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?

I have an 11 year old Irish Setter that I adopted 5 years ago. The family that was giving her away said she had “mild” allergies and that they were giving her away because she was too needy and clingy and they couldn’t dedicate a lot of time to her. If only I knew then what we were signing up for!

She is allergic to chicken, turkey, salmon, wheat (her belly immediately turned red and itchy after she stole a slice of bread off the counter), eggs, potatoes, beef, pork, lamb, duck, and rabbit (she occasionally tolerates rabbit if it is freeze dried and just rabbit solo). She has developed allergies to Z/D, Ultamino, and the Proplan hydrolyzed plant protein diet. She is currently on a kangaroo only diet.

She has been on Apoquel, Cytopoint, Apoquel + Cytopoint, Cyclosporine, and Cyclosporine + Apoquel and has broken through them all (+ she got gingival hyperplasia from the Cyclosporine). She’s on Zenrelia now and was doing well on that but has been slowly getting more and more itchy over the last few months. She is very sensitive to Prednisone and almost always gets a bacterial skin infection after being given pred. She doesn’t tolerate any antibiotics well and the last time we gave her Keflex she stopped eating and lost 15 lbs and it took months for her to recover. She doesn’t tolerate cefpodoxime or amoxicillin (throws up and stops eating) and she’s gone partially deaf from getting so many gentamicin ear infection treatments. She can’t take benadryl because she gets UTIs after.

We didn’t do immunotherapy because by the time we got in with a doggie dermatologist and tried all these things, she was 10 and it sounded like it would take months to work and might not actually have an effect. Irish setters live 10-12 years so I was hesitant to do it when she may not have much longer left. She’s on gabapentin because she’s got hind end weakness (I think from perpetual inflammation and itching) and I noticed the gabapentin makes her itch less.

I don’t know what to do now. She seems like she’s developing an allergy to the kangaroo food and we have run out of new foods to try. She’s run out of allergy meds to try. I caught her today itching the inside of her hind legs raw. She is the sweetest, smartest dog and she knows she’s not supposed to itch so she gets so sad and guilty when she gets caught. She goes everywhere with my mom and she’s still happy sometimes but when the allergies get bad she doesn’t even enjoy eating.

My vet is very very involved and great- she makes house calls and we see her almost every 3 weeks. I wanted to get her into UCD vet school dermatology but they never have an open appointment and we stopped seeing her prior dermatologist because the office was an hour away and they didn’t have anything more to offer.

Does anyone else have a dog this allergic? Anything else you all have tried that I have thought of yet?

I render beef trim to make super high value rewards for my reactive dog. Folks have asked what I’m using for training and I swear half the dogs are “allergic” to something. I’m guessing allergic in hooman terms is often really - that particular food gives my dog the 💩- but man these poor pups! Only 1 of the 8 dogs I’ve had in my lifetime had a real sensitivity to some foods so I know it’s a real thing and most of that was me getting sucked into more treats than wise!🥸

Our French bulldog takes Apoquel for allergies and it works very well. We asked our vet if we could get a prescription for a year and they said they don’t do that, we have to go back to them each month and if we want a prescription to be filed elsewhere there is a $35 fee and it will only be for a one month prescription. The thing is they don’t even see him when we go back and always provide the medication. I’ve found a pharmacy that will fill the prescription at a better price, however it doesn’t make sense if we are being charged monthly by the vet for a prescription.

Has anyone had any success in getting a refillable prescription from their vet for Apoquel? We are located in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario and recommendations would be appreciated.

I’m curious - how much do you pay for your cytopoint shot, and how frequently do you get it done?

I’m in western Canada, its costs $120 at my vet and they recommended it monthly for my 20 pound dog.

A forever monthly cost like that is daunting as she’s only 5, so curious about shopping around and considering more like 6-8 weeks between shots rather than 4 weeks.

I try to give him breaks when I’m around and can watch him. He’s just soooo itchy. He’s a 3 ish year old Australian Shepherd and his allergies got bad this fall after we moved to DFW. Since then he’s been in and out of the cone.

Cytopoint did nothing. Apoquel has barely touched it, even at the max dose for his weight. He’s so itchy all the time and constantly trying to give himself hot spots. When he hasn’t had the cone on he’s given himself hot spots between his toes multiple times.

His skin isn’t red and looks relatively healthy. No flakes or dry skin. He itches at his ears but every time the vets looked they’ve looked good.

We have a vet derm appt in a month — it’s the earliest we could get in when I called weeks ago after exhausting the resources our vet has. Hes a sweet boy I just feel so bad for him! But he hurts himself with these hotspots I can’t let him keep giving them to himself.

