Won't do that again!

[Sam I Am]

So my DH and I are off to the the interior of British Columbia where there are possible ticks and fleas. (We tend to not have them here in Edmonton because everything freezes to death). Never having used Adventix 11 medication made by Bayers before, I followed the instruction and put the solution between Rosie's shoulder blades. It was a difficult decision for me as I pretty much stay away from any kind of chemical be it herbicides or pesticides and such . I usually use essential oils and they work pretty good. Within an hour Rosie was running around, flipping on her back, trying to rid herself of this poison. I didn't sleep that much that evening and called the clinic the next day. The tech was surprised by my concern. To make along story short, the vet said give her some Benadryl, which we did. She was much calmer but by late afternoon when she wouldn't stop scratching and rubbing against furniture I decided enough was enough. I called the clinic again and was told to wash it off with Dawn liquid soap, which I did. Immediate relief ! I then googled this product...oh boy! There have been 600 death and 44,000 reported cases in the U.S. From people using the medication on their dogs..I use that word loosely as I just plain call it poison now. It is lethal if given to cats and is a poison for humans.Sure there are also people that have no issues with this product, but there are veterinary practices that won't carry this stuff. Hopefully my vet clinic will do more research next time before distributing products that can do more harm than good. http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/03/31/dangers-of-flea-and-tick-problems.aspx

Edited September 3, 2015 by Terrier lover

[Autumn & Lola]

Oh my! Sorry to hear that. Poor Rosie and poor you. Glad you got it off of her and she got some relief!

[_whits_]

Both my dad (a vet) and Addie's local vet refuse to prescribe Advantix to their patients, based on their knowledge of very serious reactions. Not sure why it hasn't been more publicized, but a number of vets are aware. 

 

They hesitatingly prescribe Frontline, because although it is a pesticide and there can be side effects, the side effects are less dangerous than the very high risk of lyme disease here in Virginia. 

[Islander]

Terrier lover, I don't know about the interior of BC but on Vancouver Island there is an extremely low incidence of Lyme disease in ticks. My vet feels that here the risk of using pesticides is greater than the risk of Lyme disease. She also told me that even if my dog is bitten (it's more like invaded) by a tick carrying Lyme, the dog has a less then 5% chance of contracting Lyme. Apparently I have a much higher risk of contracting Lyme when removing the tick from the dog - humans being better hosts. Of course climate change will bring more Lyme disease west and it may already be prevalent in the interior. We haven't had rabies on the island either but I think a bat tested positive recently.

Glad that the Dawn liquid worked so well! I'll remember that!

[Hillscreek]

Have to say Advantix never a problem for any dogs I've had. It is not intended for cats - use Advantage for them. 

This year I switched to Bravecto. No mess no fuss.Only give one tablet every three months. Dogs my vet said have had  problems were a couple who's owners forgot you have to give it with food (like many human drugs).

I use Sentinel for heartworm.

A couple of dogs I know have contracted Lyme disease which is becoming more common round here. Heartworm also.

It's a tough choice but I have to go with the prevention. It only takes one bite to cause problems that can last a lifetime or even shorten a life.

Frontline didn't do the job nor any collars or other flea and tick prevention methods. One summer fleas got around in the house during various experiments I've tried. It was a nightmare to get rid of them.

 

What to do may  depend on where you live. Round here there's a lot of water and wild life so the chances of getting bitten or stung are quite high during the late summer months like now. I give the prevention from May to October. Frost takes care of things the rest of the year. 

[Sam I Am]

I have heard it's a nightmare to rid your house of fleas. I wouldn't even know where to begin. Fleas here are almost unheard of, unless the dog is a stray, living in horrid conditions or has been in contact with a dog that has come from another area that has fleas. How does one check for fleas on a hairy dog?

[Sam I Am]

I tend to use only natural essential oil sprays for myself and it works up here. We tend to not have either fleas or ticks. I think I am going to order the attached and see next spring how the mosquitoes react to these products on Rosie.

http://products.mercola.com/healthypets/pest-repellents/

[Lynn in TN]

When Kelly was young I used frontline, it didn't work. I found more flees and ticks on her than when I started using the herbal remedies. I tried adventix and she had a horrible reaction it gave her a rash even though I washed it off almost immediately. Living in TN I thought I should use something. I was wrong. I'll take my chances, and only use the herbal remedies for flees and ticks now.

 

I don't trust science or doctors any longer and I have very good reasons not too. I don't know if you have heard about the drug problems in our area or not, but it is bad. It was caused by our doctors. My sister was a CNA and moved from doctors office to doctors office trying to find one that wan't pushing the drugs. She left the medical field because she couldn't find one. The drug reps are paying the doctors well for pushing. I have many other reasons as well.

 

To check for flees on a long hair dog is not very difficult. Move the fur around in the butt and tail area, around their ears and their belly area near their hind legs. Rarely will you see a flee, (if you see flees it is usually an extremely bad case) what you will see instead is little hard black dots that look like dirt. I call it flee droppings. These dots are black and feel like a grain of sand and about as big. Dirt isn't usually black and when it is it isn't as grainy.  If you do see these grains bath your dog with Dawn the original blue kind it is safe to use and even if you drink it the only effects you may have is diarrhea. 

 

I use lavender and cedar essential oils mixed with water. I spray their beds and their fur with it. I also spray it on any rugs or carpet I have in my home.

 

I hope that helps.

[Sam I Am]

Lynn in TN I am so there with you! Big pharma doesn't care about side effects, just the all mighty $. How many times have I seen commercials about drugs for humans, then they list the side effects. Yikes! I realize there are drugs for dogs and humans that are also life saving, however I am all for using a naturopath for myself first, (who will recommend a GP if necessary)a vet that deals in traditional and holistic care of my animals and try to live a healthy life style with diet and exercise and of course a great sense of humour cures a lot of ails and aches.

Rosie is fine now. A bit stressed travelling for being in the truck for 9 hrs, but it was her first long road trip since we drove to another province to get her as a pup.

Had a chuckle when she first saw 5 ducks swimming towards her on the dock. She didn't know what to think...she actually started shaking....but then, the terrier spirit kicked in. It was all I could do to not have her jump off the dock to go after those cheeky feathered fiends. From then on every time we went down to the dock we had to drag her back to the cabin...even had to carry her a few times because she flatly refused to move from the dock.

Edited September 10, 2015 by Terrier lover

[parmelbe]

I've been using Sentinel Fiproguard Plus with Betsy for two months now. It has a different active ingredient than the ones in the article but this last application I noticed weird behavior for at least a day afterward. 

 

She was "clingy" and seemed almost morose. She usually lays around most of the day but in this case she hung her head a lot and wouldn't make eye contact. She also found a new corner of the living room under a chair and has been hiding back there for almost an hour at a time. She didn't seem to scratch any more than usual and I didn't notice any irritation at the site. I only posted this in here since her behavior changed pretty drastically almost immediately and that was the application of medicine was really the only change I could think of. 

[Sam I Am]

After all the reports I have read about Advantix and my own experience with it, I will never ever trust putting this poison into my dogs body again!