DOG OWNERS -- BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have just completed one of the scariest nights of my life and I feel responsible to share it with everyone that will listen (or read as the case may be). Yesterday we gave Angel, our 9 lb Schnoodle, a bath so she would be nice and clean for her visit to Mamaw's house. Since it is summer and we live in Tennessee, I needed to give her a flea treatment. Normally, I give her K-9 Advantix which we purchase at our veterinarian's office. This time, I decided to try a new flea treatment and purchased Sentry Pro XFC at PetSmart. For every reader out there that has a dog, please heed my warning and DO NOT PURCHASE THIS PRODUCT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I put the flea treatment on Angel around 10 pm last night. I followed the package directions and applied it in a straight line down the back of her neck to mid-point on her back. By about Midnight I noticed that Angel was obsessively licking at the air. She acted as if she had something stuck in her mouth that she couldn't get loose. I looked in her mouth and ran my finger around inside but found nothing. So I just chalked this up to another one of Angel's oddities, but I also started keeping a closer eye on her. She would sit on the couch and then spring up like something had bit her. Then she would turn around and try to lay down again. Within seconds, she would spring up again. You have to understand this is very unusual for Angel. Normally, by 9 pm she has already curled up next to one of us and has settled in for the evening.

After watching our Schnoodle-in-a-box for about 15 minutes or so, I gave her another check. She was still doing the licking thing and her muzzle was totally wet. I decided to lay down on the couch and try to get her to settle down and lay with me. She got under the blanket and curled up like normal, but she couldn't lay still. She was twitching and jerking and it sounded like she was gagging a little. When I pulled her out from under the blanket she was drooling a little.

At this point I woke Barry and he looked her over. We couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. I wondered if it could be the flea treatment, but thought there is no way she could have a reaction like this to something that "harmless". I then did a search of the house to see if Angel might have gotten into something that would be causing this. I found nothing. The only thing that she had been exposed to was the flea treatment.

Because Angel is a 9 lb dog and I had bought the SentryPro XFC for 9 lb - 20 lb dogs, I began to think maybe I had accidentally overdosed her. That was when I turned to my dear friends at Google and did a search on "SentryPro XFC Overdose". Imagine my shock when I found link after link about people that had used this product and their dogs had the same symptoms as Angel. Actually, many people had dogs with worse symptoms. Here is a list of side effects or reactions your dog can have to this product: vomiting, muscle tremors, seizures, foaming at the mouth, wobbly walk, etc. Basically, the ingredients in this, and most other flea treatments, is a combination of pesticides. One vet told an owner, by giving a monthly flea treatment such as this they are doing the equivalent of giving their dog a teaspoonful of Raid each month.

I am very angry right now. How can these products be on the market? How can PetSmart sell something like this to its customers? How can Sergeant's 'Pet Care' Products package this product without including a specific list of side effects that may occur? The only statement concerning the possible reaction is, "Sensitivities may occur after using.........If signs of sensitivity occur, bathe your dog with mild soap and rinse with large amounts of water." SENSITIVITIES? HELLO? COULD YOU BE A LITTLE MORE SPECIFIC?

After doing my research and giving Angel two baths, the first in her normal dog shampoo and the second in Dawn dishwashing liquid. We laid down for the last time. She was still very jumpy but I rubbed and petted her until she settled down and finally fell asleep. This was about 2 am. This morning she is tired, of course; but she is no longer licking. It appears that I got the stuff washed off of her soon enough. She is occasionally scratching herself, but from what I read this should subside today. I will just have Mamaw watch her for any other "sensitivities".

If you have a dog, or know someone that owns a dog, please pass this post to them. I feel like we were lucky, as scary as it was. Apparently it could have been a whole lot worse. I am thankful that we still have our little Angel this morning. Some people were not so fortunate.

Here are some links to top four results that I found in my Google search. This is scary stuff!

One
Two
Three
Four