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

My Bella, a 7-year-old Chocolate Lab, has suffered from allergies/skin issues for most of her life. We have tried, steroids, expensive food, Apoqual, shampoos, herbal supplements, and so on and so on. She had her first Cytopoint shot on Oct 13th and for the first time in years, she was itch-free and comfortable in her own skin. I was beyond excited. I thought we found the magic pill. I was wrong. We just went back for a second shot and 2 weeks ago and her itching is worse than ever. I feel like we are back at square one and it's very disappointing. I have spent $1000 over the years and all I want is relief for my sweet baby girl. I'm looking for advise here. What's next for us. I hate seeing her suffer.

Thank-you for all of this information. I am saving this to study further.
I did leave a comment/reply prior to this, questioning how do we deal with vaccines, if we think this is the issue, and to share my stories.
I am looking forward to seeing what I can learn from all of this to help my itchy guy.

Thank you for your thorough analysis! I appreciate how you break down the information so well.
But I have to say, your final comment "it's the vaccines" is misleading. Lots of dogs whose owners choose not to vaccinate still deal with skin issues! No doubt the accumulated effect of immunizing is a factor, but it's probably not the entire root of the hypersensitivity.
Still, very insightful article!

I have an 8 year old miniature American Eskimo who prior to October last year used to have an itching problem with her paws only in spring when the grass greened up. But during summer it would lessen and winter there was no problem. Last September she had her first immunization in 6 years and by October she started itching horribly and chewed her paws and legs raw. She got sores inside her ear flaps and they were all gritty. I have always fed her chicken or lean ground beef/rice/veggies/EVOO/bone meal/flaxseed/a vitamin every day and a few grain free kibbles each evening. She previously has been healthy and happy for 7 years we have had her. Then in January she got an infection in her eyes somehow, and the vet gave her antibiotic eye drops. Then in May she started losing weight and the itching had made her destroy her legs and muzzle and around her mouth. She suddenly got an ear infection too. So the vet put her on Cytopoint and gave her a 2 week antibacterial shot & an antibiotic in her ear. She tested positive for bacterial infection on her legs and in her ears. She snapped out of it, started putting on weight again, but 7 weeks later started itching her legs again and lost weight dramatically. I took her back to the vet and they gave her another Cytopoint shot. This time she didn't do as well... I had to put bactrim and cortisone cream on her legs and snipped the toes out of dog socks and she wore them like leg warmers to cover the itchy area when I was asleep at night and couldnt watch her. Anyway, she started healing up but the weight loss was horrible and she was soon just skin and fur. I just took her to another vet and he gave her another Cytopoint shot and another long term antibiotic. She is doing better again but her blood tests say she has a high BUN and low specific gravity in her urine, both a sign of kidney problems. Now he wants her on mostly grain low protein Hills KD dog food which she hates I am still mixing it with her chicken. Hills scares me because of all the recalls they have had. I have no idea what has happened to her. It has been a nightmare since that vaccination last year and has cost at least $1000 with no end in sight. She is always spunky and energetic. I am feeding her everything I can to get some weight back on her. Whether it was the vaccine or something she picks up from wildlife in the back yard or allergies I don't know, but I steam clean the carpets and floors, use no chemicals or cleaners, cover her bedding in clean towels, bath her with allergy shampoos. I've soaked her legs in apple cidar vinegar and water, epsom salts or just washed them when she comes inside. Nothing helps much. This allergy thing is such a mystery and the 8 vets don't put much into this... just give her a shot and I pay the bill.

9 year old Parson't Russell Terrier rescue that was fine until the grass started growing. Tried everything from homeopathic, sprays and wipes to benadryl without relief. One shot of Cytopoint, no negative reaction and a massively improved quality of life. Formerly a city dog, he now rules 10 country acres with a joy that is indescribable. Vet did not endorse Apoquel due to potential side effects. My goal isn't to have the longest living dog ever, but to make the life he has the absolute best that it can be. Expensive? 40mg was $36.00 plus visit, any future ones they won't charge for the visit. Well worth it.

My Westie has been diagnosed with Epidermal Dysplagia. She was surrendered to a rescue at 3 yrs of age because the owners had struggled with her issues since she was 6 months old. I kept her because of the maintenance required for this disease. At almost 8 yrs old Holly has had the best quality of life the last few years that she has ever had. She gets Cytopoint injections monthly in the summer and they can be stretched out to 6 weeks in the winter. She has no more raw spots and scabs on her skin. Cytopoint for her is a quality of life issue and they have been an life saver for her.

