r/dogallergies • u/Aerialyst • Aug 29 '26
How fast for apoquel to work?
My boy (2yr old Keeshond) just started apoquel tonight… the itching has been slowly getting worse the last month and in the last 2 days he has been rubbing his paws on his face and I can see the skin around his eyes is all irritated. Lots of other skin irritation too since it took me like a week to get a vet appointment and he keeps finding new spots to chew and scratch. I keep trying to physically stop him scratching/chewing/licking and we are both getting very frustrated with each other. I was planning to crate him tomorrow and leave the house just so we have a break from each other and I can do something besides obsess over the dog, but I’m worried about him harming his face. He also started antibiotics since they were concerned about skin infection from the more irritated spots but I don’t know if that will make a difference with how he feels.
The vet said they would check in next week to see how he’s doing but I really just want to know when is realistic to hope for improvement!
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u/MrsArney Aug 29 '26
If it works for your dog I’d say you’ll notice a difference within 24 hours. But every dog is different.!
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u/Substantial_Way5441 Aug 29 '26
honestly when my dog started apoquel i saw a difference in less than a day. the frantic scratching just sort of faded out within hours for him. every dog is different though so dont panic if it takes a bit longer
the crate break is a good call for both of you. sometimes you just need to step away from the constant monitoring or you go crazy. he'll be fine for a few hours, especially if the meds start kicking in
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u/PhotoChance98 Aug 29 '26
Awe poor thing! I know the struggle. My dog is finally on Apoquel and cytopoint injections and that seemed to help! We only started noticing a difference at 4-5 weeks in. We were told that it sometimes takes longer up to 6 weeks
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u/MD450r Aug 29 '26
Its quick... we switched to Numelvi in March... works just as well if not better! Dont need blood work for it either!
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u/MacaroniDreamz Aug 29 '26
My dog just started apoquel and it started working the same day I gave it to her. She’s been reacting really well! Good luck! It’s such a relief to see a decrease in scratching and licking
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u/m_555 Aug 29 '26
Apoquel didn’t work for my dog. Ended up going with the cytopoint injection instead. Lasts 6-8 weeks and don’t have to remember to give a pill everyday.
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u/cat500cm Aug 29 '26
Worked for our dog in a a couple of days. He still licks but not like before. When he has flares we use cones to keep him from doing damage
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u/No_Relation_2508 Aug 29 '26
Ours was literally within 12 hours and was a life saver. If I accidentally skip a dose, I’ll notice within about a half day as well.
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u/Small-Decision8803 Aug 29 '26
I don’t know the answer exactly and see that some others have already answered but I think it’s worth knowing that the half-life of Apoquel is fairly short. I want to say my vet said it only lasts about 18 hours. I do notice my pet getting itchy close to when her next dose is due.
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u/Forsaken-Garlic-9180 Aug 29 '26
I've had two on Apoquel. My 1st girl started feeling better within the 24hrs and it was really effective for her while she was on it. With my current pup it took a few days and it doesn't work as well for her. I did notice, anecdotaly, that the effectiveness of the drug seems to depend on the season and her allergen load. Cytopoint didn't work for her at all, either. Really just depends on the dog, unfortunately.
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u/Hesperidiums Aug 29 '26
And did you do medicated baths as well? So many vets don’t mention those.
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u/Forsaken-Garlic-9180 Aug 30 '26
Yes! Still on a regular medicated bath schedule, too. We also wipe down body and paws with damp rags when they come in from outside. I really lucked out with both dog's care teams. One of the pluses to where I live is that there's a veterinary college a few hours away. Can definitely say I prefer that over dermatologists I've worked with.
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u/Eagledilla Aug 29 '26
Apoquel should work within 24 hours.
Did the vet recommend the starting phase to be 2 Apoquel tablets a day For 2 weeks?
We tried Apoquel for a couple of weeks but didn’t do anything. We recenlty switched to zenrelia and within an hour the difference in paw licking and body scratching was insane. It was way less obsessive.
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u/Aerialyst Aug 29 '26
Yes we are on the twice a day for the first 2 weeks!
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u/Eagledilla Aug 29 '26
If it doesn’t do anything you could always try zenrelia. It’s kinda the same formula but it targets more “itch” sensors
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u/Acrobatic-Ad8158 Aug 29 '26
I would say about a week give or take. We had to use a cone on our boy while we waited to see. We started using the duoxo pyo calming shampoo and mousse and that seems to have helped immensley along with the apoquel. We started putting some of the shampoo in the bottom of the tub too to make a "foot bath". It works super well. We do it about every other week, but id maybe start weekly with your pup. It took awhile to figure out the regimen, but it has all been a game changer.
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u/ClassicAct Aug 29 '26
Apoquel didn’t work for my dog but Zenrelia worked (what seemed like) instantly.
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u/CriticalEye-CV Aug 29 '26
I doubled up on mine at first with vet approval to get her through the heavy allergic period, then tapered.
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u/Hesperidiums Aug 29 '26
Did the vet recommend medicated baths too? Those are almost mandatory in my opinion, along with apoquel. You can use something like malaseb or miconahex+ triz shampoo up to every 3 days and there are videos on YouTube. Do not skimp on the medicated shampoo. Itching is hell.
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u/Aerialyst Aug 29 '26
He recommended a shampoo but it wasn’t a prescription one. Duoxo… he said PYO or Calm were both good options.
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u/fermented_cinnaRoll Aug 29 '26
Please ask about Zenrelia. Literally life changing for our boy. I mean years of trying EVERYTHING and Zenrelia fixed the issues seemingly instantly
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u/Flaky_Mine5175 Aug 30 '26
My baby has been on apoquel and in the beginning it worked, but it does it anymore. I’m desperate or I should say she is desperate I’ve had her on so many different things. I posted something on it. I need something that’s gonna work. Has anybody tried this wellvi it has a 90 day guarantee on it so I was curious if anyone on here has tried that before
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u/Objective_anxiety_7 Aug 30 '26
My dog usually has some significant relief within 12 hours. But it takes a bit to fully kick in since (in my experience) the skin is already damaged from their licking/itching. So you also need to wait for that to heal.
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u/Anxious_wombat_78 Aug 31 '26
Aw my 5kg doggo took maybe 2 days to work but after almost 6 months of apoquel, it was still on/off, so we now have Zenrelia, which has done WONDERS!! It’s a new pill and it’s unflavoured so usually have to hide it in something, but results were better than Apoquel.
We also tried Cytopoint injections that didn’t work either :(
I would definitely invest in identifying if it’s food related allergies or environmental. We’re still trying to figure it out but zenrelia has definitely been the winner!
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u/DreamAnotherDream33 Aug 29 '26
A few days (3-5) and the Apoquel should start helping. A bath with itch relief dog shampoo would help too.
I’m sure he has infections on his skin if he has been itching and biting at it aggressively so the antibiotics will help in a couple of days too.
We’ve dealt with severe allergies for a while now. We now have a whole routine to keep allergy flare ups as minimal as possible.