Apoquel has not worked now ultamino food

[Safari]

Well this morning was safaris follow up appointment. He has been on medicated shampoo, apoquel, and antibiotics for 11 days and we (including the vet) does not think it has helped at all. So she is stopping the apoquel and antibiotics and is starting him on Royal canon ultamino food for three weeks and see if that helps. Has anyone fed this? It's extremely expensive $98 for a 19.8lb bag. So I hope this works and were able to find a food that works after this.

 

[MaplesMommy]

RC is not a good food at all! Its high up on my list of most disliked feed.

Why was your puppy on the Apoquell/Antibiotics? Itchiness? Possible sensitivities?

 

[hannah]

Agreed... Royal Canin is not a good quality food. Especially for what they charge. I believe vets recommend that food because they get $$ to sponsor their food.

Maybe try Acana!! They have tons of options for protein. Right now Banksy is eating Pork and Squash

 

[MaplesMommy]

If you havent done already, Id get an allergy test done. Environmental but also food (NutriScan test is a good one),otherwise you dont really know where to go from now.
If you want to do an elimination diet(which would be the other option as supposed to the tests) Id most definitely go with a better single protein food, for example Acana (they have Duck,Lamb and Pork).
Now I dont know your history but it could also be a yeast problem (what were you feeding before) or, if he seems to be reacting to everything,it could also be leaky gut.
Eitherway, you would need to find out whats triggering the reaction.

 

[Safari]

I feel like I have tried every food out there. Raw, acana, orijen, fromms, nutri, blue buffalo. Tried food with pork, beef, fish. Tried omega three tablets, Benadryl. On and on
His ears were so bad they were bloody and had double ear infections. Loosing fur and scabs on his hind quarters. Red blotches on his stomach, constant licking of paws. She's done ringworm and mite testing. Can't keep to get his itchiness and licking under control. We will see what this food does. I don't plan on keeping him on it longer than I have to. If he gets worse I'll obviously stop it but at this point I'll try anything. Wish allergy testing wasn't so expensive.

 

[MaplesMommy]

This must be terrible; for both of you.
However, I personally would get the tests done rather than keep experimenting. It seems that you have tried a lot, and Im assuming you have tried the different foods for a certain time frame.
If he really seems to be so reactive on pretty much everything, Id look into dysbiosis(leaky gut syndrome).

 

[Cbrugs]

Sorry you're going through this. I've been there myself with Jax. He was scratching himself raw no matter what I did. I had an allergy test done and he's allergic to everything green outside plus dust mites. Thankfully Apoquel has helped him significantly. Recently he started scratching again and licking his paws constantly. I recently switched him to raw and while he is not 100% itch free, it has lessened drastically.

While allergy testing can be pricey, it is well worth it. You will actually probably spend less money in the long run once you know what the issue is. Like you, I had tried so many different foods and no matter what, Jax was always itchy. I don't know if a specific ingredient was making him itch or dust mites but I finally have something that works. Don't give up!

 

[2bullymama]

I feel like I have tried every food out there. Raw, acana, orijen, fromms, nutri, blue buffalo. Tried food with pork, beef, fish. Tried omega three tablets, Benadryl. On and on
His ears were so bad they were bloody and had double ear infections. Loosing fur and scabs on his hind quarters. Red blotches on his stomach, constant licking of paws. She's done ringworm and mite testing. Can't keep to get his itchiness and licking under control. We will see what this food does. I don't plan on keeping him on it longer than I have to. If he gets worse I'll obviously stop it but at this point I'll try anything. Wish allergy testing wasn't so expensive.

Have you looked into 'The Honest Kitchen'.... wondering if she may be allergic to dry kibble? How did she do on raw just as bad as the kibble?

 

[WeeDex]

I agree with having the testing done if you can, but it is very expensive and at an already crazy time of year.....

I've had to split testing for Dexter into 2 sessions to make it more affordable. He has had environmental done, and he's allergic to house dust mites.

After Xmas, I'm hoping to get food testing done. I'm almost positive he's allegergic to peas. He's currently on a horrible salmon and potato food that I want him off asap, however it has served a purpose and calmed his allergy right down. Out of interest, I tried him on Orijen Freeze Dried Tundra, as he hadn't had anything in the ingredients - with the exception of pea fibre - and you can guess what happened..... And peas or pea fibre are everywhere!! So annoying.

It's really tough. I hope you are able to find a solution as it's awful seeing them scratching away.

 

[Jakeyjake]

I feel like I have tried every food out there. Raw, acana, orijen, fromms, nutri, blue buffalo. Tried food with pork, beef, fish. Tried omega three tablets, Benadryl. On and on
His ears were so bad they were bloody and had double ear infections. Loosing fur and scabs on his hind quarters. Red blotches on his stomach, constant licking of paws. She's done ringworm and mite testing. Can't keep to get his itchiness and licking under control. We will see what this food does. I don't plan on keeping him on it longer than I have to. If he gets worse I'll obviously stop it but at this point I'll try anything. Wish allergy testing wasn't so expensive.

Sorry you are having such a tough time getting poor Safari comfortable. Both of my dogs have allergies. The vet put Stella on RC Duck & potato as a food trial and after about 3 weeks, she started to vomit and was quite constipated. I looked up the RC your vet recommended and the first ingredient is corn starch! Yikes. Perhaps there is something else going on with Safari because I am surprised the Apoquel did not work if he does in fact have allergies. Jake is on it and it is a miracle drug to keep him from licking his paws and scratching. We also did the allergy testing and tried allergy shots for over a year with little improvement, so we ended up on the Apoquel. Also if he is having problems with his ears, I would avoid potato in his diet as they are inflammatory. I hope you find a solution soon so he can get some relief. Good luck!

 

[Safari]

Jakeyjake- thank you for your suggestions. I agree Royal canin doesn't have the best ingredients or reputation. We will see. Something he has been doing for the past three weeks is starting to pee in his crate. He's never done that and now it has become a daily thing. I'll bring his urine to the vet to see if it's a uti or not tomorrow. But I agree. I feel like something else is going on that we're not seeing. This is a mystery. We'll see how he handles this food and go from there. I hope his peeing stops-cleaning a dog, blanket and crate every day is not my idea of fun.

 

[MaplesMommy]

With all the things that have been going and all the drugs that have been given to him, I wouldnt be surprised if he is coming down with a UTI (hopefully its 'only' that and not something bigger going on with the rest of his organs/kidneys). Poor little fella. I'll cross my fingers its nothing serious!
Since he seems to be reacting to everything, Id definitely check things out regarding his intestines. It must be either that or a common environmental allergen (like grass), otherwise I dont see why he would be reacting all the time.
If I was you, Id probably get the environmental test done first. If he isnt allergic to anything environmental,then Id get the NutriScan done. If it comes back being all positive (for all the food items listet), he likely has leaky gut,in which case undigested food particles leak through the intestinal wall right into the bloodstream, causing the immune system to attack the particles aka being itchy no matter what he eats because it all causes immune reactions.

 

[blushy]

I'd stop all medication, and avoid royal canin. Reset the system with boiled white rice and boiled chicken breast (or plain protein of
Choice) & pure pumpkin to keep the stomach settled and then move on to testing.

Our vet advised us that it takes a solid 2 months for a food allergy/sensitivity to appear in the form of allergies you are speaking of, and at this point poor Safari is way too overloaded with switching food and medications!

I hope you get it figured out soon! I'll
Keep my fingers crossed!!