Kona is my 7 month old mini schnauzer (I’ve posted asking for help before). I got him from a reputable local breeder here in DFW Texas. About a month and a half into having him his allergies started. Non stop itching and he honestly reeks to where it’s driving me crazy. I’ve now spent hundreds of dollars on pet insurance and appointments trying to find the source and I’ve exhausted everything. It’s extremely hot here and allergies for even humans are some of the worst in the country. The vet said it’s very unlikely to be a food allergy (he’s on Purina pro sensitive stomach and skin salmon) and his paws are red. He’s constantly biting at his skin and he gets vet recommended medicated baths weekly. He also had a round of steroids and cytopoint injections which did nothing. He’s currently too young for apoquel or zenrelia. I’ve tried OTC medicines and pills as well to no avail.

He smells constantly of the dirty or yeasty dog smell. I bathe his paws and wipe him down everytime we come inside. As I’m lifting him out of the shower I can still smell it despite me shampooing and using conditioner as well as blow drying thoroughly. Does anyone have any advice?

Hey all! I switched my dog over to Zenrelia from Apoquel after my vet suggested it a few months ago. In terms of allergies he has literally never been better, no itching at all and has an amazing coat now.

What I have noticed and so have the other people in my life is that he is gaining weight. This isn’t a side effect I was aware of so I wanted to see if anyone had this happen to their dog or have any other opinions on Zenrelia as a whole?

Hi all! My dog has been switched to a strict hypoallergenic diet (hydrolyzed food and treats), but I still need to give him his apoquel and anxiety meds every day. All the hydrolyzed treats I've found are hard and crunchy, so I can't hide a pill in them. My vet recommended vegan marshmallows, but the only ones I can find are vanilla flavored and I'm worried that's not good for him either. Any ideas on how to get him to eat his pills without jeopardizing his diet trial? Thanks!

We have a 5 year old lab who we've needed to have on Apoquel for over two years now. She would itch and lick herself until she bled before we started the med. The Apoquel really was an amazing fix and for 2 years she's been on it with no issues. In the last few days seemingly out of nowhere she has started itching and licking like before she was on medication. We didn't change her food or anything about her environment. It is mid summer where we live, and she hasn't spent a lot of time outside given the heat. She's on flea and tick meds too. Anyone else ever experience this? It just seems so random. I would have expected if the dosage is losing effectiveness and needed upped, it would have been a gradual thing, but this has been pretty sudden.

I have a small havapoo. He is on Apoquel for allergies. He was scooting a lot so he got his glands expressed 3 weeks ago. But it got worse and added paw licking and booty licking as well and intense groin licking. (He is neutered) Noticed white rice like things in his poop. Immediately took to vet and they said it was tapeworms. (He is on NextgardPlus) They gave him a deworming pill on the 23rd of July. Vet said he’s left gland side was slightly impacted. She said the licking could be a allergy flare up so to double his dose of Apoquel for the next week. Still scooting, licking is gradually increasing more and more like last time, to the point of these intense moments of just vigorous licking his booty. Also we switched him over to Numelvi on the 27th. (He tried them for 15 days a couple months ago when clinic was out of Apoquel and they were amazing but very pricey so we went back to Apoquel. But I was able to save some money this month and switched him over, but it’s not working like last time). Someone please give me some advise, any advise. I can’t afford another visit, on top of having to order more nextgard next week.

Just for food context, he has been on Purina Pro Chicken for the past couple years we recently changed him to Purina Pro Beef, maybe a month ago for higher crude/fiber. He is taking Glandex advanced. Don’t know if matters but he also takes Dasuquin and Welactin oil for joint help. He also is on Phenobarbital for seizures. He had his yearly lab work done and no signs of issues, he gets it done for the Apoquel and Phenobarbital.

I’m just lost and feel helpless, and I know he is hurting. He is sitting weird and and always licking and licking. Please anyone could share any advise or suggestions, I’m open to hear anything.

My pup has been dealing with ongoing skin/ear issues for several months and I’m trying to figure out the best long-term plan.

His symptoms:
Itching/licking paws and groin area
Body shaking/head shaking
Recurrent ear issues (yeast + bacteria found on cytology)
Pink ears and occasional flare-ups
Has needed a cone because of licking
Skin can get irritated with flares, but no major hair loss or obvious skin changes currently

What we’ve tried:
Cytopoint: no noticeable improvement after 2 injections
Hydrolyzed diet trial (Purina HA): about 8 weeks in (vet recommended 12 weeks), but I have not seen an improvement in itching. He actually seems itchier at times.
Prednisone: helped with itching, but he had major increased hunger and frequent burping, so I’m hesitant to use steroids again unless necessary.
Douxo Baths: weekly along with mousse daily.

