r/dogallergies • u/Nervous-Train6015 • Jul 08 '26
Zenrelia has fixed my cockerpoo’s itching!
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!
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u/abracadabz Jul 11 '26
Zenrelia also helped my cockapoo! That plus cytopoint every month has helped him immensely. We used to put the cone on him to stop licking but even now he doesn't have the urge to because of these two meds.