/chin infections as a consequence of this licking/chewing/scratching since she was 4 months old.

We spent the first 6.5 years on the natural path. Diets tried: all organic, raw, meaty bones, offal, homemade treats, to slow-cooking, eggs & vegies, sweet potato & pearl barley, cottage cheese and rice, no starch, horse meat/steamed eggs & green veg

Modalities Tried: Chinese herbs, acupuncture, a systemic yeast protocol, chiropractor, NAET, Kinesiology, Food sensitivity & Thyroid Testing sent to the USA, Medical Cannabis, bush flower essences, rescue remedy, essential oils, zeolite, oral fecal transplant, energy healing/bowen therapy, homeopathics (silica, vaccine detox homeopathy, blood tonic homeopathy, liver detox) energy healing, animal communication

Supplements taken: Apple cider vinegar, Bicarb, Diatomaceous Earth, different Probiotics (inc lactobacillus Helveticus and Bifidobacterium Longum), digestive enzymes, Golden Paste (turmeric), Coconut oil, fish/omega oil, cod liver oil, chia, iodine, spirulina, DigestaVite, kefir, garlic, MSM, vital greens, magnesium, cannabis oil, bee pollen, herbal remedy mix, diatomaceous earth, iodine, rosehip powder, camu camu, magnesium, zeolite, bee pollen, colostrum.

We’ve had varying success for short periods of time. Her quality of like was so poor 6 months ago (she lived 24/7 miserable in a cone) that we went for Apoquel. It has definitely given her quality of life, and we’ve chosen this quality over the fact that it may shorten her life. A heartbreaking decision for any parent of a furbaby to make. Apoquel is by no means the cure-all, we have had periods of time where she has been on it and still itching so bad she is still in a cone 24/7. A yeast medication has helped. And now I’m considering trying Cytopoint. It’s not ideal, but for some people, it’s the only choice left.

One of my rescue dogs scratched herself until she was bleeding. I make her food, no heartworm or flea medications, no vaccinations, of course, and homeopathic remedies. No progress until I used Head & Shoulders shampoo. I read about it while doing some research. It works!!

I was at the vet's office today and took the opportunity to mention that I had seen a number of online posts from pet owners suggesting that Cytopoint may be dangerous to pets. She expressed doubt that Cytopoint posed significant risk because "Cytopoint works on the cellular level and probably is even safer than Apoquel." The online posts I was referring to were from this forum. I don't believe I've seen such posts elsewhere.

Out of desperation and the promise of it being safe from our once trusted vet, we gave our putties Roxy cytopoint. She has been great ever since with occasional UTI and ear infections. It has been 3 years and guess what.... she has lymphoma and will die soon. After reading this I now know what caused it. I am devastated and ashamed of myself for blindly trusting that vet. Our Roxy had bloody nubs for feet and was killing herself chewing away 24 hours a day. What a double edged sword. She is 8 years old and too young to lose.....

Are blood test required prior to the first treatment(injection) of Cytopoint ? Our Portuguese Water Dog has been itchy for years and has been on the pill Apoquell. Never had blood work for that, that I recall. His appointment is for Wednesday Nov 7th.

We've had our dog 5 year old dog for 3 years. We've been careful with vaccines, and we learned from her bad reaction that Trifexis is totally unacceptable for flea control. She had worrying lethargy when taking that. We use natural flea control as much as possible and she is flea free, but at 9 months of living with us she developed horrible itching, red skin, and incessant scratching until she bled, and then she would smell very bad. After trying natural remedies for 2 months we took her to the doctor and she had Apoquel, which would relieve her for about 2 weeks and then she'd start up again. She moved on to Cytopoint, and that finally relieved the itching and inflammation. She had been miserable, and after the cytopoint she had relief for 8 weeks at a time. The itching has been diminishing over time, and it seems to ramp up again every four months after the cytopoint. We continue to try and relieve her with herbal baths and quercetin but when it gets too uncomfortable for her we will most likely continue with the cytopoint. We certainly watch out for any reactions or side effects of anything she is given, but nothing negative occurred after using cytopoint.

