# Adverse reactions to flea and tick controllers?



## janet6567 (Mar 11, 2014)

I used a "generic" flea control on my two poodles. One of them had a bad reaction. She appeared to be very anxious and could not be still, twitching and constantly walking in circles on the bed. We were on a trip and out of state, so I called our vet and he said to give her a small dose of Xanax which helped a little. It took several days for her to return to normal. There are some cheaper "generic" medications on the market, but the saving is not worth the misery they cause to some of our dogs.


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

When Misha was young, we ran bloods and her liver enzymes were elevated. This is what caused me to run her bile acids. Anyways, the vet said the high enzymes were not related to the high bile acids, and that it was probably from either vaccinations or flea products. I started her on Denamarin and her enzymes came back to normal fairly quickly. Her bile acids of course will always be high.


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

I am also so very cautious. I have used what Sunny's breeder recommended and have had no issues. I use Revolution -- hopefully it is still on the market (have not looked yet). It was great -- flea, tick and heartworm...


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## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

Sailor, white male standard with borderline Addisons, reacted poorly to many different flea/heartworm meds. He twitched, breathed abnormally, had his third eyelid roll down, was nervous, lethargic ,off his feed, and tongue flicked usually for two or three day after taking or having the meds applied. Unfortunately, Fallbrook has fleas and ticks year round, and mosquitoes can also be problematic. I finally resorted to Revolution; a friend who had herding breeds recommended it because it was one of the few flea meds that was not a problem for dogs with MDR-1 gene (multiple drug resistant). I am still careful and give the 20-40 pound dose to my 48 pound dog, but he has been fine on Revolution. I would love to use something with fewer chemicals, but fleas are so bad in our area that nothing like food grade diatomaceous earth or brewer's yeast has an effect on them. I think year round fleas are the price we pay for having such a pleasant climate.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

When I worked at the local pet/feed store we would have good luck with the BioSpot product. Over the counter topical product. It is made by Farnum. I never had a customer come complaining of adverse reactions. With another topical product we had two dogs who had bad reactions. The product was later recalled. For the dogs who were sensitive or who had adverse reactions some owners used Diotomaceous Earh lightly dusted into the coat. It is also what we sold for dusting chickens for mites. Be careful to wear a mask to avoid breathing it in.


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

This is an example of the reactions I have seen with the cheap spot on treatments you can get in the stores. 









This one I think the owner said they bought it from Walmart. I always always always tell people to stay away from the cheap topical flea and tick products in the stores and only go with name brands like frontline, advantage, k9 advantix , ect. My favorite topical so far is the Revolution. I'm sure you have seen me say this multiple times already but I have used it and all of my animals (including rats and mice) with no negative effects at all. I just recently had to use it on my Tpoos and the other day I must have gotten a flea from a dog at work. It jumped onto Winter but no matter what it would not bite him. After a while of watching it to see if it would bite I picked it off and drenched it in Dawn. It died within seconds. Yes I know I'm weird letting a flea bite my dog but I wanted to be sure that this expensive stuff works! I haven't run into any issues with pets having reactions to Revolution at work either. We are prescribing it a lot more often now not only because we are actually starting to see fleas and tick here but also because it works for sarcoptic mange in dogs and ear mites in cats as well. I haven't experienced any pets having liver enzyme issues for the use of advantix II. I hope everything turns out to be ok with Peeves and his baby making days can continue.


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## ericwd9 (Jun 13, 2014)

Please all be aware: that these systemic flea treatments do NOT control adult fleas. They prevent future breeding of new fleas. Fleas that jump onto your dog will have a good life but they can not breed in the environment of a systemic flea treatment. Regular bathing (2 weekly) with an insecticide dog shampoo will be a better option but will need more attention on your part. Note, that uncontrolled flea infestations can and do breed inside and outside your home without a dog present. Fleas are largely seasonal and will breed up in spring and fall.
Eric 
ERic.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

PoodleCrazy that is a horrendous reaction, poor dog! I would never use a product that wasn't recommended by my vet and I never ever shop in Walmart anyway.

Of course I don't know if Peeves problems are an adverse reaction to flea/tick or heart worm meds, but it is something I will bring up with the vet when I see her later.

Peeves still acts like he feels fine. I palpated his abdomen this morning and he gave no indication of discomfort so I am still optimistic (and he is a wussy dog) that we are catching whatever is going on early in the process.

Eric my bigger concern is ticks over fleas. We have many types of ticks around here and a host of tick borne diseases as well. My tick bite from two weekends ago is still itchy and one of my colleagues who teaches a field bio class just got reports from several students that they found loose tick on themselves after their last lab.


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## Poodlerunner (Jul 4, 2014)

I have to make the decision today what to put on Piper for fleas and ticks. My plan is to read the inserts on all the ones my vet has available. I hate this. Good luck with Peeves.

pr


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Timi and Teaka have been taking Nexgard with no ill effects, but it is a relatively new product, and it is not like we are in a high risk area - I just figure that at the dog park it is always possible for them to meet an infested dog. I just don't like topicals - had several bad skin reactions to them in the past with my poodles.


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## vickaandjz (Aug 27, 2014)

ericwd9 said:


> Please all be aware: that these systemic flea treatments do NOT control adult fleas. They prevent future breeding of new fleas. Fleas that jump onto your dog will have a good life but they can not breed in the environment of a systemic flea treatment. Regular bathing (2 weekly) with an insecticide dog shampoo will be a better option but will need more attention on your part. Note, that uncontrolled flea infestations can and do breed inside and outside your home without a dog present. Fleas are largely seasonal and will breed up in spring and fall.
> Eric
> ERic.


