Petside.com

Ruth March 27, 2009 11:26 AM

I never use any over the counter flea and tick products on my dogs. All I use mostly is dawn dishwashing liquid. I dilute it in water in a spray bottle and spray the dogs, rugs, dog beds, furniture, yard, anywhere the dogs go. Then I take a flea comb and comb out the eggs and fleas. The dawn works wonderful and is not toxic. You can also use 20 Mule Team Borax and sprinkle it in your rugs and furniture and vacuum. It's much cheaper and much safer than any flea products.

Diana March 27, 2009 12:14 PM

Most people will not be able to take advantage of this, but those of you in the country can. Guinea hens eat all sorts of bugs, and are notoriously fond of ticks. They are also good "watch birds," and one friends witnessed her guineas scare off a chicken hawk than wanted to nibble on her flock of pullets.

Joanne March 27, 2009 12:16 PM

This is something I really worry about especially because of the high cancer rate in dogs especially golden retrievers. I use frontline which I think is OK ingredient wise but we are literally putting poison on our dogs and then they lick and play with each other and I am sure they ingest some. Heartworm meds are poison too and some holistic vets advise testing annually and treating the dog if he is infected rather than giving hearworm meds monthly. This can't be good for them. I just don't know what the alternative is.

Vicki March 27, 2009 12:31 PM

My goodness, I was not aware of this information. But I only use products that my vet recommends. This is useful information to pass along.

skylark March 27, 2009 8:33 PM

What you actually are doing when you give heartworm preventative to your pet is killing the microfilarae (baby heartworms) before they can become adults and affect your pet's heart. It's retroactive for 30 days; that's why you give it once a month. If your pet has been infected with heartworms during the previous 30 days, the heartworm preventative will kill the immature heartworms.

If your pet becomes infected with heartworm disease, the heartworms can cause severe heart damage while the heartworms are living in his heart. The treatment is quite toxic, and is a 60-day protocol of injecting poison into your pet. During this treatment time, the pet must be kept very quiet to prevent clots of dead heartworms from breaking off and clogging the arteries; if that happens, the pet can die a sudden death. Also, the treatment can cost upwards of $800-$1,000!

Donna March 28, 2009 11:54 AM

I would NEVER use a grocery store (or pet store product) on my pets...not without vet approval.

Just like human medicine, there's goo much contamination in off the street drugs...and my cats ARE my family.

WAYNE I DONT KNOW ABOUT ALWAYS LISTENING TO YOUR VETS...DONT THEY RECOMMEND FRONTLINE? April 11, 2009 7:28 PM

DONT THE VETS SELL FRONTLINE ETC....

1truthfairy May 7, 2009 12:19 AM

A website you should visit:

www.thetruthabouthartz.com

Jenna May 9, 2009 11:22 PM

Yeah vets are just like regular doctors, they prescribe what they are told to prescribe. There are many toxins in all prescriptions human nd pets alike. Just because vet says its okay, doesnt mean its safe.

Matt May 13, 2009 1:59 AM

1truthfairy, who has posted a blog above, is Dr. Melinda Fernyhough of Hartz Mountain Corporation. I also recommend the website she refers you to. It contains many mistruths, including the fact that Hartz's dog products are not listed on the recent EPA public advisory (they are), and Hartz conveniently fails to mention that the EPA issued a Cancellation Order against their cat and kitten products in 2005 and forced Hartz to remove these products from the retail distribution chain in 2006. This was after their spokesperson, John Mullane, told The USA Today newspaper that "7,000 adverse incidents with kittens and cats is a small number" compared to the number of applications. There are many other examples of obfuscation and misinformation on the "truth about Hartz" website...look for yourself. And then ask yourself this question--when was the last time a responsible corporation had to run a "truth" campaign" because its products had inflicted so much damage? Ask a veterinarian before using any over the counter topical spot-on product--the injuries and deaths from these products are well documented.

Lynn May 30, 2009 12:54 AM

To Joanne,
I'm also very apprehensive to use potentially dangerous products on my pets. After researching safer alternatives to flea and tick meds, someone recommended I try "Mosquito Barrier", found here: http://www.mosquitobarrier.com/ I haven't bought it yet, but I'm anxious to try anything that isn't being applied to or ingested by my pet, and considered poisonous. The cost per ounce of Mosquito Barrier is cheaper than tick applications. I had two Goldens and highly regret ever using tick products on them since it is known to cause seizures in some dogs, which Goldens are prone to (both mine had seizures). I hate to think I contributed to their siezures :o(

