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View Full Version : WARNING! Never use Hartz/Seargents Flea and Tick "ON THE SPOT" medicine!!!!


Johanna
09-01-2008, 12:11 AM
I CANT BELIEVE THIS STUFF IS ALLOWED ON THE SHELVES!!!! Our dog could have died today had we not acted quick enough! I am posting our story as a warning to all other dog owners. We just got a new puppy (schnoodle) and we decided to go ahead and treat them (we also have a 2yo golden doodle) with a flea and tick medicine. First we treated my adult dog (thankfully we never treated the puppy) we put the serum on her back and within 20 minutes our dog started to roll around and seem agitated. Well, we didnt think much of it because we just figured that she never really likes anything sticking to her fur, so it was probably annoying her. Not to mention that it smelled REALLY bad.
So, about an hour later our dog started going downhill fast. We noticed she was drooling prefusely! She was scratching at her back to the point of hurting herself, she was breathing heavy, she was rolling around....acting very nervous , anxious, weird movements....as if she was being poisoned.....as it turns out she was being poisoned!
So, immediately we start trying to wash the stuff off! We go online to look up the safety of this stuff (COULD HAVE KICKED MYSELF FOR NOT DOING THIS FIRST) They forum said to immediately wash the dog down with palmolive or Dawn dish detergent as many times as needed. Give your dog Benadryl and apply cortizone to the area, which by this point was blood red!! Our dog started to improve almost immediately after we did the above things. She calmed down a bit. She was breathing a little better, and her drooling is getting better.
The scary thing is that we were planning to leave her this afternoon to go to the store. Had we not noticed before we left or left just after we applied the medicine (not thinking anything could go wrong), she would have been left by herself to suffer and who knows what could have happened!!!
Thank God, we didnt go on to use it on our little puppy, I had bought another box for him and thought to use it after I was going to bathe him later in the day!! I dont thing he would have survived it!

Thank GOd for the people on the forums who posted the measures to take to help my dog.
My vet said to not use anything except Frontline.

On a lighter note, we DID just get a puppy!!!:)
He is a real sweetie. A Miniature schnauzer and mini poodle combo (they call them schnoodles) All I know is that he wont shed just like our golden doodle which is perfect for my allergy sufferers in this house...if you want to see pics click on our blog in my sig!!
Thanks for hearing my rant....hopefully it will help keep this from happenning to others if word is spread!!
What a day!

Unicorn
09-01-2008, 12:18 AM
Glad he's ok! I remember something about this from a few yrs ago- cats dying from it. I had forgotten about it though, thanks for sharing.

Stacia
09-01-2008, 12:21 AM
How very scary. I'm glad your dog is now alright.

You should report this to your vet & to the company. This stuff needs to get pulled from the shelves. I wonder who you would report it to as far as trying to get a recall started???

:grouphug:

sleepy
09-01-2008, 12:34 AM
Oh, how frightening, I'm so glad your dog is alright.

Laura in VA
09-01-2008, 01:12 AM
So glad you were there and that he is now ok!

Mom to Aly
09-01-2008, 01:30 AM
Very glad your doggies are OK. Yes, I remember about this, and, even with Frontline, you are supposed to watch them in case they have an allergic reaction within the first few hours, but it is the only one our vet recommends.

fivetails
09-01-2008, 06:05 AM
Oh your poor girl - that must have been an awful experience for her, and thank heavens you were able to get it off her and hadn't put it on the puppy...It must have been pretty scary for both you & your dog! :grouphug:

I take it you spoke to the vet about it? (you mentioned the vet, so I figure you called?)...Might want to have the vet check her out in person just to make sure everything is okay.. (of course, your vet should be able to tell you if a visit is necessary or not) .....

I won't use *any* kind of chemical over the counter - I have cats, not dogs, and don't do flea treatments as their indoor only and it's never been an issue for us, but I was once linked to HartzVictims.org (http://www.hartzvictims.org) and was horrified at the stories I read. The site looks different than the last time I saw it, but it's the same stuff...(warning - sad & graphic site) (There's a Hartz Kills blog too (http://hartzkills.wordpress.com/)..)....if I ever need chemical flea treatments or other for any animals (I did have an issue with rodent mites in the past), I go straight to our vet.

I looked in your blog - both dogs are adorable! :D ...and as it happens, one of our cats is named "Toby" :)

VaKim
09-01-2008, 06:27 AM
Wow! I knew Hartz was no good, but didn't know it was dangerous! Thanks for posting!

Rhonda in TX
09-01-2008, 06:55 AM
We used that stuff on both of our cats. One of them had a terrible reaction. Lethargic, breathing very, very shallow and fast, shaking all over. We really thought we were going to lose him. He came out of it, but honestly, he hasn't been the same since. He used to be a real lap cat, but now will rarely make himself seen. He startles and runs off at the slightest movement. It's very sad. :(

We talked to the vet and he said it's possible that our cat has neurological damage from it. NEVER use it on your pets.

Tracy in Ky
09-01-2008, 08:14 AM
Yikes!! We use Frontline on our cats and dogs.

I'm glad your dog is ok!

Johanna
09-01-2008, 08:45 AM
Oh your poor girl - that must have been an awful experience for her, and thank heavens you were able to get it off her and hadn't put it on the puppy...It must have been pretty scary for both you & your dog! :grouphug:

I take it you spoke to the vet about it? (you mentioned the vet, so I figure you called?)...Might want to have the vet check her out in person just to make sure everything is okay.. (of course, your vet should be able to tell you if a visit is necessary or not) .....

I won't use *any* kind of chemical over the counter - I have cats, not dogs, and don't do flea treatments as their indoor only and it's never been an issue for us, but I was once linked to HartzVictims.org (http://www.hartzvictims.org) and was horrified at the stories I read. The site looks different than the last time I saw it, but it's the same stuff...(warning - sad & graphic site) (There's a Hartz Kills blog too (http://hartzkills.wordpress.com/)..)....if I ever need chemical flea treatments or other for any animals (I did have an issue with rodent mites in the past), I go straight to our vet.

I looked in your blog - both dogs are adorable! :D ...and as it happens, one of our cats is named "Toby" :)

Yes, this was the website that gave us the important info to help him immediately. There are some scary stories on that site!
Thanks for your kind words.