Anyone have a pet that suffers from skin problems, itchiness, allergies? My little Morkie, Cali, has suffered from it all her life. She scratches, she gets hot spots, she even gets a little congested. I can hear it in her nose. She has been on a medication called Apoquel for the last few years, and it definitely helps, but it isn’t a cure.
I worry about keeping her on this medication long-term, but don’t know that there are any other options. Even with the Apoquel, she has flare ups once a year or so that cause hot spots, itchy paws, etc. In December, she ended up at the vet because she was chewing on her feet so badly that they ended up getting infected.
After the infected paws, my vet suggested putting her on a higher dose of Apoquel. I agreed, but I’m regretting it. For one thing, cost! Apparently Apoquel comes in three pill sizes, 3.6 mg, 5.4 mg, and 16mg. Cali was taking 1/2 of a 5.4mg pill once per day, and now she is taking one 3.6mg pill. Apparently no matter which Apoquel dosage you use, the cost is the same per pill, so my cost has doubled.
Aside from not wanting to spend $75 a month on dog allergy medicine, I also have to wonder what the long term effects of the higher dosage might be on her system.
I plan to have yet another conversation with my vet about it, but wondering if anyone else has had any success in treating pet allergies in other ways? Let me know what you have tried, what worked and what didn’t work?