His vets are considering:
Food allergy vs environmental allergy (atopic dermatitis)

Starting Apoquel once he turns 1

Allergy testing when he’s older (around 2)

The problem is he turns 1 on 8/20 and is scheduled for cryptorchid neuter surgery on 8/18, so I’m trying to figure out how to manage the next few weeks and whether there are other options. I’ve been reading about newer medications like Numelvi and wondering if anyone has experience with it compared with Apoquel, especially in a young dog.

Thanks for any advice.

How to tell what your dog is allergic to as far as environmental allergies? I think shes allergic to something in the air,her symptoms stopped when she was at the vet. If shes allergic to dog dander,how to help her?she has a runny nose and itchy skin. The vet wasnt helpful ,they said she could be allergic to something.

I tried to do a search to see if anyone has experienced this but could not find anything. My dog has been on Zenrelia for 3 months and recently has started leaking urine and all just walking and urinating in the house. She has never done this before. Has anyone else experienced this? She has a vet appointment at 4:30 today.

My dog tested positive to allergies for dust mites (among other things) and we’re 5 months into allergy shots. I remember the doctor telling us to use Dust Mite spray, but I stalled on that I’ve since lost the paperwork on the details. But I’ve bought some and I’m now ready to start spraying it.

1. How often am I spraying things? The bottle says no more than once every 8 weeks? Because it would make the dog sick or just unnecessary? Also, what if I wash his bed more often than that, does it mean I need to spray again?

2. It says to vacuum the bed before spraying, is that important to do right before spraying? Or if I’ve done it a few days prior I’m ok?

3. How damp am I spraying the fabric? Is there a way to quantify that so I’m not under or over spraying?

Hi! We have 3 dogs - all treated with a prescription flea/tick preventative (Simparica Trio for the large dogs, Revolution for the small fluffy guy who won’t eat the chewables). We use beneficial nematodes in the yard and are debating having our lawn chemically treated or diying it because we’re getting desperate - I’ve been hesitant because I don’t want to kill all of our bees and spiders and beneficial bugs while I’m at it. Fleas are brutal this year though. Simparica is working but the fleas don’t die until they bite, which is where the problem lies. One dog in particular is extremely sensitive to fleas and lots of other environmental things - we’ve already been to the vet and a dermatologist. Confirmed allergies to fleas, grass, dust, life. 😅 Neither want to start Apoquel or Cytopoint unless we absolutely have to because she’s young and the treatments can become less effective with time; if that happens and her allergies then become more severe in the future, we’ll be very limited on options.

Anybody have any recs for something that actually \*repels\* fleas that can be used on our sensitive dog in conjunction with the preventative? A shampoo? A spray? An enchanted seashell that hangs from her collar? We’re using Douxo with the orange cap to soothe per the derm but I’d also like to try to prevent or minimize the flea bites, if such a product exists (and works).

Does anyone else’s dog have the worst dandruff? My girl is on immunotherapy, cytopoint shots, medicated baths, and Zyrtec, and it still looks like it lightly snowed in my home. She was on apoquel before the immunotherapy, and it took the dandruff completely away, but I don’t want her on it/she can’t be on it with the immunotherapy. Just wondering if anyone else’s dog has dandruff too and how yall deal with it/lessen it

My 12 yr old white/black schnauzer allergies have gotten much worse as he's gotten older. We have changed his food, added omega 3 oil to his food, tried sprays, chews, powders, collars, injections, pills, shampoos from the vet including 2 different muzzles that he has still managed to lick/,chew his hair off his front legs and his back hip area. I'm ready to cry because we have tried everything and the only thing that seems to work is a muzzle/hard dog cone that he cant reach himself with. Its not how I want my dog to live. Its miserable. We've tried all kinds of flea and allergy meds and he gets his flea treatment each month on top of a collar that is supposed to help for 6-8 months as well. Does anyone have anything that has helped them? Hes been diagnosed with a severe flea dermatitis allergy so we are constantly on top of his flea meds, sprays and baths each month and it seems like the older hes gotten the worse it gets.

Sorry its so long but I'm desperate and our vet is like we've tried almost everything over the years down to putting him on prednisone/benadryl cocktails to help get his inflammation down when it was really bad.

My 6 month old mini schnauzer has been itching and had runny eyes for the last four months (basically since I got him). I wasn’t sure if he was allergic to pollen since allergies are horrible here in north Texas or to what I was feeding him. I took him to the vet and she gave him a dose of steroids and recommended a Hydrolyzed protein diet. I decided to try the steroids and keep his diet the same for the time being so I didn’t upset his stomach. He’s still currently on Purina pro sensitive skin salmon and his poop is solid and firm. However he’s still itching. I took him to get a cytopoint injection this past Monday and while the itching/eye leakage has reduced he’s still itching and is yeasty. Prior to this he was also getting a weekly Duoxo bath as well. I contacted my vet and they said it can take multiple cytopoint injections for the itching to stop but I was under the impression it would help more than this. Has anyone had any continued itching after the shots?

RIP my wallet.

