Must read flea products

[happycats]

Please be advised there are some graphic pictures !! But a must read for all.
OMG I didn't evenknow this, how horrible!

http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-pets-to-g...AdIdZ257361254

[chico2]

OMG Happycats,that is just horrific!
Why is it still being sold???
If it had been something for humans,it would be off the shelves.
I buy mine from the vet,but I am sure a lot of unsuspecting people ,think Harz is fine,why else would they sell it

[happycats]

Disgusting isn't it !! Yes I am also shocked that this crap hasn't been pulled from the shelves!!!

[Aussie_Girl]

omg, this brings tears to my eyes, and the people who make it only care about the money, not what its actually doing to these poor animals...
So glad I use Advantage from the vets... Will never use anything else..

[Choochi]

Yes, this has been a well enough known fact for a while that these off the shelve products (Hertz isn't the only one) have been linked to a number of bad reactions even death in both cats and dogs.

FYI Advantage isn't all that better but at least it is safer.

Here's a news report that was done on this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_uqB...layer_embedded

[chico2]

I too use advantage,but only if I notice a flea-problem,this september my Vinnie had flea-poop in his fur,so I bought just 2 month's worth of Advantage and it took care of the problem.
I am sure no insecticide is 100% safe and I don't feel good about using it,but in the past(many yrs ago)when I had a dog(sheltieX) and cats,we had a total flea-infestation and do not want to experience anything like it again.

[Choochi]

Originally Posted by chico2

I too use advantage,but only if I notice a flea-problem,this september my Vinnie had flea-poop in his fur,so I bought just 2 month's worth of Advantage and it took care of the problem.
I am sure no insecticide is 100% safe and I don't feel good about using it,but in the past(many yrs ago)when I had a dog(sheltieX) and cats,we had a total flea-infestation and do not want to experience anything like it again.

Advantage will actually melt plastic when left on the surface. I've seen it myself. You won't convince me that a liquid that melts plastic is perfectly safe to put on my dog's skin, especially when accompanied by tons of warnings on the package to make sure my skin does not come in contact with the product.

[Aussie_Girl]

So then why is advantage sold at Vets if its dangerous to animals?
And something that went through metal was more then likely a lard amount, they are all given to animals weight.
I too only use If I have a flea problem, I know alot of animals who are on advantage and this has never harmed the animal...

[Choochi]

Originally Posted by Aussie_Girl

So then why is advantage sold at Vets if its dangerous to animals?
And something that went through metal was more then likely a lard amount, they are all given to animals weight.
I too only use If I have a flea problem, I know alot of animals who are on advantage and this has never harmed the animal...

It is sold because it is relatively safe, but that doesn't mean it's good for them. Advantage is a pesticide, any ill effects if not imeadiete due to some sensitivity will usually show themselves over a longer time period. Plus it will likely be an affect on multiple organs and over all health, not something as obvious as the dog getting a rash only in the spot where the med was applied. Think of cigarettes for example, most people won't drop dead from having just one, but that doesn't make them exactly safe either. Just because some thing is sold at your vet's that doesn't automatically make it good for your dog. One needs to only look as far as the food that vets sell, it's horrible garbage full of fillers with very little nutritional value. I'm not sure what you're referring to with your metal comment, if it's regarding the plastic melting, a small drop will do it.

[chico2]

Choochi,to me it's a question of letting fleas infest my house and animals,or using a product once or twice,which so far,I am talking many,many years,have caused no problems other than getting rid of fleas.
My dog,who had Sheltie-fur suffered terribly with sores and furloss and in those days,there was no products like Advantage and others.
She was on meds for a long time and I never,ever want to live through that again,or have my animals suffer like she did.
If a 100% safe product comes out,I will be the first one in line to buy it.
Last summer was the first in about 10yrs that I had to use it on my cats.

[ScottieDog]

I have a breed that has flea allergy sensitivities, so I have to use this stuff more than I want to. My poor girl got a staph infection from one flea bite.

I use Canine Advantix for my Scotties. A while back, I put a dose on my dog before we were traveling to visit family where fleas were an issue. My dog hopped up on my couch after getting her treatment. The wet flea treatment took the color/dye off my leather sofa and left a sticky residue. It is a blotch about the size of a tennis ball. I contacted Bayer (the product packaging says nothing about keeping dogs from contact with leather) and got no where. When I contacted a leather restoration person, he told me he has one or two cases of this per month. It can also happen with Frontline as well. My vet said the color removal may be due to some alcohol in the product, and feels the package insert needs to be modified.

An elderly poodle was treated with a topical flea preventative and placed in a plastic travel crate. The treatment melted into the crate and stuck the dog in place. The culprit was determined to be an inactive ingredient, benzyl alcohol, probably the same thing that removed the color from my sofa. (Link to story: http://vetmedicine.about.com/b/2009/...-treatment.htm)

I hate putting pesticides on my dogs, but I would never use the over-the-counter stuff. It is really bad news and seems to be even more toxic for cats than dogs.

Edited to add: My dog was in no way harmed by the dye residue from the couch. Like the other poster, we try to use the topicals as minimally as possible and still control the fleas and flea allergies.