Why did my dog get sick after flea meds & shampoo? Are they safe?

Yes, Gidget could absolutely be allergic to her flea treatment! Topical products can definitely cause redness, irritation, hair loss or sores at the application site. They can also cause system reactions such as seizures, tremors and trouble walking but these are rare. Oral products can cause vomiting, diarrhea and decreased appetite. Dogs that have epilepsy may be more prone to have increased seizure frequency but this is also not likely. Extremely rare cases can be anaphylactic reactions of collapse and hypotension and this could be to any product. If you are seeing problems, I would recommend to switch products. While some products have the same active ingredient (like Fipronil), many are different. I have had good flea prevention and very low reactions to Comfortis, Simparica and Revolution. Remember that itching all over can be related to fleas not dying from your product, food allergy or environmental allergies. I hope I answered your question!

I'm sorry Chloe hasn't been acting herself lately. Without knowing the specific behaviors she is showing, I can't say for certain if it is due to the Sergeants flea and tick squeeze on. I can say that it's not a high quality product, and you will not get the best results with it. I will give you the flea treatment program I recommend, and it contains products I used on my own animals with great success. Because she has been acting strange for the past several days, I would have her seen by a vet first thing in the morning. If she is having convulsions, trembling, not eating, has excessive drooling, and/or is very lethargic than I would not wait until the morning. In this case, I would take her into an ER vet right away; if there isn't one in your area, there will be a vet on call for emergencies. The information to reach that vet is found on a clinic's answering machine or website. Good luck, I hope this helps! Flea treatment program: First, I would give Chloe Capstar. It's a one time pill that starts killing fleas within 30 minutes. Then follow up with a spot on treatment, such as Advantage or Revolution. This is a treatment that has to be used once a month. You will also have to disinfect the environment. Wash her bedding in hot soapy water, and vacuum the furniture and carpet surfaces. You can use a spray to kill fleas in the house, such as Indorex, or a flea bomb would work well to kill the fleas in the home.

Poor Sam. It’s possible he may have had a reaction to the medication. I recommend to wash him with dish soap to help remove some of the medication. I also recommend to have Sam examined by his veterinarian for some bloodwork to make sure there has not been any liver damage. If Sam cannot tolerate a collar or the topical preventive, talk with your veterinarian about starting him on an oral medication like Nexgard. Best of luck.

I'm so sorry to hear this happened. It is too hard for me to say if anything you did caused his death. You will not know for sure unless you have your vet do a necropsy (autopsy) on him. Severe flea infestation can cause a life threatening anemia so it could be from the fleas. I don't know what brand of the "tube" you put on the back of his neck but you have to be careful with those - Hartz and Seargants are not recommended as they are not regulated by any organization and it is easy to overdose them. In the future, you need to get flea prevention from your vet and you should apply it every month like clockwork, no matter what (even if it is winter). A 5 pound dog can easily get anemic from having a lot of fleas.

I am sorry to hear that Peanut is feeling so cruddy To be honest, that kind of reaction from flea / tick medication starting 24-36 hours after application would not be very typical. Usually signs of illness would start pretty shortly after. The only reason it could be delayed is it Peanut waited awhile and then managed to lick the stuff off his fur. Depending on the type of drug that was used, some have antidotes while others are just treated supportively. There are no antibiotics that are used to help with this kind of issue, unless the vet believes that one might assist with inflammation or prevent a secondary infection. Based on the clinical signs you have described, the best medication that the vet could prescribe would be something to nausea, diarrhea, and acid production. In terms of diagnostics I would run if you came into my office with these symptoms, I would definitely recommend starting with some baseline blood work and potentially some x-rays to rule out a possible foreign body in the intestines. Hope this is helpful.

Some dogs are sensitive to the active ingredient or the vehicle of a topical medication. I would ensure that you apply to the skin, not the hair, in an area he cannot reach such as the area between his shoulder blades. I am unsure of the type you have used, however most over the counter products are safe if ingested in small amounts, infrequently. To be safe you can certainly call the number on the packaging for more detail. However there are so many types of preventative out there, if Puku seems sensitive to one type there are plenty to choose from!

Hello, sorry to hear about Tripp. It sounds like he may be having a reaction to which ever flea medication you are administering. Often, these medications can cause tremors and trembling as a side effect or even when toxic doses are administered. Discontinue the medication, if he improves then he was likely having a side effect, but if his sigs continue or if they get worse (seizures, non-stop shaking and trembling, excessive salivation) then have him seen immediately. Other potential causes may not be associated with the medication and may be a sign of flea allergy dermatitis (allergy to the flea saliva) especially if you have seen fleas on him. Since it is unclear wether his current flea medication is giving him side effects, then your veterinarian may consider using an alternative medication. Hope this helps and best of luck.