# Apoquel side effects



## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

Anyone else use apoquel for their gsds allergies and notice a rise in aggression? Zoey has been on and off apoquel 3 times now and while it worked well curbing her itching she became quite the a-hole with our other dogs during its use.

She's always been the top dog and does not tolerate weakness, but she has noticeably taken this up a notch. I'm back to using Zyrtec for now which does help some, might try probiotics again too.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I have had Onyx on it for about 6 months now. She is not showing aggression(she is also the bully of my pack and will take advantage of the vulnerable) 
I was talking to a friend that has his male on it too...nothing in the way of side effects, but his next door neighbor has a boxer on it. They were giving it am and pm and their dog did have aggressive tendencies and other issues that they related to apoquel. Because they didn't give their dog a 'rest' from it, it may have been too high a dosage. 
Onyx is on 16mg in the am(she weighs 95#) and it wears off around 4:30 am, I notice her get itchy, pacing and uncomfortable. I give it around 8 am so she has a period of time that it is out of her system. My friend was told by his vet this is necessary to keep the apoquel effective. There must be a bit of time in between dosing, and not continual. I never heard or read that, but it does make sense. 
I use Zyrtec with the Apoquel, my vet suggested it, it is good to use both together. I did have her on benedryl, but it seemed like there was no effect with it, so I switched to the 24 hour Zyrtec(Meijer brand equivalent)


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

Zoey takes the 16mg as well, but she is 74lbs. The vet said we could split the dose morning and afternoon, (5am & 3pm for us). He also said we could try and cut back to half a day if she is doing ok which is what we did with the last prescription. 

We hoped the lower 8mg a day may still provide some benefit without her being an arse, no luck. Too bad because her coat was looking great, the hair on her ears is perfect, last summer they looked bad.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

so were you doing it am and pm and then noticing the aggression spike? If you are still able to get it, try doing 16mg once a day and see if it helps. I know you have to work up to that by doing 2x's a day when introducing, but from what I understand dogs do better long term if they can have a break from it(like Onyx does for that stressful 3-4 hours in the morning)


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

The first prescription this past summer we did twice a day (16mg I think) for two weeks, then once a day. She was doing well and with the change to fall weather we tried to go off them, but the hot weather stayed and 4 weeks later she was back on them, same format I believe. This was when we began noticing the pick up in aggression. 

After about another 4 week break he suggested trying one 16mg twice a day then half a day after that. 

You bring up a really good point. I've been giving her "once a day" in the afternoon, maybe giving it to her in the morning would work as she is by herself for 6-7 hrs. it would taper off by the afternoon. We play/train after work, she is supervised the whole time, then after dinner when there is down time she may be more relaxed.


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## Traveler's Mom (Sep 24, 2012)

I've had Traveler on and off Apoquel for the last 18 months. He's never shown signs of any increase in aggression. The only side effect I've notices is just the opposite. He is laid back for hours after getting a full dose 16 mg once per 24 hours and he's 85 lbs. plus or minus. I found that after several weeks of the full dose I can back off to 8 mg once per day or even every other day for a month or two. Unfortunately for us he has flea allergy dermatitis and one flea bite will require us to go back to the 16 mg once a day with the worst days requiring twice daily full doses. On the full dose days it is almost impossible to motivate him to do anything.

Lynn & Traveler


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## Oliver'smom (Aug 15, 2013)

Ollie has been consistently on apoquel for over 2 years now and I can't say we have noticed any aggression. That being said he has been on it since he was about 8 months old so it isn't like we know him any differently really.


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

I have had 2 dogs on apoquel, and 3 on prednisone or a pred mix. (Same dogs, pred first but switched to apoquel) No such problems on apoquel but definite personality changes on the prednisone, including one dog fight which I really don't think would have happened had one dog not been on pred. My Pom turns I to a demon from h*** on prednisone.