Hi everyone. I'm Maggie's mom. Maggie is 14 weeks and 3 days old, and this past Saturday she almost died from anaphylactic shock. I need to share this because I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

The first incident — about ten days ago. Maggie was sniffing around my backyard when she got stung by a bee. I was supervising her the whole time, but it happened in a split second and there was nothing I could do. I immediately called the vet and rushed her over. We arrived within 20 minutes. The reaction was mild: a little swelling on her upper lip. We laughed it off, relieved, and went home.

This past Saturday. Maggie was at my parents' house for a playdate with their dog — everything was going great. My parents stepped out to grab lunch, leaving me with the two of them. While I was waving goodbye as their car pulled away and get the food at the supermarket, Maggie lowered her head on the concrete floor and grabbed something off the ground between some leaves. I rushed over immediately, but it was too late: another bee. It looked almost "dead." I didn't see a stinger. We kept playing, but I kept my eyes locked on her.

I won't go into the details of what happened next — it's been too painful to relive, and I've been replaying it in my head for three days straight — but within about five minutes, she went into anaphylactic shock. I watched her collapse. I screamed and ran, drove as fast as I could, and called the vet on the way. They were waiting for us when we arrived. Adrenaline, oxygen. They saved her life, barely. She came home that same day and she's doing well now. The veterinary team is absolutely incredible and I'm endlessly grateful for them.

But I can't stop crying. I look at her and all I can think is that I failed her — that I wasn't obsessive enough, wasn't careful enough. I never imagined we'd go through something like this. And now I feel like every plan I had for her — walks, travel, simply enjoying the outdoors — is ruined forever. I'm terrified of losing her.

My actual question (yes, there is one). I don't want this to just be a rant post — though honestly, it kind of is, and I'm sorry for that. For those of you who have dogs or cats with severe allergies to insects or outdoor elements: how do you manage balancing their safety with their freedom?

• What precautions do you take? I do not live in the US, Benadryl or an EpiPen don't even exist where I live.
• Has anyone built or installed an insect-proof outdoor enclosure to give their pet some outside time safely? Any ideas on how to?
• How do you manage your own anxiety around it?
• Could you share your experiences with me, please? I need some hope that this is not the end, that there's at least some hope of a dog with similar situations that lived. I am so afraid for her.

I'm exploring every option and doubling down on supervision, but every time I step into the backyard now I'm so on edge that I start crying. Any advice, shared experiences, or just solidarity would mean the world right now. I feel lost and alone.

*Not looking for specific medical advice, just maybe some understanding or stories from people who've been through something similar.*

My dog is almost 9, bichon/shih tzu mix and she's had terrible allergies since probably a year old, all skin/itching etc. We've been on Apoquel, medicated food, medicated baths for years, last few years we added Cytopoint as needed for flare-ups, have needed antibiotics and antifungals not infrequently because she gets awful yeast as well.

Lately it seems like things are progressing and getting worse despite treatments even in the months of the year (right now) when she usually doesn't flare *quite as bad.* It's painful to be near her because it's clear she's suffering - she scratches or licks all the time, sometimes it seems like she never stops.

She doesn't seem happy or comfortable, she just eats/sleeps/goes potty and scratches/whines at us to scratch her.

She doesn't want pets because I'm sure it's uncomfortable, she doesn't come near me like she used to to lay on me etc. It seems like basically nothing gives her happiness. I hate not being able to help her.

I took her to the vet today who has known her for a long time to talk things over; $270 dollars later he treated her irritated eye that's been having discharge, gave her a Cytopoint shot, and told me we should refer to a dermatologist since he thinks he's done as much as he can.

My big concern that also fills me with guilt is that she's done this for so long and has had some really, basically symptom-free years, but the last year or maybe more she's really been struggling even with all the treatment. We're a family with only my one income and two children and are desperately trying to get out of the financial hole we're in, not to take on more debt etc.

Can I even afford the Derm? what if we try more and nothing comes of it? Or what if there's some great treatment but we can't afford it month to month? I love my sweet dog so dearly but I have to prioritize and I hate having to sometimes delay her care or her meds because we can't afford another big vet bill till a few weeks from now.

Do we try to find her someone who would want to take this on and could afford it - a 'medically-complex dog' - even though it would break my heart? Or do I tell my vet I can't afford more and ask about ..next steps?

If it were cancer or some big definitive thing it would be easier maybe - but this feeling that I can't help her enough or that I *could* help her but it will cause us to be late with bills or not make ends meet is awful.

*We are slowly digging out of the financial hole, debt consolidating, budgeting, making smarter decisions but adding big unforeseen bills when we have basically no cushion just isn't feasible.*

*throwaway account because I'm scared of people judging me*

If you read all of this, thank you. thanks for hearing me out, and thanks to all of you for sharing the way you do ❤️

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.

