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6 of 10 People See Only Two Choices for Itchy Skin. Are You One of Them?

Last Updated on January 19, 2026 by Will Falconer, DVM

6 of 10 People See Only Two Choices for Itchy Skin. Are You One of Them?

Apoquel and The Danger of Either/Or Thinking

Too many of you seem to be stuck in some variation of this illogic I’m calling “either/or thinking,” from reading your comments in this blog:

I’ve EITHER got to let my dog suffer this horrible itch (skin or ears or both) OR give him these horrible Big Pharma drugs with side effects. I’m gonna be kind. Itching all the time sucks for both of us. I’m getting him on Apoquel or Cytopoint despite what I’ve read and we’ll just have to see what the outcome is long term. He can’t go on this way!

Part of me screams inside when I read comments like this.

And they are coming a bit too frequently, especially on two popular articles pertaining to itchy skin and the latest, greatest drugs being pushed on you:

Apoquel: Dog Miracle Drug With a Dark Side

Cytopoint: High Tech Answer to Your Itchy Dog?

Here’s just a recent example, from the comments on my Apoquel post, linked above.

Those of you saying you are going to discontinue, have you found any relief previous to using medication? So you are going to allow you dog to be miserable with the itching and scratching and biting and digging themselves raw? Are you saying that’s better for them? –Tina1

These are usually written by those of you who’ve opted to give the drug, often shaming those who dare to take issue with drug side effects and lack of efficacy.

Let’s try to dig a bit deeper, shall we? I want you to be armed with solid information, so you can make the wisest decisions for your animal.

(They take what ever you decide they should, right? Better you have all the options available to you to weigh before you see only Suffering or Dangerous Drugs).

Either/Or thinking can damage your animals.

The Reality of Allergies: No Easy Way Out

Itchy allergic dog wearing a cone collar

This fixes NOTHING! Now I’m itchy and totally frustrated!

While allergic skin disease or allergy-induced ear “infections” are the #1 and #2  reasons dogs go to vets, the reality is conventional medicine cannot cure either one.

Maybe you’ve noticed.

We’re talking decades upon decades of trying without ever curing any lingering (chronic) disease, not just The Itch!

All at your expense, course.

And at your dog’s expense, when you weigh in side effects, many of them more serious than the bothersome itch.

Many of the comments on the Cytopoint article are from people who tried Apoquel first.

Wait. Why did they Leave Apoquel for Cytopoint?

  • Apoquel was no longer working to stop the itch

  • They’ve got more serious problems now

I’m at a loss of what to do with my rottie. She was on Apoquel an dit worked til it didn’t (8months). Then they switched her to cytopoint and it worked til it didn’t (11 months every 30 days forking out $100 a month on the shot). The only way cytopoint works is if I couple it with pred every three days or so. — Carolyn2

Before Apoquel, your latest, great Itch Fix was chemo (cyclosporine, aka Atopica).

And before the chemo, you had the steroids, like prednisone, cortisone and Depo-Medrol.

All three classes of drugs are aimed at suppressing the immune system.

Does that sound like a good idea to you?

That’s the system that fights infectious disease and cancer, right?

Oh! And the Side Effects!

It would appear Mother Nature is answering my immune suppression question directly:

Mess with my well-tuned work and you’ll pay! — Mom

Less Itch (with a side of tumors)

I have a 10 year old boxer who has had allergies and just suffered with itching, chewing of the paws. I tried so many different expensive foods, coconut oil, pumpkin, teremic, and just on and on…put her on that apoquel poison crap, and now I have real problems on my hands! She was diagnosed yesterday, cancer. Tumors, knots, skin tags just sprouting everywhere. — Sylvia3

Lately, the cancer showing up appears to be lymphosarcoma.

That’s cancer of the immune system itself!

Gulp.

I gave my dog her first Cytopoint Injection in October of this year. As of this past Tuesday, my 3 year old miniature schnauzer has full blown lymphosarcoma, acute, and is not going to make it. –Erin

In what universe does a 3 year old dog get cancer?

Welcome to the World of Big Pharma.

The Fire Grows While You Hide the Smoke

Have you heard this word:

PALLIATION?