I stumbled upon this site while trying to find similar stories of what our family has gone through after our dog getting Cytopoint and all I can say is this drug needs to be pulled.
We had an 8 year old lab/mix with no known health issues, up to date on vaccinations. The most sweet, happy and healthy girl. She loved my 4 year old and loved my parents unconditionally. About 2 weeks ago around the week of 10/15/18 she started itching certain places of her skin, and we noticed some of her hair falling out of those places she was itching. We took her to the vet on 10/20/18 and they thought it looked like allergies and told us about this wonderful allergy shot that is the “safest drug for allergies on the market”. So we of course said yes, whatever will help the itch and she was given the Cytopoint injection that day. 2 days later on 10/22/18 during the evening and night she started arching her back like a cats, and crying and shaking. She was taken back to the vet on 10/23/18 and had blood work that was “perfect” so x rays of her back were taken that showed maybe some small areas of narrowing of her spine and a slightly bulging disc. These findings were thought to be the cause of her symptoms and she was given Neurontin and Steroids. 10/24 she was a little more comfortable but not normal, 10/25 she seemed a little better but still not herself. The morning of 10/26 she ran and jumped up on the bed and seemed happy and more like herself. 3 hours later on 10/26 she all of a sudden started foaming at the mouth, panting and was falling over when walking. We rushed her back to the vet, the did blood work and we were told she had pancreatitis and they would need to keep her for pain control and fluids. About 4 hours later we were called and told she had a 30 second seizure and we needed to come transfer her to an emergency vet. We got her to the emergency vet and they told us they felt like this was more than pancreatitis. We told them about the shot, but they had never heard of any other dog having a reaction like this to that shot. The next morning she had a 5 minute seizure and we went to see her and she was miserable. She could barely lift her head and was so weak she wasn’t able to stand. She was in and out of conciousness. We were told that they thought something within her Neurological system was the cause of her symptoms.

I think this had to do with the Cytopoint. She may have had something to begin with that we didn’t know about that Cytopoint exacerbated but she was our wonderfully playful and happy dog up until that shot. She still acted like a puppy with how she played. She was our sweet girl, and we had to make the awful decision to let her go from her suffering. And now she’s gone. I’m determined to report this to the company, and to get this message out to other pet owners!

I have two dogs poodle/terrier rescue dogs and they receive the cytopoint injection once a month. I wish I didn't have to do the cytopoint injection both dog's health is much better with the cytopoint. I have done swab testing and hair analysis to test for sensitivities. Changed the diet. No help. Both dogs eat a raw diet but the raw diet has not changed anything as far as allergies. I too suffer from allergies as do most of my neighbors. Unfortunately I live in the woods with the mold, the mosquitoes, you name it.
Homeopathy? Give me a break. I have spent thousands of dollars on myself seeing homeopaths. Waste of money -- for myself. If you have the money, go for it, to find that miracle homeopathic remedy that will help. I remember once many years ago my cat was suffering from a UTI and a homeopath told me it might take months before we found the right remedy. WTF? I have had a UTI. Wait a couple months to find a remedy to cure her UTI? No!
Cytopoint and/or Apoquel are not perfect by no means. But when a dog is suffering it needs help and Cytopoint and Apoquel do help.

Our Frenchton (Frenchie/Boston mix), had a cytopoint injection three months ago and has no reaction. He had one last Monday and by Saturday, he began to act weird. He was in his cage for awhile as my son had a baseba game but as soon as I let him out of his cage to go outside, I could tell something was off. He looked at me in a scared way and was arching his back and breathing weird. He already has odd breathing but this was way worse and much more labored. I panicked and took him to an emergency vet who checked his heart, ears and legs. She wanted us to come back to learn a better more natural way of caring for our dog which, we are more than willing to do, however, it happened again. Once we got him to the ER vet he was running around and acting normal which didn’t help. He has an appointment with the regular vet who gave him the cytopoint tomorrow. Lady on the phone said it’s such a safe shot... Didn’t want to hear my references to what I found on the internet... My dog was fine before this shot. I don’t know why he reacted the second time and not the first but, so many people describe the same symptoms; dog acting odd, arching back, not wanting to move or lift head, etc.... My baby is suffering and I know in my heart, it’s my fault for letting him get a shot of something that was barely tested.