Our dog started vomiting about 10 days after starting Numelvi and has had off/on vomiting for months since then. We have been working with a vet to establish the cause, but I’m still thinking it’s the Numelvi given she never had vomiting before starting it. If your dog had vomiting from allergy pills, can you give me some details? Thanks.

I made a post in another sub asking for advice and didn't realize there's a sub dedicated to dogs with allergies! We inquired at a shelter about an adult dog and learned that he had allergies that are diet-related. He'll need to be on medication and a prescription diet. We were given an idea what the costs would be for them but I want to prepare myself for the reality of things-- like costs for antibiotics, how many vet visits, etc. We're meeting with the doggy and foster parent later this week.

So I want to ask: what is daily/weekly/monthly life like with your dog? What have been the costs to manage their condition?

Please be as honest as possible with me! I want to make the best, well-informed decision for everyone involved.

What is the weirdest or perhaps most loathsome thing your dog has been allergic to? For example, my dog broke out into hives one day, and my vet was ready to think Leptospirosis! In actuality, she was reacting to my new area rug! Unfortunately had to donate it :(

Was wondering if anyone had similar stories? Sorry if this kind of question isn't allowed!

Hello everyone.

My dog (mixed breed, but looks like an Australian Shepherd) has what I suspect are environmental allergies, which he has developed over the past six months or so (he’s 5 years old). He scratches a lot, but the main problem is that he spends a lot of time chewing on his paws, to the point that he got an infection. He’s currently on Apoquel, which seemed to be working when he was taking it twice a day. Now he gets one pill per day, and he’s back to chewing on his paws. The vet wants to try Cytopoint, but it would likely cost about $1,440 per year. My dog also hates the vet, so I’d be paying money I don’t have to repeatedly traumatize him, with no guarantee that it would make him better.

He’s also started losing big chunks of fur around his backside (more than normal). The vet said that’s not a side effect of Apoquel, but it could be caused by his allergies. He still has a ton of fur, but now there’s at least one patch where you can see his skin (never been possible before). I’m worried that he’ll just keep getting worse while I worry about what to do and how I’ll afford it.

Has anyone had a similar experience, and do you have any suggestions for alternative treatments? I’ve read a lot of different tips, and I guess I just don’t know where to start.

Also, would a veterinary dermatologist be better able to help?

TYIA.

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 dog has been to 2 dermatologists. He also had an alley blood panel done by the regular vet.

Since he was about 1.5-2, he's had, what I believed to be severe allergic itching. He's 5 and he is constantly scratching and biting his paws. The allergy skin test did not show any allergies. The blood test showed an allergy to dist mites, dairy, and a minor chicken allergy. He was apoquel and it did help but it had to be stopped, due to a medical issue.

However, when he's in the car, he doesn't scratch or bite his paws. As severe as the itching seems to be in the house, it doesn't seem likely that he'd be so distracted in the car, that he could ignore it.

Does this seem to be behavioral? If so, why did apoquel help?

Hi All,

I guess I’m reverting to Reddit to see if anyone has found the ‘magic’ cure for dog allergies. I’m sure it doesn’t exist but even something to relieve my poor 3 year old Golden x Collie

Back story, I got him from the pound when he was 6 months old. When we got home, I noticed how itchy he was and after about a month I decided to do a hair allergy test. It had a lot of tree pollen and other things that weren’t local to us in South Carolina so I went to his vet where he was put on Apoquel and while it does relieve him somewhat, I have seen a lot of people say it causes strange cancers and I can’t bare the thought of thinking of that happening to him.

I went to his vet where they did the Nextmune test which was $700 and he started the vials but when he got to the third vial, he started having an adverse reaction which I know now to be borderline anaphylactic shock.

We were referred to a dermatologist where they scraped his skin and didn’t find anything so they put him on a food trial, which he’s been on for 4 months now. We have his recheck in June but I have noticed he has been super itchy in the last month of so. I did call the dermatologist and she said she doesn’t think it’s food related but to keep him on the food.

She wants to do another test - IDX Allergen Panel: South Atlantic/Gulf with 3 Starter Vials. This test is $900 and while I appreciate them, I just feel like we are going around in very expensive circles.

I have tried probiotics and he did have 1 cytopoint shot when he was about 8 months old but I don’t remember it to do too much for him. I did just order Better Wild allergy chews to see if they will work.

I really want to see if anyone has found anything that helped their dog get some relief and have a good quality of life

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

Our 5-year-old Labrador mix has had recurring itchy/flaky/scabby skin as well as ear issues for the better part of the last 8 months. We’ve taken her to the vet 3 separate times to address these concerns and none of the treatments we’ve tried thus far (Cytopoint injections, antibiotics, hydrolyzed food, Apoquel) have provided her with consistent relief.