It’s what conventional medicine does best, including all the “Itch Fix” meds.

The itch may go away for a spell  (the symptom, the “smoke” if you will), but the disease only grows, the longer you palliate with drugs like steroids, Atopica, Apoquel, or Cytopoint.

One of the commonest signs that the “fire” (the actual disease, the state of allergy) has not been extinguished?

Your dog becomes allergic to more things as the years go by.

We learned this in practice in the 80’s.

We’ve Got the Cure! OH, Wait…

Hand feeding a dog. Can diet alone cure allergies?

Cure my allergies with a fancy food? I’m IN!

Itchy dogs were magically “cured” by putting them on a lamb and rice diet!

“Hallelujah! At last, an answer to our prayers!!” (said every practicing vet, everywhere).

Brand after brand of pet food rushed lamb and rice foods to market.

When the other shoe dropped (i.e. the itch returned), the poor dog was now allergic to…

… lamb

… or rice

… or both!

Hence the current fixation on more exotic proteins, including venison and kangaroo and modified proteins in the multi-billion dollar pet food industry.

“More allergies” in this palliation-induced state often include not only myriad foods, but tree pollens, grasses, and more.

Our daughter’s 5 year old Boxer has had increasingly bad allergies over the years. We sent him to an allergist who found he’s allergic to 32 of the 60 things tested all environmental – human and cat dander, grass, and 5 different types of mold to list a few. He’s had numerous ear infections which of course has caused numerous hematomas 2 of which have had to be dealt with surgically. — Dana4

Human dander? Seriously??

This is the hidden cost of palliating disease instead of curing it.

(Most vets (and MDs) have no understanding of this, by the way. We weren’t schooled in cure vs palliation or suppression.)

What’s next when your dog is allergic to everything in the environment?

A “boy in the bubble” life, perhaps?

The Other Dirty Secret Your Vet Never Tells You

syringe drawing up a vaccine

Vaccines causes untold mayhem, but it may not begin to show for the first month.

Here’s one Dr. WhiteCoat tends to bury his head in the sand on:

The majority of allergies are caused by vaccinations.

They usually show up roughly one month post-vaccination!

Read this page to see the correlation and even a published research paper on something far more serious than The Itch, and you’ll probably know more than your vet does.

Or, maybe more than he cares to hear…

The Buried Solution

There is a very effective alternative to this either/or thinking:

Homeopathy.

Curing long term, lingering diseases (like allergies and worse) for centuries now.

I’m not talking DIY homeopathy with a grocery store combo remedy.

It takes a trained professional to cure anything chronic.

Have you seen my Apoquel Alternatives Report yet? It tells you how to locate good professional homeopathic prescribers. Hint: it’s part of your free Vital Animal Pack membership.

Damn the “Either/Or.” Think Outside the Medical Box!

It starts with prevention.

It’s not EITHER “no drugs, no vaccines” OR death from heartworm or parvo.

And it continues if you’ve already found yourself with an animal in the throes of post-vaccination allergic Itch.

It’s not EITHER steroids/Atopica/Apoquel/Cytopoint OR a crazy miserable itchy dog, either.

(Though Big Pharma and its shareholders are tickled pink when you think small like this. They know you’ll be a customer for years and years.)

Sometimes, it can be as simple as feeding a balanced raw diet, like this one.

I can’t tell you how many times you’ve told me The Itch has gone away when you took that one simple step!

Call on Real Medicine: Homeopathy!

Sometimes, a raw diet is not enough. That’s when you look for a professional, a trained, qualified homeopathic vet to steer your animal’s course to cure.

While you’ll have to roll up your sleeves, turn up your patience, and tune up your observation skills to help your homeopathic vet, cure is possible with homeopathy.

I tell you how to find a qualified homeopathic vet in that lovely blue box you can scroll back up to. It’s spelled out in my Apoquel Alternatives Report.

Join us in the Vital Animal Pack, and you’ll see that’s one of the free bonuses for joining (and joining is free, too).

Let us know in the comments if you’ve seen the failures of Apoquel or Cytopoint yet, and if you’re ready to jump out of the confines of the either/or box.

Your animal will be all grins and wags when you are free.

Vital Animal

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