I just searched for law suits against Zoetis and found horse owners in Australia have done so for $53 million: https://www.paulickreport.com/horse-care-category/owners-bring-53-million-class-action-suit-zoetis-australia-vaccine/..

Nothing on Cytopoint yet, but it's a start.

Now that you've scared the hell out of me I have to say I am at the point of not going to worry about it.

We lost our first Rattie, Tucker, to Cushings after years of seasonal steroids (only thing that worked). The allergies were miserable for him and EXPENSIVE to treat. We were able to keep him alive with the Cushings for about one more year. Trust me, we will never go there again. :(

Our new Rattie, Noodle, has been suffering for two years and we have been going through diet changes, allergy shots, baths, sprays, and still his skin is bright red and scabby. Now he is going BALD. In a word - miserable. Nothing is working.

Yesterday I found Noodle under the dining table chewing a hole in his shoulder. I took him in and our vet gave him his first injection of Cytopoint. He seems alert and is not scratching and chewing everywhere for the first time in two years!

We don't know how he will react over time, but past experience tells us that we will not let our dog get Cushings from the steroids, and if anything horrid/terminal rears it's ugly head from the Cytopoint, well, we will not let him suffer; not like we let our little dog Tucker suffer.

In the end, we feel that quality of life is more important than length of life.

Because of everything that I have read here, I will to post any results good or bad for others to gain knowledge. I hope you don't mind, but I feel we need to keep records for the benefit of all dog owners with itchy suffering dogs.

Hello! Dr. Falconer, I need your advice. I am a young dog owner, a senior in college. I rescued my baby girl Juno (a beautiful chow, akita, elkhound mix) last summer from a dog sanctuary (a place that rescues dogs sent to kill shelters) when she was 6, now she is 7; she serves as my Emotional Support Animal for my severe anxiety problems and Juno lives with me on campus in a wonderful, suite-style dorm with lots of loving people. Juno has always been a little overweight, she's a large dog but is still on the heavy side of 97 lbs....I had her vaccinated this summer as I was unaware that it is safer to NOT vaccinate her...I only went to vets the first year when she had a severe infection, I had never gotten bloodwork done until last month, when she started to non-stop itch her snout/mouth all over everything and everyone, and would viciously bite open her paw pads when I'd leave her alone to shower for 15 minutes. I went to a new vet two weeks ago because I was caught up in her cycle of healing/reopening the wounds....she was just not herself for about a week and I literally tried everything. As a college student, I already don't have financial means to visit the vet more than 2 times a year, let alone buy all of these remedies and things to help her. At the vet, we thought she had a thyroid issue but it turns out her bloodwork was fine, so she determined it was allergies. The vet gave me options of Apoquel and Cytopoint and I decided on Cytopoint since it seemed like the best option, she also gave me some mycobacterial wipes to help heal her paws. The day after the dose, her behavior started to improve and I had thought the licking, chewing, and itching had gone away but it came back aggressively two days later! For the past three weeks Juno has not been left alone without the cone on, and it's just so sad to me. I have removed all factors that could be causing this for her- rawhide, non-organic treats, wipe her down everytime we go outside, and now from advice from a local pet store I am going to try and change up her diet from Taste of the Wild to Zigniature dog food....but at this point I'm really grasping at anything to help her. I really think that the grass on my campus is what is causing her to constantly lick and bite her paws...she was not like this this summer (when I lived somewhere else); so maybe it's the chemicals in the grass, the vaccines I gave her this summer, the Nexguard/Heartguard Plus I started giving her this summer, and the Cytopoint? I bought her boots to protect her feet, but those come off so easily....I am just mad that Cytopoint is called this "cure-all" drug and it's super expensive and I feel like I am just wasting my hard-earned money at this point...the vet is going to call me tomorrow to talk about it but I just don't want to go in for a third time in three weeks....I do not have that money. I just want my dog to feel relief, it's causing me more anxiety.....was recommended today to lather her in coconut oil so that's the best I can do for sweet Juno as of now and keep her in the cone for the few hours a day when I am in class. HELP!

