spot on Flea insecticide cautions

i found an article from Whole Dog Journal in February 2002, titled Are "Spot On" Flea Killers Safe? and subtitled "Absolutely not, says our author, depsite what the commercials say." It's a long well researched and well-presented article. It scares me so much, i think i'm about to go try to wash the stuff off.

Here is the article:
http://www.apnm.org/publications/resources/fleachemfin.pdf

The following month they have a companion article titled "Eliminate Fleas Without Poisons," I haven't read it yet. This is what i wanted to do, but i don't like trying things when i don't know what i'm doing--i wish there were advisors you could go to who are experienced with these things and could guide you through it.

Here's the article:
http://www.apnm.org/publications/resources/ipm_fin2.pdf

The first article described symptoms like Zack was having. I know it could be from something else, but it just worsened my anxiety to read the article, from a highly respected journal, well researched and well presented. It was awful reading about all the animals they kill during their testing of these products, as they try to find out what the toxic dosages are.

I would not be overly concerned about these topical flea preparations. Many breeders I know who generally follow holistic programmes with their dogs have no issue with the long term safety of these preparations now. Certainly they are considered to be safer than old style flea collars were and those were used for decades without many adverse effects.

In some areas it is very hard to control fleas and if a dog is allergic to them, it is better they be controlled.

Some of these formulations have changed over time as well.

Personally I think there are far greater chemical health risks we expose ourselves and our animals to every day but because they are less visible we don;t worry about them -- from preservatives in meat and processed food (meat in particular) to growth hormones and antibiotics in milk and meat and cheese, to hair dye for that matter. Getting highlights on your hair is a riskier business over time than many short term treatments.

I'd want to revisit the issue rather than rely on an article that is now four years old (and remember the same chemicals have been routinely used on livestock for decades, and are well tested).

I think people need to weigh up what their comfort zone is. If people want to go holistic then it makes sense to get a holistic vet and not try to do it yourself from home. I'd strongly advise anyone wanting to seek other ways of treating their dogs to get *professional advice* from a holistic vet as home treatments can also cause all sorts of problems (especially if the advice comes from the internet and is totally unevrifiable as to safety or effectiveness) and also can clash -- even lethally -- with other home or medical treatments. Be sure to find a vet health specialist that fits your own philosophy rather than take a pick and mix approach.