Fleas have been awful this year. It's as though they're hiding in the grass waiting for the first available dog to come along. I've bathed Sadie and dusted her, only to find fleas on her again the next day. So I decided to get some of that stuff that you apply on the dog from neck to mid-back. Out of several brands displayed, I chose Sergeant's Gold.
When I first applied the stuff on Saturday, Sadie acted as if it were irritating her, but I've seen that reaction before, and figured it was temporary. I ignored the warning voice in my head reminding me that my daughter's dog had a reaction to over-the-counter flea pesticide recently.
Yesterday (Sunday) I noticed Sadie was drooling a bit, and panting constantly. I googled "dog drooling" on the Internet and came up with toad-licking or mole poison. Sadie hadn't been outside to play with any toads, and she hasn't run away lately to get into mole poison.
Her appetite seemed good, so Cliff and I went on our ride. When we got home, my dog seemed more like herself, except that she kept trying to scratch the back of her neck, and repeatedly shaking herself. By this time we knew it must be the pesticide on her neck causing the problem, but since she didn't seem to be sick or drooling any more, I thought the side-effects might wear off (I know, shoot me for an idiot). I really wanted rid of the fleas.
Today I googled "Sergeant's Gold" and found more complaints against the stuff than I could count. Several dogs lost control of their legs temporarily, and some were taken to a vet to have their stomachs pumped!
Sadie has now had a bath, along with my sincerest apologies. I'm glad dogs are forgiving creatures.
I'll pay the higher price and get my flea stuff from the vet from now on.
Maybe this entry will save someone else's pet some misery.
