Hattie's Horrific Reaction to Spot On Treatment

[Charlie]

In April 2020 just after the first lockdown I applied Hattie & Charlie's spot on treatment. Within about an hour Hattie was pacing the floor became wobbly on her feet, started panting heavily, rapid heart rate, sensitive to touch. It was awful, so frightening, I really thought I was going to lose her. We called the vet and she agreed it sounded like a reaction to the spot on. I sat up all night watching her. I had to administer water via a syringe as she didn't have the strength to drink from her bowl, no eating and when she went out for a wee she collapsed and had to be carried inside. The vet was in contact with us every few hours and if there had been no improvement she wanted her admitted. Thankfully over a couple of days she started to pick up. It took her over 2 weeks for her to fully recover, her walks were short and built up over the following weeks. I have been using spot on her whole life, she is now 13 1/2 years old, so odd. Since then I have NOT applied spot on but the tick situation in rural Scotland is chronic. I was removing so many before they attached, the ones I missed I was removing at various stages of growth. The little buggers are hide to find in her curly coat, all of us were checking her all over every day. It was a nightmare and unfair on Hattie as she was trying to bite them off as they irritate. A fully engorged one dropped off her in to her bed and she was trying to get it out with her teeth. Awful.

The vet suggested a Seresto collar as it's a continuous slow release but I am terrified that any product might have the same reaction. Obviously in a few months it will be tick season again and I want to be prepared. I don't feel doing nothing is right either due to Lymes disease. Oh what to do. I am so worried about it.

Any advice gratefully received. xxx

 

[Shaz82]

That sounds awful, I have heard a lot of bad things about that type of treatment but then some dogs have reactions to different branded tablets too.

Maisy had that type of reaction (but not as bad) with Drontal plus, it was very worrying and took a day to wear off, the vet said it was common.
Not sure what to suggest, maybe a natural treatment of some kind?

 

[Cath]

So sorry Helen about Hattie. I hope she is over it now. I do use Seresto collars for Fred and Annie, because when we go to France there are loads of ticks. I put them on March and take them off Sept/ October, they only last 8 months. Fred and Annie have never had a problem, but I would be very careful if I was you. I think I would keep on doing what you are doing now. Check her everyday. Sorry I can't help more

PS. I have tried a natural treatment I got in France, but it didn't work. Fred still got a tick on his face. May be Fiona @snowbunny could help you.

 

[MellowYellow]

Oh god Helen this is exactly the same scenario I face with Poppy, who cannot tolerate any kind of tick treatment. I am afraid that she had seizures when we last used the Scalibor collar on her too, so although I use that on Merlin I now use nothing on Poppy and just continually check her over - although her short fur and light colouring makes this a lot easier than with Hattie.

The only things I can suggest are what others have suggested to me, none of which have worked successfully, such as smoothing coconut oil in her fur, or using natural plant-based repellents. The only thing that I have found that really works in keeping ticks at bay is to keep Poppy out of the undergrowth during high tick season, and just have her walk on the paths with me - i.e. keep her away from the ticks.

 

[Sophiedoodle]

Try going natural. I believe that “billy no mates” is good. You just add a little to their food everyday. Sorry Hattie had a bad reaction to the spot on x

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

That sounds horrible and what a dilemma for the next tick season.

I've never used spot ons except for as part of Carbon's heart worm treatment. Luckily he had no issues. I used Scalibor for years in Spain, not for ticks but for Leishmaniosis (though it did the job for both) and then Seresto when it came out for the same reason as the general consensus was that it was more effective against the sand fly that causes Leish.

Quite a few people in Germany seem to use those amber necklaces on their dogs in the summer. However those I've asked "Does that actually work", they usually just say, "Kind of". Admittedly a very small sample size, though, so maybe worth looking into.

The only thing that I have found that really works in keeping ticks at bay is to keep Poppy out of the undergrowth during high tick season, and just have her walk on the paths with me - i.e. keep her away from the ticks.

I try to do this too. Not a great hardship for me because I'm usually either at the beach or in town, so pretty easy to avoid high risk areas. Might be tougher in Scotland...

 

[MellowYellow]

Oh I have got one tip - try keeping her fur really short, and using a lint roller on her when you get home!! A friend of mine with a labradoodle does this and swears by it.

 

[MellowYellow]

And the amber necklaces do not work. Dont waste your money.

 

[Jacqui-S]

Sounds awful Helen.
So hard to know what to do, bit sounds like the risk of the treatment is now outweigjing the risk of Lymes.
What does your vet suggest?

 

[Charlie]

@MellowYellow I do keep her fairly short. I will look into the lint roller that does sound interesting. As we are so rural we really can't avoid the forest, undergrowth and really you only have to walk in our garden and there are tons of ticks, unavoidable xx

@Sophiedoodle Hattie can't have Billy No Mates due to her kidney disease, I checked with the company as I thought it could be a good option. Thanks for the suggestion. xx

@Jacqui-S My vet suggested a Seresto collar but I am very nervous about using it as it's still chemicals. xx

It's just so strange that she should have a reaction when I have used spot on products her whole life. Does old age play are part? maybe older dogs become less tolerant?