My 3-year-old Bull Terrier received his 3rd Cytopoint injection (6-week interval) about 4 days ago. I am noticing that he seems to be on constant high-alert. He barks at things that I don't see or hear. He paces from window to window, etc. His allergies aren't as bad as some bull terriers I've seen, but I thought this injection would help calm down the red paws and licking/chewing. Henry is a bit high strung (typical for BT) but this feels different. Last night he was laying all over me half asleep. I picked up his paw to massage it and he growled and sort of snapped at me. This is not at all typical which is why I'm searching to see if this unrest is typical of Cytopoint. I'm not going to get the shot for him again. Thanks for all the information, Dr. Falconer. I'm also wondering if you have any knowledge of Dermoscent, which I have been using twice monthly for about a year now. Thanks!

For those who have had adverse reactions which may be linked to Cytopoint, you can (and should) call Zoetis to report it. The phone number is 888-963-8471 M-F 8:00-5:00 EST.

My 13 year old German Shepherd died of "bloat" 24 hours after his 2nd Cytopoint injection. He developed a severe and extremely painful elbow infection 72 hours after his 1st Cytopoint injection but the vet did not think it was related, hence the 2nd injection 1 month later. Cytopoint truly did relieve his itch, allowing him to be prednisone free for the first time in 11 years. Too bad he only got one month of relief and his death may have been caused by the drug that provided the relief.

Of note, my boy did not suffer from allergies like most dogs who are candidates for Cytopoint. He had a subcutaneous parasite called Onchocerca. Like most of the commentators on this site, I would like to see Zoetis do a more thorough study.

My 14yr old beautiful lurcher Archie had an injection of Cytopoint one week ago. His itching wasn't half as bad as some of these dogs though. I personally don't take pills so in hindsight (huh) how did I agree to this? He was very lethargic and started falling over 2 days later. His eyes looked scared. He had laboured breathing, shaking, completely went off his food though I think he was hungry - he would take something into his mouth and drop it out again like he couldn't chew it or it made his mouth taste bad. He stared into space and wasn't interested in anything at all. Previously he was eating a lot, tossing his chews around like a puppy and barking to tell me things. He did have short periods of walking well and sniffing around and each time optimistically I thought he was going to be fine. The vet 6 days later told me to completely discount the internet comments and my thoughts that it was Cytopoint that caused this. He wanted to do all sorts of tests which I didn't want to put Archie through being his age and 'knowing' the drug caused this. We agreed on pain relief since I wasn't I did not want him to suffer with the other effects - vomiting, going blind etc so after last night of him waking up a lot and continuing this sad behaviour I took him again to the vet for the final injection. I can't believe I inflicted such a terrible final week of his life on him.
I so feel for people who have had young dogs affected.
It is good that it is helping some dogs so much but I believe there needs to be more testing to find out which dogs it should not be given to and vets educated on it's bad effects. I so miss Archie

HELP!!

I have a two year old English Bulldog who has, get ready, NO KNOWN environmental allergies, except bee stings (it causes anaphylaxis).

After taking him to the emergency vet for facial swelling and what appeared to be an allergic reaction to DOG knows what, he was released without medication except, Cerenia (to control his non stop vomiting). I pulled a stinger out of his face and he seemed to do alright with another dose of Benadryl. A Monday.

I followed up with his RDVM the following day, since he wasn’t getting better and was actually declining, and he was given a Cytopoint injection for his itchy/yeasty paws but nothing, nor was I told to continue to administer any antihistamine going forward. A Tuesday.

Fast forward four days to Saturday and no Benadryl or other medications prescribed except Cerenia (two doses already administered earlier in the week) and my Bulldog went into anaphylactic shock and has aspiration pneumonia from inhaling his own vomit during the anaphylactic episode. He was rushed to a different ER vet who stabilized him and has now, hopefully, had his allergies dealt with.

Is it possible Cytopoint made his allergic reaction worse, or masked the allergic reaction and is it possible for a dog to be allergic to this protein compound? I’m not sure if someone has asked something similar but I’d greatly appreciate a response and some assistance.

Excellent points. I'm sure most visitors who come here want to know the same thing - both the positive and the negative experiences of dog owners with the medications they choose for their canine family members. This information, presented fairly and in an unbiased manner, is essential to making informed decisions.