In my experience, apoquel was definitely the lesser of the evils for itching


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## DTS (Oct 19, 2010)

I know this is a slightly old thread but I didn't want to start a new one. 
We've had Jasmine on Apoquel for almost a week now. 
I've noticed she seemed to increasingly be more "moody and grumpy". She seems more temperamental and I mentioned it to my husband who didn't think anything of it and then 5 minutes later....Titan went for a bone and she hopped off the couch and attacked him. I've never had ANY issues like this in the 3 years they have been together. She has growled at him before every once in a blue moon but never full fledge attack.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

DTS said:


> I know this is a slightly old thread but I didn't want to start a new one.
> We've had Jasmine on Apoquel for almost a week now.
> I've noticed she seemed to increasingly be more "moody and grumpy". She seems more temperamental and I mentioned it to my husband who didn't think anything of it and then 5 minutes later....Titan went for a bone and she hopped off the couch and attacked him. I've never had ANY issues like this in the 3 years they have been together. She has growled at him before every once in a blue moon but never full fledge attack.


In the 283 dogs that received APOQUEL, the following additional clinical signs were reported after beginning APOQUEL (percentage of dogs with at least one report of the clinical sign as a non-pre-existing finding): pyoderma (12.0%), non-specified dermal lumps (12.0%), otitis (9.9%), vomiting (9.2%), diarrhea (6.0%), histiocytoma (3.9%), cystitis (3.5%), anorexia (3.2%), lethargy (2.8%), yeast skin infections (2.5%), pododermatitis (2.5%), lipoma (2.1%), polydipsia (1.4%), lymphadenopathy (1.1%), nausea (1.1%), increased appetite (1.1%), *aggression* (1.1%), and weight loss (0.7). https://www.drugs.com/vet/apoquel.html 


Article by Dr. Deva Khalsa - 
I Wouldn't Give My Dog This New Allergy Drug - Dogs Naturally Magazine 
Consultations Professional Consults with Dr. Khalsa - Holistic Veterinarian 

Moms


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

Momto2GSDs said:


> DTS said:
> 
> 
> > I know this is a slightly old thread but I didn't want to start a new one.
> ...


What are the percentages of 283 dogs NOT on Apoquel. 1% is 2 dogs out of that group. And what is defined as aggression?


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

gsdsar said:


> What are the percentages of 283 dogs NOT on Apoquel. 1% is 2 dogs out of that group. And what is defined as aggression?


Unfortunately, they do not define the "aggression" that was recorded.

I posted this just to show the op that what she/he may be seeing in the dog is possible, although the % is small.

Some dogs do well on Apoquel.....some do not.

Moms


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

But those numbers don't actually tell us that. Though with any explanation, posted like that, it sure does look to support it. 

Sorry. But this is danger of cherry picking what and how information is disseminated. So the vomitiing cases? It could have been an intestinal blockage, eating cat litter, getting into the doggood bag, over Easter and great grandpa fed a bunch of ham. The percentages don't tell why, just that it happened.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

gsdsar said:


> But those numbers don't actually tell us that. Though with any explanation, posted like that, it sure does look to support it.
> 
> Sorry. But this is danger of cherry picking what and how information is disseminated. So the vomitiing cases? It could have been an intestinal blockage, eating cat litter, getting into the doggood bag, over Easter and great grandpa fed a bunch of ham. The percentages don't tell why, just that it happened.


agree, and if these dogs were put on Apoquel for a reason, then there were underlying issues health-wise or no reason for Apoquel. 
If these were healthy 'test' dogs in a clinic environment that had been tracked previously with health and temperament, the numbers would be believable.
I think when a dog is put on it and the dose is high, of course you may see some 'side effects'(as the dog gets use to it) until the dose level is reduced and the dog is on maintenance.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

The study I looked at before stated that all healthy dogs were used. You really can't have a study if the dogs aren't healthy, that would make no sense.


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

llombardo said:


> The study I looked at before stated that all healthy dogs were used. You really can't have a study if the dogs aren't healthy, that would make no sense.


But they are not in a sterile environment. They are living at home. 

Take for example the earlier poster whose dog had growled at a dog previously and then attacked it after starting Apoquel. That dog could have been building that behavior for months. But if the dog was in the trial, then it has to be reported. Even if those of us looking back can say that the behavior was not because of it.


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## Traveler's Mom (Sep 24, 2012)

Just my 2 cents since I had Traveler on it for well over a year.

No drug works for everyone. Ever watch those TV commercials pushing drugs for people? It all sounds great until they start talking about "possible" side effects. 

