My dog's Apoquel isn't working. When should I add Prednisone?

Question

Lily is on apoquel 1 daily which is only just holding off her itching a recent flare up had her put on prednicare briefly My vet then suggested that if I felt the apoquel is struggling instead of increasing the dose to give her 1/2 of 1mg pred to support it Do I wait and see if it's needed to start it, or would it work better starting it at the end of her tapered dose ? will it be as effective starting it fresh or better as a continuation? Pet's info: Dog | Pug | Female | spayed | 7 years and 3 months old | 14.5 lbs

Silvia De Cecco, DVM, MRCVS · Accepted Answer

Poor Lily. Sometime both Apoquel and steroids might be necessary to control skin condition. Generally speaking, steroids have more side effects compared to Apoquel and is important to consider correct amount and length of treatments. Steroids need to be tapered gradually so please do not stop them without having gradually reduced the dose. Apoquel has a maximum effective dose so if Lily is already getting the maximum you won't see any beneficial effect if you increase it further. I would suggest to ask your vet exactly when to start and stop steroids as she knows Lily condition very well and can organize for her a treatment plan. Please post again in the forum if you need further advices and I hope my answer is helpful.

My dog's Apoquel isn't working. When should I add Prednisone?

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