My dog has allergies. Are Pet Lab Co. chews better than Apoquel?

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! While apoquel is a great drug to stop scratching and to help atopic dermatitis it doesn't do anything in the face of a skin infection. Coco should be checked to see if she now has a yeast and or bacterial skin infection. There is also the option of doing an injection for scratching called cytopoint, which lasts 30-60 days (dog dependent). I would also consider adding Omega 3 fish oils and changing her diet to a non-chicken based novel protein diet (try venison, lamb, fish). Claritin, benadryl and zyrtec can be sued in dogs, see links below: https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/benadryl/ https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/zyrtec/ https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/claritin/ https://www.vrshealth.com/canine-products/omegadog/ https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=15235

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Lily's allergies. I would highly advice that you consider Apoquel. This medication is very effective to decrease the itch and help with the clinical signs associated with allergies that you describe. The best thing about Apoquel besides its efficacy is that you can stop it at any point so you can consider using it just for the time being while she is affected by allergies the most. That is how I use it for my own dogs and they are going great. Good luck and have a nice day!

It is hard to really answer your question about Rocco beccause many factors go into allergies. There are three types of allergies in dogs - this inculdes food, environmental and flea. I would highly recommend apply flea prevention every 30 days to Rocco even if you do not see fleas. When a dog is allergic to fleas it only takes 1 bite to make them very itchy. It can be difficult to tell the difference between food and environmental allergies. I typicallly do not start apoquel unless the patient has been on a food trial. This is where they feed a prescritpion food ONLY for 12 plus weeks. Over the counter food can be contaminated with proteins and will not work to determine a food allergy. If we have proven the patient only has an environmental allergy than apoquel can be a good medication to use. However it is only going to work ifthe skin does not have any type of infection present (like bacteria or fungal and also ear infections). Apoquel does suppress the immune system to help decrease the itchy. Typically this is not harmful for most dogs. However I would recommend consulting your vet fist to make sure nothing in Roccos medical history would make him a bad canidate for apoquel and it is a proper drug for him. Hope that helps. You can aways try a pet coach consult if you need/want more information.

The shot was likely cytopoint. Depending on the dog sometimes the shot works better and sometimes the pill works better. I even have some patients that need both to help control their allergies. If you feel like the pill worked better then I would contact you vet for a prescription of apoquel for her as well. I think it is perfectly safe for her to have apoquel on a long term basis as long as she has no other medical issues. You can talk to ypur vet in more details about whether or not she is okay to stay in apoquel long term. I hope this helps!

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Tiny. I'm not sure anyone can answer that question and the best thing to do is to call the manufacturer of Apoquel and talk with their veterinary consultant team. I'm not sure we have any long term studies on this drug in dogs. Here's the info I copied from the Zoetis website regarding contact information- PRODUCT SUPPORT If you have product-related questions or wish to report an adverse event associated with a Zoetis product, including a human exposure, please contact our Veterinary Medical Information & Product Support Team at 1-888-ZOETIS-1 or 1-888-963-8471 I would advise also discussing with your veterinarian or a Zoetis veterinarian, other treatments for dogs with allergies. These can include medicated bathing, fish oil, antihistamines, corticosteroids, allergy shots, etc. Good luck with Tiny. Allergies can be very challenging but with good care they can be controlled quite well. Also a good flea and tick medicine should be part of the overall treatment.

Hello, thank you for your question about Honey. Based on the symptoms that you describe it seems that Honey has pretty significant allergies. Another treatment option that you can discuss with your veterinarian is use of a relatively new product called Cytopoint. This is an injectable medication given by your veterinarian that helps to treat severe allergic dermatitis. Many owners report that this medication has helped dramatically. Another option would be to schedule an appointment with a veterinary dermatologist for further evaluation of her skin disease and to discuss more extensive treatment options. Hope this helps, good luck!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I have several patients that have been on it for a little over a year now and seem to be doing quite well on it. The one thing we routinely monitor is a complete blood count to make sure the immune system is not being suppressed, which Apoquel has been known to do in some patients. Other than that, I really do not see any other side effects of using Apoquel. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.