Pet owners please read! Hartz products can kill?

[Punisher84]

Had a bit of a crazy weekend. Bought a new puppy, puppy got a few fleas on her. Bathed her, removed them with a comb,etc. She's only 9 weeks so of course we didn't get any drops for her, but worried about my 5 year old dachshund I got him some Hartz Ultra Guard from Kroger. I decided to research their effectiveness when I came across this...

HartzVictims.org - One More Victim is One Too Many

I read over it and decided to be cautious and scrubbed the hell out of him twice with dog shampoo to remove the drops. Luckily they had only been on him about an hour and hadn't even settled in.

It scared the living hell out of me, because like alot of folks, my pets are family. Gonna keep a close eye on him and make sure he does OK tomorrow, if not I'm gonna take him to the vet.

I just wanted to pass this on to kinda let everyone make their own decisions on it. I'll be sticking with vet products only from now on though.

[gsbell]

I've seen those warnings before, I'm not sure if the products from the VET are any safer but that is what we use.

[nolo]

My dog almost died from one dose of Hartz flea and tick. The emergency vet bill was about $500. So now I pay extra for the good stuff. There is one chemical that Hartz uses that makes them cheaper and less safe than vet products.

You would have probably seen a reaction earlier if it were going to occur. My dog's reaction was within 4 hours.

[Guest bkelm18]

Hmm. Interesting. Don't know if my parents use Hartz on the cats but I will pass it along.

[Guest dlstewart01]

Don't know if I go along with all of that. With all the wal-marts, drug stores and even pet stores selling hartz and sargents, there are probably millions of doses used each year. If it was that bad this would be all over the news.

You are not supposed to give young puppys and kittens this medication. Says so on the label. I have several cats and dogs. I have used this many times in the past with out issues, although I now get advantage from the Internet. Also you are not supposed to use the prescription stuff on the little ones either.....

On very small kittens I use a Vet flea spray on a wash rag and wrap the kittens in it for not more than three or four minutes at a time. Vet instructions.

Only in the USA do you have to go to the Vet to get prescription flea and worm medication. Every other country sells it over the counter. Good lobby I guess.

Edited December 1, 2009 by dlstewart01

[Guest tnpanscraper]

I used to own a pet store. Hartz is , period... Talk to your vet about flea management. As far as food goes, Natural Balance,IMO is the best on the market. It is more expensive but will save you money in the long run. There are no fats or fillers. They don't burn it off near as fast as the cheaper brands. In turn they eat less. just in case you wanted to know...

[poak]

Holy shiz!

I've never used any of the Hartz stuff, but I'm glad to know this.

To add to the thread, I've read that pet owners should avoid using Swiffer products, as the cleaning chemical has trace amounts of anti-freeze in it that can be absorbed through a pets paw pads, or even just liked off the floor or their pads (even after the chemical has dried) and has actually killed some people's pets.

[Guest bkelm18]

Only in the USA do you have to go to the Vet to get prescription flea and worm medication. Every other country sells it over the counter. Good lobby I guess.

You have to go to the vet to get "Prescription" anything. Otherwise is wouldn't be called "Prescription".

[poak]

I used to own a pet store. Hartz is , period... Talk to your vet about flea management. As far as food goes, Natural Balance,IMO is the best on the market. It is more expensive but will save you money in the long run. There are no fats or fillers. They don't burn it off near as fast as the cheaper brands. In turn they eat less. just in case you wanted to know...

My hellions eat Science Diet. What are your thoughts on it?

[Guest dlstewart01]

You have to go to the vet to get "Prescription" anything. Otherwise is wouldn't be called "Prescription".

All the other countries sell the same (prescription) brands over the counter.

[poak]

Only in the USA do you have to go to the Vet to get prescription flea and worm medication. Every other country sells it over the counter. Good lobby I guess.

You can order it online w/o a "prescription".

[Guest tnpanscraper]

My hellions eat Science Diet. What are your thoughts on it?

Science diet is pretty good food. It's a step above food like Purina One, etc... It does have a corn base. It's ok if your dogs are not allergic to corn. Corn is a filler. Science Diet's claim to fame is the "prescription" line.

IMHO, right now, Natural balance is the best on the market. And NO, I'm not a shareholder in NB...lol...

[Guest bkelm18]

All the other countries sell the same (prescription) brands over the counter.

Yes I know what you meant. I was just saying you need a prescription to get prescription drugs regardless.

[Guest tnpanscraper]

Yes I know what you meant. I was just saying you need a prescription to get prescription drugs regardless.

To protect us from ourselves...

[caliperman]

I have always used Frontline on my 10 year old Dachshund, without any problems. Like you say, pets are family,and we have to take care of them.

[Chucktshoes]

My wife and I feed our two senior pugs Natural Balance. Pugs are prone to allergy issues and we have never had a problem with it unlike some others we have tried. We used some of the Hills Science Diet prescription line at the insistence of our vet when our girls were having some UTI issues and discovered they were violently allergic to it. I highly recommend doing your own research on the ingredients of the pet foods you use and not to exclusively rely on your vets recommendations. Most nutrition courses in vet schools are underwritten by the major food manufacturers and they spend lots of money to push foods on vets much like the drug industry does with people doctors.

To second tnpanscraper, corn is a filler product and wholly unnecessary (and possibly harmful) in pet foods.

[Guest tnpanscraper]

I have a Bichon Frise who is allergic to everything... I also have a huge great dane. They eat the same food...No issues.

Frontline is pretty good stuff... I've used it for years...

[Guest db99wj]

My wife and I feed our two senior pugs Natural Balance. Pugs are prone to allergy issues and we have never had a problem with it unlike some others we have tried. We used some of the Hills Science Diet prescription line at the insistence of our vet when our girls were having some UTI issues and discovered they were violently allergic to it. I highly recommend doing your own research on the ingredients of the pet foods you use and not to exclusively rely on your vets recommendations. Most nutrition courses in vet schools are underwritten by the major food manufacturers and they spend lots of money to push foods on vets much like the drug industry does with people doctors.

To second tnpanscraper, corn is a filler product and wholly unnecessary (and possibly harmful) in pet foods.

Our dog is allergic to corn, chews his paws, and legs. If you look at the ingredients, corn doesn't need to be in the top 5, if it is, the food is crap, no matter the expense.

[Guest tnpanscraper]

Our dog is allergic to corn, chews his paws, and legs. If you look at the ingredients, corn doesn't need to be in the top 5, if it is, the food is crap, no matter the expense.

TRUE...

[Punisher84]

Don't know if I go along with all of that. With all the wal-marts, drug stores and even pet stores selling hartz and sargents, there are probably millions of doses used each year. If it was that bad this would be all over the news.

You are not supposed to give young puppys and kittens this medication. Says so on the label. I have several cats and dogs. I have used this many times in the past with out issues, although I now get advantage from the Internet. Also you are not supposed to use the prescription stuff on the little ones either.....

On very small kittens I use a Vet flea spray on a wash rag and wrap the kittens in it for not more than three or four minutes at a time. Vet instructions.

Only in the USA do you have to go to the Vet to get prescription flea and worm medication. Every other country sells it over the counter. Good lobby I guess.

If you dig into it there have been several news stories and newspaper articles on it. Granted, I'm sure there are situations where somebody blamed the product and it wasn't actually at fault, but still I'm not taking the chance. I'd rather go with a vet recommended product like Frontline or something.