Dogs allergies are worse than ever!

[Lizbiz89]

So since my dogs last heat, her allergies have been terrible. She itches everywhere but worst of all her nipples. We have her on a strict fish diet and until now apart from a few flare ups she's been fine. I've been to the vets and they prescribed her steroids which completely cleared it up but now she's finished the course it's come straight back. The vet did mention apoquel. Has anyone tried this and did it work? She said it would be £100 a month!! Anyway looking online I've found a reputable pet website that will prescribe them for a fraction of the price (providing you have a prescription from your vet). I'm keen to give these a go but wondering if my vet will agree to just supplying the prescription. Anyway any suggestions would be really appreciated. I'm at my wits end 😫.

@TwinkleTwinkleLittleCat yes it's the same for us. Did you try any of the anti itch natural remedies? This is my ditch attempt as they can take a month to work and she only started them last Sunday. So if we come off the steroids after 2 weeks and she still hasn't reacted to the natural tablets, we will be speaking to the vet about apoquel.

We tried some creams, stinky stuff but nothing helped. The apoquel worked within hours. Although the vet recommends an annual blood test.

@TwinkleTwinkleLittleCat we're currently trying all itch immunity treats. Fingers crossed they work but I don't hold up much hope. What do they recommend the yearly blood test for?

Apparently apoquel can do something to the immune system, our dogs bloods were fine and she said as he only has them for 6 months a year it would be very unlikely to cause a problem. The injection has less side effects but would cost a dog our size £300 a month!

We just about “managed” our small dog’s allergies for five years, using piriton or creams. But about three years ago she got really bad and we finally put her on apoquel. Her life has been sooo much better, she’s much more comfortable. I rarely see her itch now. We tend to only use them from June until December, so the cost isn’t all year.

@TwinkleTwinkleLittleCat £300 a month is insane! Someone's getting rich there!! I'm always keen to try the natural alternatives but so far nothing has worked. I've ever had her allergy tested and her main allergen was dust! So theres definitely no way I can eliminate that.

@Honeyroar that would be the same for my dog as she only suffers in the summer months.

Tried everything with my dog as she used to scratch herself red raw. She was raw fed etc. went on apoquel but it stopped working so then we tried cytopoint injection and that worked great. She only needs 2-3 per year so much cheaper. She is also now spayed and so far this year she hasn’t actually needed an injection - she’s abit itchy when on grass but she doesn’t appear uncomfortable so I am wondering if hormones also contributed

A@wishuponastar1988 I definitely think it's also hormone related as my dog gets terrible allergies straight after she's been on heat. This last heat was particularly bad as its coincided with spring. Her nipples tripled in size! Getting her spayed next month.

If it's dust as a main allergy I'd be tempted to get a small air filter. Run it where she sleeps or her main room, and wash her bedding on hot wash weekly.
Piriton took a while to build up but it did help here