Regarding our experience with Apoquel; it was a lifesaver. Traveler had no side effects and I'm happy to say that he is no longer on it because it gave us time to sort out what was causing his itching and all over greasy, stinky, flaky skin. Without this drug, he would have continued to tear himself up and be in misery. 

I feel bad for those that have dogs showing side effects. I'm not a vet but maybe rather than giving high loading doses it may be worth a try to start with less and stair step up to a higher dose? 

Sending our best,


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

gsdsar said:


> But they are not in a sterile environment. They are living at home.
> 
> Take for example the earlier poster whose dog had growled at a dog previously and then attacked it after starting Apoquel. That dog could have been building that behavior for months. But if the dog was in the trial, then it has to be reported. Even if those of us looking back can say that the behavior was not because of it.


Oh I get what your saying--completely. I think that studies done like this can't be close to being correct, which actually puts most studies at risk of not being correct.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Today there was an interview on  NPR..Diane Rehm show. I know there were many comments about 'going to drugs' for behavioral issues, but if the quality of life is better, then why not? Either that or the animal is living in ****. Dr. Dodman suggested Apoquel during the interview for allergies. I was glad that he addressed it. Though the interview was ending and he didn't go into detail. After the show there was a Q&A on Dianes fb page and it may have been brought up again.


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## MakGSD (Aug 21, 2016)

Traveler's Mom said:


> Just my 2 cents since I had Traveler on it for well over a year.
> 
> No drug works for everyone. Ever watch those TV commercials pushing drugs for people? It all sounds great until they start talking about "possible" side effects.
> 
> ...


That's great Apoquel worked for you and you were able to discontinue it! 

Could you explain how you ended up figuring out what was the causes of his symptoms and what treatments worked???? And what do you do to ensure he stays healthy and symptoms do not return??? 

Thanks


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## Traveler's Mom (Sep 24, 2012)

MakGSD,

Gosh, I knew this question would come up and I wish I had a clear cut answer but I don't.

The doggie dermatologist told me he had massive overgrowth of yeast due to environmental allergies.

I'll give you a quick snapshot of what I did but which, if any, worked is questionable. I'm saying that because he had other issues to (massive tick invasion then followed up with huge flea infestation) that may have been the root of it all.

I was feeding Orijen Regional Red. Went totally to raw. I made and fed daily homemade bone broth and homemade veggie stew. I bathed him once a week using a rotation of Fresh & Clean oatmeal shampoo, Bonner's coconut soap, & Douxo Chlorhexidine PS. Sometimes I'd rinse with vinegar/water or Providine Iodine/water.

I did the whole natural repellent stuff for the bugs but that just made the dog smell good. Totally useless in my opinion. I got rid of the brown dog ticks using the vacuum daily, watching where I walked him, flea comb twice daily, DE puffed all over my carpets, I bought many gallons of Wondercide cedar sprays and sprayed inside and out and the dog. Finally got rid of that nightmare but shortly after we had the flea infestation and I followed mostly the same outline. All this time I had Traveler on Apoquel at least 16 mgs daily or twice daily Finally my holistic vet told me to get 
Nexguard. That worked for the flea problem. Traveler also got a fecal implant and IV fluids for home. At this point he had minimal fur, doggy sad eyes, flaking skin and had been diagnosed via ultrasound for hemangiosarcoma a few months prior. Poor little guy. He was not improving going to raw and some say it is detox but he was losing so much weight and I didn't feel I was knowledgeable enough or secure enough to continue 100% raw. (Now I do a mix- sometimes raw, sometimes Orijen, always bone broth always veggie stew) Slowly but surely after the bug fiasco, he started to grow all his fur back, was happy and eager to play, I cut back the Apoquel to once every few days and a couple months later I stopped it altogether. 

Shoot! What worked? Don't know. What didn't work? Other than the EO flea and tick bug deterrent formulas, I don't know.

What I do know is that without the Apoquel, he wouldn't be here with us. I had a choice; watch him tear himself up and be miserable beyond believe but maybe die early or watch him be able to sleep in comfort, no ripped up skin, act like a dog, take walks without stopping to scratch every few feet, and eat with pleasure.

That's our whole story- Reader's Digest Condensed version


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