My dog's groin is irritated from licking. Is Apoquel safe? What helps?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Yes. Benedryl can be safely used in conjunction with apoquel. But please give her vet a call to discuss her medications- they may want to increase her apoquel dose or switch to a different medication if it isn’t effective currently.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Yes, it appears to be. We have to keep allergic dogs on it longterm as it improves their quality of life so much. You can always use it on an as needed basis as there will be times of the year perhaps winter when his allergies will not be as significant. Good luck and have a great day!

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!

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.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Apoquel is a mediation that reduces skin inflammation and excessive skin itchiness. It is considered as a very safe medication with few side effects. Apoquel does not have any effect on dog's appetite. If Rocco's appetite is down, he should be checked for fever, infection, abdominal pain, liver and kidney diseases. Please, get in touch with your local vets to clarify what is Rocco's main problem and to make diagnostic and treatment plan for him.

That does look really red! More than likely, it is caused by his allergies. The Apoquel is a great allergy medicine that seems to work very well but he may need an additional medicine to try and get this flare up under control. He might need an antihistamine for a little bit so you could call your vet and see if he/she would prescribe an anti-histamine. If there is any evidence of infection than he might also need an antibiotic to treat. You could also soak his paw in a warm Epsom salt solution and see if that helps with the redness and itching. Using Mal-A-Ket wipes may also help.

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