Like many drugs, including human one's, there are side effects. Many human drug side effects can be very serious including death, but if the condition the drug is being used for is so bad that the risk of side effects is worth it, then we use the drug.

I find the cytopoint debate to be similar. How much do you let your dog suffer before trying it. Many dogs use cytopoint with no side effects just as many humans use certain drugs without side effects.

Its a risk we all have to decide. I try to imagine what if it was me that was itching constantly so badly I was drawing blood. Would I risk the side effect potential to get some relief especially if I had tried every natural alternative I could find?

How important is quality of life vs length? This question is one most of us will be personally faced with at some point and one that nearly all dog owners face eventually.

I see all the comments showing negative reactions. Most people who use the drug and have no negative reactions don't post to sites like this so most of the comments are from people upset about that has happened and go searching for more information.

What I would like to see is data showing how many dogs are helped by cytopoint that don't react negatively to it.

What is the ratio of dogs that have bad reactions to dogs that don't?

My vet says the number of dogs with reactions is very small compared to the total number of dogs he has given it to, but that is just one small example.

Dr Falconer, you have more and better resources than I do, can you come up with information showing the ratio of dogs with no reaction to dogs with severe reactions?

Are you willing to publish those results even if it shows that most dogs that get cytopoint do not have serious or life threatening reactions to it?

I appreciate what you do.

Do not give your dog Cytopoint. My dog “Franklin” got his 5th dose yesterday. He was rambunctious as always on the way to the vets office and within 1 hour of getting his injection, he became very lethargic. I assumed it was a side effect of the medication. This morning he had blood coming from his gums. I rushed him to the emergency vet hospital. Blood work revealed his platelet count was 2,000. Normal k-9 platelet count is 175,000 - 500,000. They gave a blood infusion in an attempt to get his platelets up enough to give him a fighting chance. Unfortunately he did not make it. I feel extreme guilt for not knowing more about this drug. I believe each dose slowly began to kill him. More research has to be done. Looking back, I realized how much he slowly started to decline which I contributed to his age. He began having slower response, stiff joints and not as playful. I noticed also his symptoms became worse just before his injection was due. I feel he was slowly poisoned by Cytopoint. Please seek other options.

My 2.5-yr-old Boxer was having awful allergies and had developed sores on either side of her snout from itching so hard. Her ears were red and she'd scratch them open, too. We'd tried different proteins, plus and minus grain, different natural treats with probiotics and other beneficial ingredients, baths with tea tree and other good stuffs (trying to stay away from potential triggers like oatmeal), etc etc. Lots of trial and error, with most of it being error. She was taking Benadryl a couple times a day just to give her some respite.

Finally, after talking with her vet, we looked into Cytopoint. I wasn't thrilled about trying Apoquel because, as a form of immunosuppresant, I was worried about what might happen to my Boxer (Boxers known to be pretty prone to cancers and such). Vet offered a short trial of Apoquel (4 days), after which -- if it looked to be working! -- we'd switch to Cytopoint. It was a fair plan, I thought, because we could try a few-day trial for fairly low cost, and then move to the much more expensive Cytopoint shot thereafter.
Apoquel was AMAZING. It worked almost instantly. My gal could sit by me on the couch and I could give her skritches without her practically falling over from joining in on the SCRATCHING. She was much more relaxed. Her face started to heal pretty quickly.
As planned, we moved to Cytopoint a few days later. For the first couple of weeks, it seeemed to be a wonder drug. My gal's patches of rash in her armpits and on her tummy cleared up. The sores on her face healed. She wasn't chomping on her poor little paws.
Then one morning, a couple weeks in, coming in from morning potty...she collapsed at the back door. And then again. We went immediately to her vet. A whole days of tests and Xrays and observation later, and very few answers or ideas -- except that her red blood cell count was a little lower than it had been a couple weeks earlier at her original (yearly) appointment.
We went home, still with little information. My Boxerfriend was doing OK, but seemed a little OFF. We went back for more bloodwork a week or two later. Red blood cells still lower. No real ideas of why, but tests were ruling some stuff OUT. We made an appointment for a vet cardiologist to see if her heart was causing collapse, and then waited.
A few days later, more collapsing. Went right in to my vet, and they referred me to an emergency vet with a lot of different specialists under one roof. The ER vets ran a bunch of tests but weren't really finding much (heart OK per ECG, films OK, tests on tests on tests not showing tons of...anything). Went back the next day and got a Holter monitor put on for 24 hours, to keep track of her heart function.
While wearing her monitor, she had 2 more collapsing episodes. I took her in again (luckily, her visit to the ER the day prior meant we didn't have to pay another ER fee! Yay for one break!). They ran the results from the Holter, and it only showed that her heart slowed down slightly during her episodes. More tests: red blood cells still lower.
My gal was REALLY low. If you know a Boxer, especially a young Boxer, you know they are basically one big ball of energy. My dogfriend had zero energy. She wasn't getting up enough. She was collapsing and disoriented.
Many tests, a blood transfusion, and a bone biopsy later, and it looks like she has PIMA (precursor-directed immune-mediated anemia).
She's on Prednisone now. We go back today to check her red blood cell count. She seems to be on the right path, and has more energy, and is eating and drinking normally (well...a little EXTRA, really, because of the 'roids).
Was it the Cytopoint that triggered the PIMA? Who knows. Immune responses are weird and many things can make them GO. But it's AWFULLY damn coincidental that a perfectly healthy -- aside from itchiness -- dog goes from zero to needing an emergency blood transfusion in a very short time, and that the timing lines up very closely with when she had her one (and final) shot of Cytopoint. Whether or not it WAS Cytopoint, my vet and others are now recommending no more vaccines, no more antibiotics. Ever. She has to stay on the steroids as long as it takes to get her red blood cells back in line, but other than that...no drugs.
I'm glad we found this early. I'm glad I have family and friends who have helped me gather funds to cover many of these costs. I'm glad my BBFF is still with us.

