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Re: Hartz flea and tick drops just put on my dog -

Charley's Mom

Active member
Re: Hartz flea and tick drops just put on my dog -

About 3 hours ago I had my husband and daughter put this on my Charley. I thought it was the same as what we used to get at the vet. I just sat down on the computer and by chance looked up information on this and to my horror I am reading that Hartz flea and tick drops have caused terrible problems. I'm thinking it's dried by now. Do you think it's too late to bathe him and get some off? I'm very upset and anxious right now about this.
 
i don't think it's too late to wash it off. after i read your post, i did a search on the subject--i found that hartz victims site, wow, that's sad and scary. apparently in several cases, vets advised people to bathe their animals, more than once. good luck, i'm sure most animals don't have a reaction or poisoning--otherwise, surely it wouldn't be for sale.

i was afraid of poisoning my dog with commercial flea meds (i applied and then washed off Advantage twice), so i used some holistic ones, and i ended up poisoning him with those!! At least, he got a cough for several days, and so did i, from breathing diatomaceous earth that i put in his bedding. later he got a skin infection that i thought was caused by neem oil that i sprayed on him once. but my vets thought the infection was caused by the fleas themselves. he had to take antibiotics.

good luck, i hope your dog doesn't have a reaction. bathing him may not get it all off, but it would get some of it off.
 
Oh my! DE powder? That is a pool chemical! How scary :shock: And you are right, it will make you cough so bad :yuk: I hope your pup is ok. :flwr:
 
lmallicoat said:
Oh my! DE powder? That is a pool chemical! How scary :shock: And you are right, it will make you cough so bad :yuk: I hope your pup is ok. :flwr:

it wasn't even the pool grade kind. all the instructions from people who use it say to diligently avoid the pool kind. The kind i got was "human grade" and is supposed to be good for various things, taken orally. It's taken by humans as well as animals, and is considered to be a good worming method. It has a different shape from the pool grade.

For fleas, it's like boric acid powder, you can put it in the bedding and carpet, and on the fur, or, lots of people do, who swear they have never coughed. apparently the problem was that i put too much in the bedding. much later, i got the courage to put some in my carpet and did it correctly, in a smaller amount, and no dust flew in the air to irritate our bronchial system. It didn't work though, on the fleas.
 
lmallicoat said:
Oh my! DE powder? That is a pool chemical! How scary :shock: And you are right, it will make you cough so bad :yuk: I hope your pup is ok. :flwr:

It wasn't swimming pool DE, it's a different kind, thank goodness, it's called 'human grade,' and it's sold for all kinds of things, anti-parasites, deworming, other things, for humans, and it's sold by some companies as flea solultion, many people have had good results with it. The human grade kind, supposedly, is safe to take orally, but it's not safe to breathe of course.

We both seemed to fully recover but it was upsetting, it went on for days, he'd wake in the morning choking and coughing for about 3 days, despite new bedding and washing out the crate, and i had chronic irritation too, which lasted longer than his. I just put too much on the bedding, i estimated it wrong.

This year, i'm going to have Flea Busters come, they spread boric acid powder around the house, seems worth a try.
 
Thanks for reply

Well, I've been thinking a lot about it and realizing that we all make mistakes and unfortunately some of them can be horrible! :oops: But we do learn from them. That is why I ask the Lord to protect our family and that includes our dog Charley and our 10 yr. old cat. There is never fear of the cat going near the dog. So no fear of her getting too close to the dog and getting any dangerous flea/tick medicine on her. She has never warmed up to him, although I wish she would.

This has been a particularly rough week. Charley ate Hershey kisses (& wrappers) while in the care of my hubby and daughter while I was out 2 days ago. We had to make him throw it up and he's fine.

He ate an apple seed or 2 last week and apparently had no reaction.

Last night I awoke him at ... I don't even know what time... in the early morning to bathe him after I read about over-the-counter flea/tick drops. He's such a good boy. The thing is he reeked of the smell of citronella candles - the ones that you put outside to keep the bugs away. So I bathed him several times with the puppy shampoo. He doesn't have that smell anymore and appears absolutely fine today. We have an appointment with the vet because I have a lot of questions for her.

BTW, I have made it absolutely clear to my family that they must not let their guard down because Charley is an "older puppy" (9 mo) - as a matter of fact he is more apt to get into trouble now. They have been brought back to reality. I was very upset with them. In their defense - they weren't feeling well the day he ate the chocolate either.

Thanks for your responses.
 
I use Frontline Plus, it comes in little plastic applicator bottles, break the neck and squeeze the oily fluid directly onto Tucker's skin, by parting the hair between his shoulders and down the back. It's good for 30 days, it enters his bloodstream. I worry too about using a strong pesticide on him, but I'm more worried about Fleas and Ticks so I use it. In the winter months I tend to slack off a bit, maybe do an application every six weeks.

This stuff is expensive, for 3 months supply at the vet's office it's $45. I just recently ordered it from drsfostersmith.com for $33.00. Then I get a catalog shipped with the order, and it's listed for 27.99, and the website still has the higher price.