Skylark is 100% correct in everything said about heartworm disease. I know because I lost my beloved 3 yr old American Eskimo only six months ago. We rescued him unknowingly with this disease and tried everything to save him. He had a severe case of worms in his heart and he unfortunately died through lack of oxygen :o( I can't go into details because it is still too painful, but I must stress the importance of heartworm prevention. Please don't take a chance that your pet won't get bit by an infected mosquito and please don't think the treatment for this disease is as simple as giving your dog a pill. The treatment is risky and involves injecting arsenic (yes, the poison) into the muscle of your dogs back, very painful to them, making them sick. Depending on the severity of the disease, your dog will need more than one injection over a few months period. My dog had three. Also, it is NOT easy to try and keep your dog perfectly calm while these worms are dying off. I often wonder if I didn't keep my precious Eskie calm enough.... very agonizing to live with these thoughts. It cost us $1,800.00, but I would have spent millions to save him if I could have. Our beloved Eskie died a senseless death because his original owner neglected to protect him and the shelter and rescue group neglected to treat him. Prevention is very important, but like everything else, you have to research the particular product. I wouldn't trust ProHeart 6 because of the controversy with this preventative, but that's my opinion. I use Heartgard Plus chewables, and have for many years, with no ill effects. HW disease is very serious, not to be confused with intestinal worms. For the sake of your pets health please use prevention. I believe the dangers of not protecting your dog far outweigh the dangers of side effects from prevention. Also, wherever there are mosquitoes, your pet is at risk, including your indoor cats. I live in the north eastern part of the states. Unless you live in Antarctica, your pets are not safe. Sorry for this lengthy message, I wish for no one to ever experience the extreme heartache my husband and I endured. If only our beloved furr-angel was given HW prevention from the start, we wouldn't of been robbed the many years of happiness with him, he was way too young to die :o(

Jacqui Everett June 29, 2009 12:12 PM

Hello Everyone:
I am very saddened to hear about the loss of so many treasured companions. I understand how you feel about your pets, I had to put my beautiful Giant Schnauzer Jet Black down 2 years ago and I thought I would die! I STILL CRY FOR HIM NOW AND THEN! I had a simular experience with Advantage; I followed the directions to the letter, and just minutes after I put it on him, he started to run around in circles and cry. I couldn't imagine what was wrong with him until I parted his hair and found that the Advantage was burning his skin..I immediately put him in the bath tub, let the warm water run on him and he calmed down! It was at that point that I decided to do more research and found that Advantage contained a very strong, dangerous chemical called Pyrethrin..Why would I want to put that on my dog? Don't forget the chemicals that you put on your pet's skin goes into his/her blood stream and eventually into the kidneys and liver! NOTHING GOOD COMES FROM THAT. I have spoken to several people that have used these flea controll poisons and everyone of them have lost a dog to LIVER or KIDNEY FAILURE...coincidence? I think not. I wanted to control both fleas and ticks because of the dangerous illnesses they can cause my dog and I wanted to use something effective but natural so.. I went to school to learn about the effects of essential oils. It took me 6 years to develope a "100% NATURAL" insect repellent called Flixx. Flixx is "SUPER" effective against fleas and ticks infact if you spray Flixx on your dog or cat it will ELIMINATE both fleas and ticks..Fleas immediately and ticks in about 5 minutes without toxic chemicals! I have been using Flixx on my new Giant Schnauzer Bruno for 2 years and I have had no more fleas and ticks on him or in my house. I started manufacturing Flixx for the public and selling it in stores and the testimonials are amazing! The mission of my company is to educate the public about the dangers of toxic chemical use on animals and in the household. Flixx can eliminate insects in the home, barn, office, green house, enywhere insects dwell effectively without chemicals. Flies, mosquitos, wasps, spiders, silver fish, and even roaches will be repelled for hours and even days and will be eliminated if directly sprayed! I hope everyone will learn that reading the labels and asking questions about these dangerous chemical preparations will save the lives of your pets. If you want to contact me: jseenterprisesllc@yahoo.com I would be happy to contact you back.
BE KIND TO ANIMALS!
ALL THE BEST,
Jacqui Everett

tamera August 12, 2009 2:34 AM

my 14 week old kitten died yesterday of seizures in my hands during a bath with a flea product. i did CPR but had no luck . i am still freaked out by it it was aweful i will never forget the way she last looked at me.

still having nightmares

Pamela October 21, 2009 1:58 PM

Well as we speak I am having adverse effects of my animals - both cats and dogs for stupidly using a seargents product that was given to me by a reputable pet store. They donated some food and pet supplies including this Sentry Pro XFC CRAP to my rescue and I stupidly used it! I used on my 6 dog children and my 3 cat children and they are all having adverse effects. The older cat is having the most difficulty and if he still is showing signs tomorrow I will be off to the vet. My vet is out of town or I would have already been gone. I called the 800 number on the back of the package to find out what I should do. There really is nothing except wathching to see if symptoms go away on their own. I am praying that all of my kids are going to filter this poison out of their systme without organ or neuro damage. This is the first time I have used an over the counter flea/tick product and was trying to keep costs down lately. I will never use it again and will tell everyone that I know to stay far away from these horrible poisonous poroducts!