[MrSmithster]

My 21 lb. Terrier mix started showing skin allergy issues at about 1 1/2 yrs old. Within a few months she was raw on her belly, groin, lower legs, and bottom of her paws and was just miserable. Chewing and itching constantly and her belly was "hot" to the touch with her groin area always damp, black/maroon skin yeast infections all over and smelled bad. Tried half a dozen Vets and every treatment available with no real luck other than steroids, which turned my great dog into a peeing zombie dog, she must have drank 3 bowls of water a day, gained 3 lbs in a few months and just wanted to hide and sleep all the time. I couldn't do that to her, so I finally found a great Vet that was willing to work with me. After testing showed food(tried ever special diet out there) and environmental allergies, my Vet suggested Atopica. I purchased 2 months worth and started her on 1 a day, same time every day with no food and on an empty stomach. My dog tolerates the medicine very well. I just get the pill wet and drop it down her throat. Never any vomiting or other issues. Willow does extremely well on this stuff. It does take about 3-4 weeks to see noticeable improvement. I have tried going to 1 pill every other day, but she will start itching. Even skipping every 3rd or 4th day doesn't work. I have to keep her on 1 pill a day and she looks and acts just like normal. I dont notice any side effects from the Atopica at all. For my dog it cost me approx $110 a month for Atopica so recently I asked my Vet about generic brands. He said he cant sell them due to his contract with the Atopica supplier, but he did give me referrals for online purchasing of generic brands. I had read many posts of Atopica users not having good luck with generic brands, but Willow is doing real good on the generic brand TEVA, which costs $65 a month and is sold by a company about 10 miles away from me. She has been on the generic now for about 9 months and looks and acts just like normal. Willow is also on a 1 protein source, no grain diet. She is allergic to just about all meat other than fish, so I have found only 2 brands of food she can tolerate. One is Orijen fish kibble and the other is Wellness Core fish kibble. Some fish formulas use chicken fat, which Willow cant tolerate so these are the only brands I have found work for her. She also gets 3 fish oil pills a day and 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar(works great at keeping any skin yeast away). I dont know what the long term effect are, my Vet says he there isn't enough data in yet, but he feels it is safe for long term use. I wish she didnt need to be on anything, but when I have tried to remove her from taking this, she reverts right back to the horrible symptoms I mention above. This stuff has given me my dog back, and she is the best dog I have ever had the pleasure of knowing(and I have had many other dogs over the years), she is really special.