Oh wow, I'm a pack leader now :*nana:

I won't ask if I post too much, because I'm afraid you'll say yes!
 
We use Frontline also....but only from spring to fall.

We've never had fleas...thank heavens!! :flwr:
 
grrrr. Not to steal the thread, but I use Frontline Plus on both my cats and dogs and I still have fleas!! I guess I should treat me yard...but I am worried about the harsh chemicals and my babies! We have had a major drought this winter so there is virtually no chance of the rain washing it away...and come to think of it, I wouldn't want to pollute the duck pond across the street where the water runs off. icon_nwunsure

I have no carpet in the house and I have vacuumed/washed everything (couch cushions, bedding etc). It has to be the yard :?
 
Tucker has done well on Front Line but a dear friend of mine that lives in Florida said he found that after a couple of weeks the potency wore out. He prefers and now uses K-9 Advantix. Maybe you have a strain of fleas in Florida not found up here, or because of the year round warmer climate there are just more of them. My friend lives in Key West.
 
Years ago, one of our cats got fleas....what a nightmare that was...I vacuumed and did laundry til I was blue in the face!!

The eggs just kept hatching...it took the winter frost to kill them off.

Never again...our cat wasn't happy to be turned into an "indoor cat" but we weren't going through that again.

Hubby and I both had terrible bites all over, thank heavens the children seemed to not be "attractive" to the fleas!!!!
 
I use Frontline Plus on both of mine. The negative reaction to fleas is soo much worse than not treating them. Jake has a terrible flea allergy. I didn't put it on them this month since it's been so cold.

One note about the potency. I used to order mine online. But read and was told so much about it not being guaranteed by buying it that way. I now only buy from the vet. The two times I've bought it online we've ended up finding fleas. So.....a little more expensive...but worth it. At least to us.
 
Cathy T said:
....One note about the potency. I used to order mine online. But read and was told so much about it not being guaranteed by buying it that way. I now only buy from the vet. The two times I've bought it online we've ended up finding fleas. So.....a little more expensive...but worth it. At least to us.

I've always heard this too, either the vets get a different lot that's stronger, or maybe it's quality control in handling and storing.

i've never used frontline, but i've always heard that from several sources.
 
Cathy,

Why would it be less effective if bought over the internet??

The vet probably orders theirs online.

Curious?? :?

I was just a bit slower in typing.... lol

That's awful, they have two types, weak and good?? :?
 
I sure don't want to be short changed in effectiveness in order to save a buck, on the other hand, I sure would like to save $10.00 for every three doses IF it's the same product. I did notice the packaging seemed to be a bit mangled on the Front Line, not the applicator bottles themself but the cardboard packaging. Also, it wasn't until after I'd placed the order for Frontline, I realized I have no way of knowing in advance of receipt of the product what it's expiration date may be.

Cathy T and Judy - thanks for introducing that information. I will ask my vet. At the same website they offer prescription drugs too, at savings, such as monthly heart pills, but I decided anything prescription best be gotten from the vet rather than through the mail.

Is this like Paul Mitchell Salon products for us humans, they cannot guarantee the quality of products sold in stores, only those sold in salons?
I've often wondered about the truth of that. I buy Nexus Salon Products from Walmart. They still are pretty pricey, how do these products get into large chain stores legally if they are not legit? (that's totally offpoint I know, sorry, just the way my mind works)
 
i guess the first person i heard this from was my daughter. Belle had some fleas and i was worried about them bringing her over here and introducing fleas when we weren't having any and i suggested she get Advantage, which she'd used before, but she said her vet was closed and when i said she could get it at the pet store, she said she was told it wasn't as effective, i don't remember if she heard that from her breeder or the vet. And then i've heard it other places too. I'm just guessing it could have something to do with shipping and storage and handling, although my original impression when i first heard about it was that they were actually different medications, that there are prescription level and over the counter level versions. Revolution can only be obtained from a vet, and not even by a vet unless you have a prescription. Pet stores don't have it at all, i was given a reason but now i don't remember what it was.
 
Revolution can't be sold in Pet stores because it included both flea and heartworm. Any heartworm meds have to be bought from a vet. You can order it from Canada without a script though icon_whistling

Maybe that is what my issue is...I have never bought Frontline from the vet, only online or at the pet store. I am going to have to call my vet to figure this out. I always thought they were the same but I just can't seem to get something that works!! :x

Darn Florida fleas would survive a nuclear attack. There is absolutely no chance of getting a frost long enough to kill the buggers either. Yesterday it was 75 degrees! :sl*p:
 
Thank you Sandy that is very helpful and useful information.

Edited to update. Based on the very informative Fact Sheet put out by the EPA on the link sandy provided, I'm able to feel certain the product I purchased was NOT a counterfeit. I also phoned the manufacturer and spoke to an actual LIVE person. We went over the packaging, and the blister packaging, and compared lot numbers, etc, and she too felt comfortable that I did not have a counterfeit product. However, she went on to say "we recommend our product be purchased from Vets."
 
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