Any suggestions in re shampoos? Much appreciated! I am using frontline and it seems to be a problem with my dog's coat. I just don't feel it gets to the skin or does the job. I am also hesitant to give her the digestible treatments. Doesn't feel kosher to me, for some reason.


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## ericwd9 (Jun 13, 2014)

*Insecticide Shampoos*



vickaandjz said:


> Any suggestions in re shampoos? Much appreciated! I am using frontline and it seems to be a problem with my dog's coat. I just don't feel it gets to the skin or does the job. I am also hesitant to give her the digestible treatments. Doesn't feel kosher to me, for some reason.


I live in Australia and products here are not the same as the USA. Dog wash products usually are labled with some indication of the presence of an insecticide or not. Also insecticide wash products are available that can be added to your prefered shampoo. 
Fleas can breed in carpets and soft furnishings without a dog. Insecticide treatment needs to be done twice at least and 10-14 days apart. eggs laid by the fleas are not affected by the insecticide. They hatch in about 10 days needing a second treatment. If you have flea problems you will need to treat bedding and all places the dog lays down inside and out. Ticks are more resistant to insecticides and are a different problem again. I use a human head lice insecticide called KP-24 I mix one teaspoon of this with 1/4 pint of shampoo. this has proved effective in detering ticks. We have a tick here (Paralysis tick) That can kill a dog in 3 days. The active ingredient in KP-24 and many dog shampoos is Malathion.
Eric:angel2:


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## Lolanu (Jun 6, 2013)

We see a lot of reactions to flea and tick meds in our area as well. In our store, we have had a ton of success with a product called Evolv, by Wondercide. It is a silicone spray that has cedar oil in it, and kills most insects on contact. It recommends application every few days. I believe you can get it online. So far *knocks on wood* we have had absolutely no problems with it, for cats or dogs. Good luck! 

*Just peeked at the bottle really quick. Looks like it is just called Wondercide now.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

vickaandjz said:


> Any suggestions in re shampoos? Much appreciated! I am using frontline and it seems to be a problem with my dog's coat. I just don't feel it gets to the skin or does the job. I am also hesitant to give her the digestible treatments. Doesn't feel kosher to me, for some reason.



They say that plain old dawn dish washing detergent kills fleas, but never heard of any shampoo to kill ticks. But if your dog has fleas, I think you have to treat your house too, or they will get them right back.


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

I found 2 fleas on Misha a few weeks ago! I then checked out my outdoor cat, "Duck" and he was infested, I feel bad, it is quite early for fleas. So I treated all the cats with Frontline, and gave Emilio Comforts, and just bathed Misha with Dawn. Haven't seen a flea since. I will retreat the cats next week.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

N2Mischief said:


> I found 2 fleas on Misha a few weeks ago! I then checked out my outdoor cat, "Duck" and he was infested, I feel bad, it is quite early for fleas. So I treated all the cats with Frontline, and gave Emilio Comforts, and just bathed Misha with Dawn. Haven't seen a flea since. I will retreat the cats next week.



At least you can see them easily on Misha - Timi would have to be crawling with them before I would see them, so I feel that I have to keep her protected since she has high exposure to other dogs.


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## Naira (Jan 9, 2015)

I've never had problems using front line. Used it on my mini and standard. I have a feeling Naira may push the 40 pound limit in her dose one day...I would opt for the slightly lower dose. Same thing with heart worm prevention. She will likely be on the very low end of the upper weight limit one day and I will definitely opt for the 20-40 lb dose


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## JudyD (Feb 3, 2013)

We've used Frontline, and more recently, Parastar without any problems, but Blue's favorite wrestling move is to grab Jazzie by the back of the neck and chew, which puts his mouth right over the application site. Yesterday, when Blue was at the vet for an ear recheck, I noticed an ad for Bravecto, a new oral med that's supposed to last for three months. Has anyone used that? Our regular vet is on vacation, and his replacement normally works at the emergency clinic, so she doesn't know much about it, but I'll talk to Dr. Fleming before it's time to redose the dogs. An oral drug would be much better for us.


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## shadow mommy (Jan 6, 2012)

lily cd re said:


> So some of you may have seen that I have some health concerns regarding Peeves including a high bilirubin in a urinalysis. High bilirubin is an indicator of liver problems and I will be taking him for blood work tomorrow. I had to get a substitute for my lab class to be able to make the appointment tomorrow instead of later in the week. The person who will be covering for me breeds, shows and field trials German short haired pointers, so needless to say I explained to him what my problem was. He told me that 3 of his 4 bitches had abnormal liver tests that ultimately were attributed to adverse responses to advantix II (which is what we use too).
> 
> Does anyone else know that their dogs have had adverse reactions to any flea/tick or heart worm medications? What has your experience been and what was your solution? Thanks a bunch.


My dog was on interceptor starting at about 3 months until he was 3.5 years old and he did great on it. when it was discontinued his vet suggested heartguard plus. I gave him his first dose and he did ok that night. the next day I came home to a dog that had diarrhea and throwup all over his crate. it took an entire week for his stomach to go back to normal after having this one time. I am so glad they brought interceptor back.


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