My dog has severe allergies. Can he safely take multiple medications?

Yes your pet sure can. Prednisone is a steroid and Apoquel is an immune modulator drug that specifically targets the receptors on your pets skin that cause itching. In fact, right now Apoquel has no drug interactions with any other type of medication, so it can be used along with just about anything. If your pet was not able to be maintained on Apoquel alone, then a low dose of prednisone or Cyclosporine can be used with it. Also I would recommend Fish oil supplements which are natural anti-inflammatory way to help a pet with skin allergies. Any pet formulated fish oil product from your local pet store will do.

Poor Lily. Sometime both Apoquel and steroids might be necessary to control skin condition. Generally speaking, steroids have more side effects compared to Apoquel and is important to consider correct amount and length of treatments. Steroids need to be tapered gradually so please do not stop them without having gradually reduced the dose. Apoquel has a maximum effective dose so if Lily is already getting the maximum you won't see any beneficial effect if you increase it further. I would suggest to ask your vet exactly when to start and stop steroids as she knows Lily condition very well and can organize for her a treatment plan. Please post again in the forum if you need further advices and I hope my answer is helpful.

Hi there. These two medications can indeed be used together in some situations, but this needs to be done cautiously as they are both immunosuppressive medications that can have significant side effects. Legally, we are not able to give any specific advice regarding what medications to give any pet without first doing a physical exam, so this isn't something we can advise you on over the internet. I would recommend discussing your questions with the veterinarian who prescribed the medication, and make sure you follow his/her instructions on how to give it and for how long.

Poor Aspen. He is obviously very sensitive to some type of allergen which that be grass, dust, tree, chicken/beef, fleas (even if you aren't seeing any), and more. i would recommend to talk to your vet about apoquel or a course of steroids. Both of these are great for allergies. Apoquel is preferred as it is safer long term. Also I would recommend a prescription hypoallergenic diet for a minimum of 12 weeks to see if it helps his skin. When you do a food trial you cannot give him any treats or human food. You also need to make sure his hesrtworm prevention is hypoallergenic. I hope this helps! Allergies can be frustrating but it is important to figure out how to manage them as they cannot be cured.

Apoquel is actually the only effective and safe medication that can be taken long term for this type of condition, if it works well i would recommend working on the lowest effective dose once a day and sticking to it. you will not find anything that works OTC, the only true alternative is steroids and these should not be taken long term.

There are a couple medications that can help dogs with allergies - prednisone (which is a steroid and low cost but high on side effects), cytopoint and apoquel (which work in a more controlled way, so less side effects, but much higher cost). Allergies are definitely an expensive, but the allergy meds above may not be more than the antibiotics you've been doing, so I'd recommend talking to your vet about those options. Good luck!

I'm sorry to hear of your concerns with Ziggy. From the pictures it appears that she may have a skin infection. Skin infection occur secondary to allergies frequently. I would recommend consulting with your veterinarian as Ziggy may benefit from medicated shampoos or antibiotics. I would also discuss Ziggy's medications with your veterinarian. Apoquel and prednisone both suppress the immune system and are typically not given at the same time.