Hello, I've just read through most of this, and I'm not a bit surprised at the potential danger of this drug. I have a friend whose dog has allergies and received his first shot of S-CYTOPOINT recently. I sent Marilyn information from Earth Clinic about the use of apple cider vinegar for allergies in pets. I encourage anyone with an allergy ridden pet to check it out...or any other health problem for that matter. There are many stories under pet allergies about success with ACV. I greatly appreciate the work of the author, Will Falconer. I like his style, reminds me of the way I talk sometimes. :-) I stopped having pets vaccinated years ago, like 1997. I've never been sorry. I realize that rabies is a devastating disease, and distemper, and that vaccines have greatly reduced the incidents of these diseases, but question the number of vaccines administered at one time including for diseases we've never heard of in a vaccine cocktail.....as many as ten different vaccines all at once that the animal's immune system has to suddenly deal with. I also question giving these vaccines more often than once every three years. There was a vet at one of the northern vet schools who did a study on vaccines, spent years doing it, and determined they all last a good seven years. That is what the article he wrote said. He added that he recommends every three years, I'm sure that is because he doesn't want to lose his license. He also strongly recommended titer testing to see if a pet's last shots are still providing protection. Why vaccinate if your pet doesn't need it?

I've got a 2.5 year old Rhodesian Ridgeback that's suffered "environmental allergies" since getting vaccinated. He was chewing/biting his paws to the point that there wasn't any hair left on them. One thing that I did find that seems to help was the use of Povidone iodine (brandname is Betadine). I can find an 8 oz bottle in the "first aid" section at my local grocery store for about $8 so it's relatively inexpensive.

I fill a shallow bucket about 1/3 full with water and squirt in enough Povidone so that the water looks like strong tea. I then dip my dog's paws in it, one at a time, and let them air dry. I do this twice a day - once after our morning walk and again before we turn in for the night after he's gone potty. The website I saw this on also recommended wetting a washcloth with the solution and wiping the dog's entire underside, especially the "arm pits" and groin area, areas that tend to be irritation sites as well.

This seemed to solve my dog's paw itching problem to the point that he's no longer chewing on them and the hair has grown back. Note that Povidone is a no-sting iodine so don't try to use regular iodine on any irritated or broken skin.

Finally, this is a suggestion to treat a specific symptom, not a cure for allergies overall. For that, you'll need someone like Dr. F. However, it might give your dog some relief while you continue to search for an overall solution.

Hope this helps someone with the same issues.

September 4th, I took my previously happy dog into the vet for skin issues (itching licking redness). She also had a history of renal failure, which was was living with stably, no acute issues at the time of first visit. Vet suggested Cytopoint or Apoquel, using the fact that Cytopoint was easy as a injectable vs Aqpoquel which was an oral pill (my dog was a known candidate for being difficult with taking pills). I was assured by my vet that Cytopoint DID NOT directly affect the kidneys, therefore safe for her condition. No other potential side effects were mentioned to me, and as a trusting pet owner wanting to help her beloved dog..Cytopoint was given to her. By September 6th, she was lethargic to the point where she would not pick her head up, not drinking water/eating, and vomiting. I brought her back into the vet that morning. No concern by them that this was a reaction to the Cytopoint (I have raised this question myself and was shut down). She was admitted to the ICU. Fast forward to today September 9th, she had a stroke this morning and passed away. We are currently undergoing an autopsy, as the ICU vet thinks this is highly likely to be a reaction to the Cytopoint, as well as possible anaphylaxis as her face became extremely swollen while she was admitted.

As an owner, I started researching (too late unfortunately) and came across side effects listed on the Cytopoint website:

Dermatitis
Bacterial Skin Infection
Erythema
Vomiting
Anorexia
Lethargy
Pruritus
Diarrhea
Alopecia
Cases of vomiting, diarrhea and lethargy resolved without treatment

For a normal dog that did not already have renal failure happening, I can understand how vomiting diarrhea and lethargy resolved without treatment. However, in my dog's case she became so dehydrated from these side effects that it pushed her kidneys over the edge. Her values were elevated previously but she was not living symptomatically and they values almost doubled after the injection and her decline. She spent 3 days in the ICU on fluids and different medications, she even started taking a turn for the better...walking on her own, eating small licks of food, wagging her tail again. Then I receive the call this morning (she was supposed to be coming home today or Monday) that she collapsed on her walk (which happened to be the best walk she had thus far while admitted, trotting around normally, enjoying herself), went into cardiopulmonary arrest, had a stroke and died right there. She was already gone by the time I saw her again.

