When the cure is worse that the problem.

I was going to begin this day with a fun post about something exciting that happened to me yesterday, and I promise I will get to that soon, but instead I think this is more important, especially for pet owners.

Yesterday afternoon I was running my hands over Samten and found a couple of wood ticks.  This is the beginning of tick season, so I wasn't surprised and I've pulled more than my share of ticks off of dogs, kids, and myself so it was no reason to freak out.  I called AH and asked him to stop at Petsmart and pick up some Frontline so we could begin doing the suggested application.  Living in a wooded area and with the dogs outside as much as they are, we've always felt it prudent to apply the flea and tick protection and  have never had any trouble or side effects on either dog.  Well, Petsmart did not have our usual brand, so AH picked up Sentry Pro XFC.  He applied it to Samten about 7:30 or so.  By 9:00 it was clear that something wasn't right.  Sam was very restless, licking the air and shaking his head like his ears were infected.  We decided it must be the Sentry so we quickly gave him a bath, with little or no effect.

Of course, as with all emergencies with pets and kids, the vet was closed so AH called the emergency vet who seemed pretty well acquainted with this sort of thing happening.  She suggested that we bathe Sam again, but this time in Dawn dishwashing liquid, so AH did.  Samten has a great many allergies, so we also gave him an antihistamine and still, he could not rest.  AH also called the number on the back of the box and got about the same information as the emergency vet.  After trying a few things it seemed that if we lay down next to Sam and stroked his head he would calm down, so AH (again with the wonderfulness) made a bed on the floor of the office and spent the night there. This morning Sam is still a little restless and still shakes his head a lot, but overall he is better.  Our vet opens at 1:00 and we'll call her and see if there is anything else we should do.  I am trying very hard not to over react, but after losing mother, the thought of losing this dog makes me walk a little on the crazy side of the street.

After doing some internet research it appears that this is a common problem with this product and other dogs have had similar reactions, or worse, including seizures and even death.  Apparently these drugs are not regulated by the FDA, but rather the EPA since they are considered pesticides.  Great.  All these years I've been poisoning our dogs.  We are so careful not to put any chemicals on our yard or gardens, but have been carelessly putting them on our dogs backs year after year.  Research also shows that the effects can be cumulative.

I think we dodged a pretty scary bullet with Sam.  He is eating, playing, wagging his tail, and showing improvement as the day goes on, but our eyes are certainly opened.  We are now researching a holistic or natural way to keep our dogs flea and tick free and suggestions are always welcome. If you're on facebook, AH has started a facebook page to raise awareness of the dangers of this product. 

Comments

[Tom (AH)]

Thank you darling for posting on this. For anyone interested, it seems that all flea tick products use something called Pyriproxyfen. Some dogs have bad reactions to this. Many other flea/tick products(especially OTC) contain Cyphenothrin, which is suppoosed to much more effective against fleas/ticks... (i.e. more toxic all around) and we suspect that it is this part that Sam reacted to so poorly.
Just a little googling on these names and products should scare you silly if your family includes a furry faced one.

[PainterWoman]

So glad that Sam, AH and you came through the night. The local middle school has shut down for a week because of 1 case of confirmed swine flu. I wonder if THAT "solution" is worse than the problem.

[francypants]

I am so glad that you are raising awareness about this, and so sorry that you had to go through such a scary experience with sweet Sam.

I won't put any of that stuff on my cat, Dingo, ever since he had a bad reaction.

I keep meaning to write, and failing. Know that you've been in my thoughts, ad my heart.