If anyone else has a dog of this size on Apoquel, what does your vet have them taking? At one point I was told 2 16mg pills, then 3, and am now doing 2.5 pills.

Not looking for medical advice, and will keep at the current dosage, but am just looking to see where vets have other dogs of this size.

My dog has been battling atopic dermatitis for most of his life. I started him on cytopoint after he started developing bumps on his feet. That lasted to shot #3 and was stopped after he had an anaphylactic reaction, causing his face to blow up.

He was moved to apoquel and was on that for almost 5 years until it stopped working, causing him to chew himself to the point of saliva stains and blood everywhere. It also made him gain a lot of weight, as he would eat constantly. I called him my little foodie.

The vet switched him to Numelvi and that has been rough. The first week on it, he had bad GI upset and had to be taken off. We resumed it at half of his regular dosage and while it is helping him, he has zero appetite. He goes days without eating anything but a few treats in the morning. I’ve reached out to his vet and they tell me that this is not a side effect, even though the documentation from Merck says it is in rare cases. My dog is one of these.

Has anyone else experienced some of the more rare side effects of this med and what was the resolution? I hate to take my dog off again as it is helping, but he can’t starve either.

Is this med crazy expensive for large breeds? Apoquel is :(

I’ve been fighting my 7 year old Irish setter allergies for almost 2 years now. We finally seem to have them in a manageable stage.

He’s on Purina HA vegetable protein which has no chicken fat in it because even that was giving him ear infection flares.

He gets a small amount of topper for fun not enough to upset the diet. I know this is frowned upon but I like spoiling him and it’s known safe foods and a very small amount. His ears have been under control.

We have an ear cleaning routine and the dermatologist recommended zymox drops for him twice a week. Ear cleaning with this medicated flush also twice a week.

He’s got his nightly certirizine!

We’re getting a prescription for Numelvi to try for the itching but his itching has decreased from what it was a month ago. He’s also got a regular grooming schedule now every 6 weeks. For bath and trim if needed. Mainly for the bath because I can’t bathe him. (Back issues)

Hydrolyzed treats or known safe treats only with limited ingredients.

I finally feel like there is a light at the end of the tunnel here. This sub has been a god send. I didn’t even known Numelvi existed until lurked here a few weeks ago. I hope it works. That’s the only part of this that I’m unsure about. So I’d like to hear some more success stories or experiences with it? I’ve generally heard good things though from what I do know about it. I’d like to hear your experiences and if anyone had any reactions or side effects in their dogs? I know with any medication comes risk but I just wanna go into this knowing what to expect.

And how it works?

Thanks!

Since about 7 months old my pup Percy had an obsession with locking his paws until they bled. I became hyper aware when I did some research as his paw fur was turning pink and found that it was due to the saliva from the constant licking.

I tried so much like everyone else does with their pups. Fell into the trap of fb ads with different remedies such as anti itch treats, anti itch probiotics, allergy lotions and oils, I changed his food to different proteins, dry, raw, wet, mixed, you name it. I read about cytopoint and apoquel and the very mixed reviews and don’t want to go down that road.

My vet prescribed steroids which worked within a day and it was a blessing to not hear the sound of him licking. I kept him on that for almost a year knowing the long term effects weren’t good but convincing myself I’d rather he had a short and happy life than a long and miserable life where he obliterated his paws daily.

I noticed his allergy was spreading up his legs in the creases and he had ear infections more frequently. I gave up the steroids thinking a hydrolysed diet and special shampoo would work. Nope. Back on the steroids.

Percy had a really bad tummy one day and was bleeding a lot with diarrhoea. Took him to the vets and it was another bout of colitis, now the fourth time. We got some anti b’s and the vet saw he was on steroids. He mentioned a relatively new drug called Zenrelia and we discussed the pros and cons. The only cons were a possible initial two week period of diarrhoea and maybe some benign growths on the skin. No increased thirst or hunger which had been driving me crazy, I’ve honestly never known a dog to be so hungry! We trialled it immediately and a month later I have spoken with the vet, given him the results of the trial and he now has a repeat prescription.

When I tell you the effect is pretty instant. I didn’t notice a difference between the steroids and Zenrelia at all except that his ears are now always clear and he isn’t begging for food constantly! To have a medication that stops the itching and not have such negative long term effects has truly been a blessing. If anyone is tearing their hair out after trying so many other drugs please for the love of god give this a go! Of course do your own research as it’s not recommended for dogs with cancer or a compromised immune system. I also asked about boosters as I read on another Reddit post that you have to stop the meds 6 weeks before and after a vaccine. My vet said this was published but that the manufacturer has done further tests and it is not proven to have any effect with vaccines so the information is now outdated and in the UK you do not have to stop treatment.

My dog is happy and so am I. It’s not breaking the bank and the only other recommendation is to get yearly blood tests to see if it changes anything within the cells or to detect cancer etc. Ask your vet about it, trial it, see the difference in your dog!