15 hours Ago By Dr. John De Jong
Dear Dr. John, We have a French Bulldog approaching four years of age. We have been to several veterinarians trying to resolve his chronic itching and chewing.
He’s been placed on several different medications and even tried using both Apoquel and Cytopoint at the same time. We were also told he could be on this long term. One vet suggested using steroids, but we deferred because we were told that it could have negative side effects.
Is that true? Our dog’s skin has never gotten too irritated but what else can we do to resolve the issue? We just want him to be comfortable. R.G.
Dear R.G., Sorry to hear of your dog’s skin discomfort.
While I have never used Apoquel and Cytopoint together, it is an acceptable means to try and control or reduce pruritis (itch) in dogs. Apoquel is an oral medication used for short term relief of itching, but my own brother’s Labrador Retriever has been on it for years with no adverse effects. Cytopoint is an injectable monoclonal antibody drug given every 4-8 weeks.
Both can be used long term. They are sometimes used together. Have you been referred to a veterinary dermatologist? That would be where I would start.
While we as veterinarians used to use corticosteroids to control itch in dogs, those days are behind us. Another drug that is sometimes used for itchy dogs is Atopica, generic name is cyclosporine. Also, I must ask if anyone ever did a proper skin scraping to rule out parasites.
This is a must-do first step. Food allergies are another possibility. Altogether, I would also suggest that allergy testing might be in order.
After these tests are performed, immunotherapy or desensitization can be done which involves injecting low doses of what the dog is allergic to over time and slowly increasing the concentration of the allergen(s) in the shots. Again, a specialist in dermatology can hopefully get you to where your dog needs to be. Good luck.
Dr. John de Jong is President of the World Veterinary Association. He owns and operates the Boston Mobile Veterinary Clinic and can be reached at 781-899-9994.
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