This has been the most traumatizing thing I have ever been through, and the guilt I feel that I made this decision for her is immense. I truly believe Cytopoint killed my sweet dog. She was happy and living a normal life and within 5 days she has now been taken away from me and I am devastated. We are having an autopsy done and the veterinarians have been in contact with the company who manufactures Cytopoint. This is just unacceptable, this drug needs to be taken off the market before it takes the lives of more pets.

My pup has been getting cytopoint for the last year. One injection lasts for over 8 weeks for him. He is a totally different dog when he has the cytopoint. He is no longer scratching or chewing himself raw. His life was miserable without it and nothing else was working. I hope there are no long term affects later down the road but for right now Cytopoint is giving him a chance to enjoy his life!

My 11 month strong, healthy 100+ pound Rhodesian Ridgeback had the Cytopoint injection a little under 2 weeks ago for an ear infection and prior rash on webbing of paws. Starting the very next day, he has not drank water from his bowl, starting having bumps on his skin, lost about 10 pounds despite eating his food and worst of all cries all day, is lethargic and rolls on his back and twists himself. We went through over 2K in testing (blood work, tick test, kidney, pancreas, emergency ultrasound of abdomen) - all coming back normal. He was given a dewormer and an antibiotic, just in case and showed no signs of improvement. The timing has been uncanny and assuming this poor baby boy makes it through this I will NEVER use Cytopoint again. I believe it changed him from a high energy, strong dog, to totally different dog overnight and I would heed caution. It's not worth removing the itch for this!! Beware of the new wonder drug that had limited testing from anyone other than the company that has a vested interest.

The manufacturer states that Cytopoint is not a drug - rather, it is biological therapy that mimics the action of the dog's natural immune system.

Then, what is a drug? By one definition it's a substance which has a physiological effect when introduced into the body. I suppose even water, in sufficient quantity, would qualify as a drug under that definition.

The point I'm making here is that arguing over word meanings is specious and unproductive. The argument here is really a political - not a medical - one. It's all about the unacknowledged elephant in the room.

Surely there must be a more appropriate forum for this discussion.

I came across this blog researching Cytopoint. My Gracie has been suffering since Spring and its not let up through the summer...I am praying its just seasonal since she was perfect in the fall/winter. We have done the change in diet, we wipe our paws down everytime, we take hypoallergenic baths with conditioner, we wear booties when its wet outside, take flax seed oil, currently been on Apoquel since end of March with no great results, and we have been on Colostrum for about 2 1/2 weeks(but not at max dose yet)she is going to vet tomorrow night for a blood allergy test & they suggested the Cytopoint since OTC allergy drugs, Apoquel & steroids aren't working....I'm at a loss as to what to do....she gnaws on her feet they are scaly, raw & bleeding....she has some itchiness in one ear but its not bad....she will bites at various place on herself but not to the point of baldness.....I'm keeping her on the Colostrum it needs more time to work from what I have read & it seems to be the same theory of treatment as Nzymes(which a friend suggested to me) I have never had a dog this way with no relief and I am at a total loss......I was ok with this shot until reading this blog now I scared.....any suggestions for me to look into??

Why are you referring to Cytopoint as a drug, not just once, but repeatedly throughout your entire article? As a licensed, actively practicing DVM in good standing with your state's board, I am thoroughly disappointed in your apparent lack of comprehension of Cytopoint, and the subsequent misinformation you are spreading.

While we may have entirely opposing viewpoints re: veterinary medicine just generally speaking, I still respect your title/designation.

If you want to write freely about the "evils" of treatments for atopic canines, at least do so factually. No matter how much one convolutes the facts that are published and known about Cytopoint, one absolutely CANNOT accurately and factually state that it is a drug of any sort, nor that there are any known negative side effects from using Cytopoint. End of story.

I would appreciate your consideration in attempting to understand that which you choose to write about in the future. Many appear to listen to you, as witnessed by the many comments on your blog posts. I find this unfortunate, but am hopeful that you may attempt to add truth on occasion in your blogging in the future.