We have a four year old female German Shepherd who tends to scratch and groom quite a bit at times. She hasn't opened any skin sores but we can see an area of dry, flaking on a spot on her back. Coconut oil seems to help but, of course, she loves it and tries to lick it off. Our vet wants to put her on Apoquel but my wife has read some pretty nasty stuff about the drug.

Any comments or advice???

Our Brittany did it quite a bit. We got her on daily Dinovite and she stopped.

Our Brittany has seasonal allergies and we end up putting him on apoquel twice a year until it clears. No issues and makes him feel better.

Swampstander, prob going to try Dinovite - thanks for the recommendation.

What are you reading on it? I used to work at a vet clinic when the stuff came out. Pretty much anyone who used it thought it was a miracle drug. It was pricey but people didn't care.

I've used it on and off for my dog when she just can't stop the itch.

It's worked for her - really worked well actually. I'm not a big drug guy so I only give it to her when her itch is heading towards a big issue.

Thisguy1 said:

---

What are you reading on it? I used to work at a vet clinic when the stuff came out. Pretty much anyone who used it thought it was a miracle drug. It was pricey but people didn't care.

---

I'm not sure what site she was on, but it had some "data" of it causing cancers and suppressing the dog's immune system. Like others here, I'm not a big drug guy but if the dog needs it for relief, I'll use it. My wife is about as anti-drug as you can get. One thing for sure is we would only use it as needed.

Not sure about all of that, but if I had a dollar for every time someone came in and said they heard ____ drug killed someone's dog…

The biggest one everyone said it about was Trifexis, which may have killed their dog if they gave it to them without checking if they already had heartworms.

I've used it on my dog for about 5 years now. He turns 9 in April. No health issues other then the severe itching and licking of paws.

Poor guy has to go on steroids about twice a year in addition.

Can't wait for the patent to go away so a off brand can be made.

Just paid 236 for 100 pills.

Have used on our dogs for 7 years now. Expensive but decently effective. Would love to use something more like Dinovite but it costs about the same and I don't know if it will work for our dogs.

Works wonders for our dog. She takes it daily.

My wife buys the 16 mg pills and quarters them. The 16 and 4 mg pills are the same price per pill, so a nice savings.

She also sends the apoquel receipt into the drug mfg.. Zoetis has a reward program that rebates you money that may be applied to Vet visits. https://www.apoquel.com/resources/pet-care-rewards

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. She's not in much discomfort right now, so we'll use the medication as little as possible.

If you haven't tried Benadryl yet then try that. 1mg/1lb. So a 25lb dog would take one 25mg pill.

swampstander said:

---

Our Brittany did it quite a bit. We got her on daily Dinovite and she stopped.

---

Apoquel has worked great for my 90lb Lab. But he needs it every day or he starts getting itchy almost immediately again.

I saw you mentioned Dinovite - I started a thread on that and would appreciate your comments on it.

Thanks!

https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/3354765/replies/64042149

I have a 25lb terrier mutt that took Apoquel daily for several years. I've recently switched to a Cytopoint injection every two months versus buying Apoquel every three months. With Cytopoint, I can quickly see a noticeable difference in her discomfort and the Cytopoint ends up being less $$$ annually even though I have to contact the vet a couple more times than I'd normally have to. Cytopoint isn't currently eligible for Zoetis Rewards but I'm hopeful that will change in the future.