Thanks everyone xxx

 

[edzbird]

I don't have any suggestions, just . What a terrifying experience for you.

 

[snowbunny]

I empathise, but I have no real advice. Depending on the spot-on, you might try one with different active ingredients. Many use (from memory) permethrin as the repellant. I believe that Frontline Tri-Act uses something different to Advantix. I used Serestro last year and it was nowhere near as good as the Advantix, so I've gone back to that for this year. Most people think that the collar is OK because you can just remove it if the dog has an adverse reaction, but they work in a very similar way to the spot-ons: the medication is absorbed into the dog's blood stream through the skin, so it still takes a while to disperse once you take the collar off.
It's easy from here to suggest trying a different drug, but I'm not sure I would if it were my dog.

I do use a natural repellant spray, too, which is called Dyna-mite. It needs to be applied before every walk. We use it on ourselves, too. I don't know if it works or not (more likely not), but it smells quite nice

Another thought is that, for people the suggestion is to douse clothing in the repellant and wear that when out. Could you do something similar with Hattie? So it's not going into her bloodstream, just something she wears (even a light jacket or something) when you go out?

 

[Charlie]

Thanks @snowbunny those are my thoughts about the Seresto too. I will have a look at some natural sprays as that might have to be the way forward. I feel the same about giving Hattie an oral tablet too Bravecto etc, once it's in there's no going back if she has a reaction. It's a worry as ticks are rife here, worried they will get into the house at attach on us, worried about Lyme disease and the fact they irritate Hattie so much. It's awful. xxx

 

[Charlie]

Thinking about your suggestions for a natural tick repellent, I came across this website and product. Has anyone used this? Any thoughts please?

https://vitacanis.co.uk/product/tick-off-natural-repelling-spray-for-dogs/

xxx

 

[Sophiedoodle]

Oh i forgot that I often use Rose Geranium oil on Oreo. A couple drops on her neck and couple drops at the base of her tail, about once a week. I think it seems to work!
I just check Oreo all the time for ticks when I’m grooming her - they can be quite bad in the areas we walk at certain times of the year! I am sure Oreo’s coat is much finer and looser than Hattie’s is though, so much easier to look through xx

 

[Cath]

The Simple All-Natural Tick Repellent for Dogs {with Video!}

This simple, natural tick spray for dogs is surprisingly effective, allowing you to avoid the toxic chemicals found in typical repellents.

livingwellmom.com

 

[M.F.]

So sorry to read this. How frightening. It’s exactly why I don’t use any form of flea or tick or worm chemical preventatives on Snowie. He stopped having grand mal seizures as soon as I stopped all that stuff.

Even if you’d used it with no ill effects till now, it can cause liver damage over time. Have you had her liver enzymes tested?

Apparently cedar oil can kill ticks. I bought Wondercide (with cedar oil) from the US but I actually don’t even bother. We are lucky not to have a bad tick problem. I can manage the odd few I pick off in Spring. I’ve since heard Wondercide has changed their formula so I can’t vouch for it.

Perhaps you can use a shampoo that can kill the ticks? And wash it off quickly to prevent absorption.

Below is a post from a local Facebook group I belong to. I thought you might find it interesting, and possibly useful, although bear in mind it’s written for a Cape Town audience. The Cedarcide referred to is a similar product to Wondercide.

Dog ticks are opportunistic breeders and will lay their eggs anywhere, including your house. Not many natural repellents are effective against ticks, however neem seed oil does work to a certain extent - if you don't have an infestation that is. Dilute 10-20% in water and add liquid soap to emulsify. You can add peppermint essential oil for extra potency (no more than 1% of volume). Otherwise bathe your dogs and add 20-50% neem oil to their shampoo.
Neem oil does break down in water, so you need to discard unused solutions and make up new batches as needed.
You do need to break the cycle in your house and apply repellents for when your dogs go outside - 3-4 times a day. Natural repellents don't last very long.
I had an infestation of ticks in my bedroom of all places last year and was able to keep it under control (sort of) with neem oil and removing ticks daily (some times up to 10 ticks per dog), However, it wasn't until I used BioKill Extra GT (eco-friendly/green residual insecticide) and sprayed the walls and cornices that I eventually broke the cycle. The ticks would migrate to the ceiling after feeding at night and walk over the sprayed surface. At this time my Cedarcide order came in as well, and that together with BioKill sorted out my problem within 2 weeks.
It isn't completely natural, however it breaks down completely without being harmful to the environment (it is toxic to bees and aquatic life, so be careful where you spray outside). It does has a really minute amount of chemicals in it so I sprayed areas where the dogs didn't have contact with it.