Adverse Reaction To Tick Treatment

[skip]

Hi

I recently gave all my three a flea and tick treatment. I don't give the treatments routinely but ticks are about and i felt a bit nervous about them.

I changed the brand I used and two smaller dogs started itching non stop.I did see a flea when I bathed them pre treatment so wasn't concerned at first. When the itching got worse I called a vet who said the treatment should do fleas but it probably wasn't the treatment.

One dog wasn't so bad but the small dog at 4.5kg was really itchy. Ended up getting very red in the skin but no rash. The poor dog ended up with really itchy skin but probably wasn't fleas as she also started to swell up in her body. Lymph node areas were swollen and after her temp dropped the fluid also dropped and she had hanging skin on her belly.

Of course she went to the vet and had a shot of antihistamine? She improved after this. She was actually eating and walking even before the shot but not feeling good.

BTW the larger dog was fine. So mixed results even thou all dosed according to size.

This experience isn't helping my decision to use tick drugs. I don't give them fortnightly as it seems too much and isn't 100%. But sometimes I feel slack because so many tick proof their dogs. If they did get a tick I'd feel terrible and one dog particularly has a heart murmur and wouldn't survive a tick.

Long story sorry.

So is adverse reaction common. Is one drug better than others? Do people divide the solution among dogs after purchase?

Edited December 19, 2013 by skip

[~Anne~]

Each dog is different and some drugs have a much higher incidence of reactions.

Perhaps a tick collar would be better?

The problem with most types of applications is that the body absorbs the drug and you can't wipe it off or take it off. The same with injectables and drugs that are taken internally. Hence why I won't inject my dog with a heartworm preventative.

[persephone]

You said 'all dogs treated the same' ... did they all get the same dose ? What is the weight difference between them ? perhaps the small one was overdosed ?

[sandgrubber]

What was/were the active ingredient(s)?

Is it possible that one dog licked the other after the stuff was applied?

Have you read the sheet that came with the stuff? Was itching mentioned as a possible reaction?

Some flea/tick treatments are nerve poisons, and can make animals quite sick if they ingest what is supposed to be topical. That said, when I had this problem, the reaction was seizures, not itching.

[Rosetta]

Was it Advantix?

[Mystiqview]

As others have said. It can be so variable, each dog can react differently to the same product, even it is dosed correctly.

It is always really important to read the product leaflet before applying any product. You can generally also get a pdf copy of it from the internet before going out and purchasing the product. Also it is good to read the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet). If you do not understand it, always talk to your vet first.

It could have been a reaction to the fleas, or it could have been a reaction to the product or even something totally unrelated that just so happened to be at the same time as you saw the fleas and dosed them. There is that slim possibility. We have a tendency to always look to the most obvious.

I would probably not use the same product again on that dog. Take a note of the active ingredients to make sure you do not buy another product containing the same ingredient.

I would also treat the house and surrounding areas with a flea bomb or similar. you need to break the cycle at your place and the topical flea treatments do not fully do this.

[skip]

Thanks for your replies.

The dogs were dosed correctly but I did edit my reply quickly once I posted as it read as Persephone noted "all dogs dosed the same" originally.

When I read up on the ingredients I checked my method of dosage and it was correct. I was concerned about that. Basically the drug is 0.1ml per kg.

Licking probably wasn't happening. Looking back as the vet said I could have washed the dog ASAP as this may have helped a little.

And thanks for the tip Mystiqview. I will record those active ingredients. In the past I've used another brand so will see if that has different active ingredients.

I did notify the company and received a fast reply. They want to know dogs vet history etc but really the dog is a cross breed and has had a visit for a sore neck and thats it besides the obvious desexing job.

So glad it turned out OK. The other dog with similar but less reaction is twice the size but again a chi x (chi x kelpie). Weird both were effected. The 17kg kelpie was fine, the 9 kg chi/kelpie a bit reactive and the 4.5 chi x most effected.

Thanks for your help all.

Edited December 21, 2013 by skip

[kelpiecuddles]

My kelpie doesn't do well with Advantix but my basset is fine. I've been misting them with Permoxin in a spray bottle before we go for our walks

ETA: Just so you are aware, Permoxin is permethrin which is one of the ingredients in Advantix. I have found that she seems fine with this on it's own so either it was the combination of all of the ingredients or it was one of the others that caused her trouble. In your case it could be the permethrin so if you wanted to try Permoxin I would suggest speaking to your vet and treading carefully until you were confident that it was OK.

Edited December 21, 2013 by kelpiecuddles

[skip]

Hi kelpiecuddles

Yes, I did just change my post. I wasn't sure about naming the drug but it was Advantix.

What sort of symptoms did your kelpie have?

I have used Frontline Plus a few times so will see what active ingredients this has. The little dogs are 10 and 9 and makes me wonder about doing them at all.

Thanks

[gwp4me]

I use Advantix for my Pointer and Kelpie, without any known side effects. But I cannot imagine that any of these treatments are good for the animals' health. God knows what we will find out in time about them.

[kelpiecuddles]

She gets very irritable and snappy, I suspect it makes her skin feel awful as she'll snap at the other dog if she tries to play.

[Guest donatella]

Advantix has lots of stories about adverse reactions in small dogs. I know my breeder said to avoid it after her show dog got a skin reaction. I stick to frontline with my small guys.

[Rosetta]

For dogs that age Skip I would tend to just not treat at all unless you are in a tick area or you actually see fleas on the dogs :)

[Guest Ams]

For dogs that age Skip I would tend to just not treat at all unless you are in a tick area or you actually see fleas on the dogs :)

Skip did see fleas which is why the dogs were treated.

[Rosetta]

For dogs that age Skip I would tend to just not treat at all unless you are in a tick area or you actually see fleas on the dogs :)

Skip did see fleas which is why the dogs were treated.

Of course - should have read properly

[skip]

Thanks for all your replies.

For some reason I don't get fleas at my place. Once I went on hols and the place I visited had fleas so we brought them home. And last week some dogs visited and afterwards we had ... honestly you would be lucky to find more then one flea on each dog.

So the treatment is mainly for ticks but as it is supposed to be fortnightly, not sure about administrating that much drug.

I wasn't aware that Advantix hasn't the best results for smaller dogs as it is widely sold/recommended.Will follow up with producers as its costly to treat the effects after the reaction as well as making my little one so miserable.

Not surprised your kelpie gets narky kelpiecuddles. My dogs skin seemed very pink all over and she swelled up all over her body eventually.

Learnt form this experience... research more(ask DOL), wash dog ASAP and check my active ingredients from now on. A medicated shampoo I used once but dogs didn't like,had the same drug as Advantix.

Ta and Merry Christmas

[Guest Ams]

Have you considered the new Scalibor collar? They don't smell,apparently last longer and it doesn't matter if they get wet unlike the older style ones.

[Rosetta]

Did the company advise you what to do if a reaction occurs? I have read that a wash in mild dishwashing detergent straight away is the best treatment - but you would need to research that further.

Hope your little dogs have no more troubles :)

[hankdog]

My allergic to everything bulldog Turns cherry red and gets very lethargic for a few days if I use Advantix. He seems ok on frontline although I read it's not as effective. I guess each dog will react according to their body chemistry.

Edited December 29, 2013 by hankdog

[SueM]

I use advantix on my tiny chi and italian grey x with no problems. I suppose each dog is different.