Good luck, everybody. And to those of you saying, "if it means my dog's life is shortened by a bit?" ...I hope it doesn't come to that for you. I hope you have no side effects.

I've used Cytopoint on my dog and I noticed a pattern... one week after receiving the injection my dog broke out into full body hives that required an emergency vet visit numerous times. The vets have never seen hives so bad. I finally made the connection, but the vets just didn't think the injection would cause such a delayed reaction. My dog had to receive an injection of steroids and benadryl and then stay on steroids for two weeks for the hives to calm down.

Thank you for this article. I got pressured into using Cytopoint today at the vet and now I am devastated. He also had the shot last year and ended up with all kinds of issues...but I didn't put two and two together because I was told it was safe etc. Does anyone know if I can give him anything to counteract the effects of this drug right away.

On March 6, 2019 I took my 11 year old healthy Basset-Hound mix to the vet for a hot spot treatment. The vet suggested the Cytopoint injection for itching. Following the injection, in a couple of days he got so many lumps and bumps on his body. He is also significantly slower and less enthusiastic. It has been less than a month, we did fine needle aspiration and the results are back suggesting lymphoma. I am in horror.

In February 27, 2009 I took my 10 month old half blue heeled half border collie puppy Wrigley to the vet because of constant itching. She is very healthy except for itching her legs all the time and we wanted to see if maybe it was a food allergy. The vet gave get the Cytopoint injection and said side effects could be vomiting and/or diarrhea, and lethargy. Two hours after the injection she started to Guam at the mouth and had a head twitch. She did that 4 times that evening. On February 28, 2019 she was very sleepy, not playful, not eating or drinking. She got up and was walking to another location, collapsed and went into a full seizure that last almost 6 minutes. When she finally came around she didn’t recognize me, her hair was standing up and she was growling at me. After about 5-10 minutes she finally came around and knew who I was. I took her back to the vet. They called the company and they said they had reports of dogs having seizures in the first 24-48 hours of the injection ( why wasn’t I told this)? The vet went on the internet and also found a forum where there was reports of dogs having seizures 24-48 hours after injection. They gave her anti seizure meds, kept her for the day . We continue to have her the anti seizure meds for the full 48 hours to make sure she doesn’t have anymore. So those that say the drug is worth the risk, it’s not. Blindness, brain damage and death is not worth the giving your dog this drug. Try other methods

Miley had been in a puppy mill for 7 yrs when I adopted her. I thought her scratching was environmental and tried every home remedy I could find. When I moved and the scratching continued, I took her to a local vet and asked to try Cytopoint. 7 weeks later and I'm just now starting to see her scratch a little again. 7 weeks with fabulous results!! I am a true believer of Cytopoint and her comfort in her senior life far outward the little risks involved. I also use a medicated shampoo on her every 2-3 weeks. For those who did not achieve the same results as my little Miley (Shih Tzu, now 10 yrs old), please keep looking for something that works for your pet.