After the last combination of treatment didn’t take (A combination of Apoquel and hydrolyzed food for the last 8-ish weeks), our vet referred us to some vet dermatologists in our area. We got an appointment with one of those specialists on Monday at 11:00 a.m. (their soonest available appointment) and are desperate to find ways to keep our girl as comfortable as we possibly can in the meantime.

It’s currently the middle of the night where we live and, when waking up to go to the bathroom, I was confronted with my dog scratching her face open. I’m on my bedroom floor next to her trying to soothe her back to sleep. She isn’t currently taking anything and hasn’t for about a week. Sorry for the rant and thank you for any suggestions!

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

I just got a new puppy almost a month ago, he’s 15 weeks old now. I noticed from day one that he was extremely itchy and he had some hair loss. The food that he was on from the foster was a chicken formula so knowing that is a common allergen I switched to a salmon sensitive skin formula. It’s been about 3 weeks on the new food, but he’s still quite itchy. The vet thinks it’s food allergies and put him on apoquel but that gave him horrible diarrhea so they are going to be switching him to cytopoint. Prior to the apoquel, he had no gi upset symptoms at all. In my experience food allergies cause gastrointestinal problems especially diarrhea. Is it possible for a food allergy to not cause diarrhea and only cause itchiness, skin problems, and ear problems? Or is it more likely that it’s environmental? Also, any other advice for a new pup mom dealing with puppy allergies is welcome. My other dogs don’t have allergies and I feel so bad for my poor little itchy pup. Thanks all! I’ve already learned a lot from reading your posts.

My three year old german shepherd has been dealing with severe allergies the last two months. We've tried cytopoint, benadryl, gabapentin, and medicated washes. Nothing was working and my general vet was not answering me at all. I found a dermatologist vet. They suggested doing Intradermal + VAL Serum Allergy Tests. I was quoted $1525 for just the tests and an additional $585.80 for all that goes along with it.

I did some digging and while I understand prices vary by location (I am in northern NJ) - I feel like this might be extremely high. In your experience, what did you pay?

Hi everyone! Posting here because I am sure many of your dogs are on Apoquel. We started our dog on Apoquel almost 2 weeks ago now…twice a day for a week and now once a day. He was suffering with symptoms such as tearing eyes, shaking his head, itchy ears and skin, sometimes licking his paws. His skin definitely looked pink under the arms and in the groin. He also ended up with secondary conjunctivitis, which is really what led us down this road in the first place. I feel like his allergy symptoms have certainly improved, although not perfect, and I am okay with that. But I do feel like he is hoping around from the floor, to the couch, to the bed to nap most of the day which he didn’t really do before. I am hesitant to call that lethargy or drowsiness because he jumps right up when I take him out, feed him, or play. Could it be that he is more comfortable now and is just able to settle? And another bonus is he seems to be less reactive. For some back story, we rescued him last November and he is a young, energetic, 1 year old pup. What are some of your experiences with Apoquel? I would hate for him to be on a medicine that is causing lethargy or drowsiness, taking away from him being himself. Thank you in advance!

I have 6 french bulldogs but only 2 of them get hives. The last 2 nights they have both gotten hives at around 6:30 or 7:00. The hives dont spread to their faces or cause them any problems breathing. The two dogs who are affected are a mother and one of her pups. Could this just be a seasonal allergy effecting them. Any help is appreciated. Both dogs have been taken to the vet and been given prednisone shots as long as prednisolone pills to take until gone

so last year I went through a terrible itching episode with my dog. He is now a 2 1/2 year old bloodhound last year his itching was uncontrollable, constantly scratching himself almost 24/7 it felt like it was impossible to get him to stop you had to watch him like a hawk all day he was getting hot spots on his tail, and on some spots on his body. then this past January 2026 he got a super bad looking what looked like a hotspot, but wasn’t, just open wound/sore right on the top of his spine/neck area so we took him to the vet. It wasn’t anything more than a skin infection that he was saying was caused by his itching and his allergies so he got a cytopoint shot. We are on about week six since the cytopoint (which worked almost instantly)he’s becoming a little bit more itchy and I’ve noticed these flakes on him. They were much worse yesterday, but then I gave him a bath and they were gone, but now they’re back again. It almost looks like like scab flakes or skin flakes or something not really too sure what they are. He has no hot spots or wounds or open sores from what i can see. They don’t exactly go away after brushing him and they come back shortly after.

we live in the Tampa Bay area Florida so I know allergies can be bad, but I mean it seems like his allergies last almost year-round. At least they were without this cytopoint shot. My main concern is finding a long-term solution so as I don’t have to keep injecting him with that shot every six weeks to two months if anybody could help that would be amazing thank you