# Someone please help me - Advantix II reaction



## Hawaiiantigerlily (Mar 25, 2011)

Hello, Everyone. I am new and a first time poster and scared to death. Yesterday morning, Monday, January 3rd, we applied Advantix II to our two Pit Bulls for the first time. Within two hours, I noticed my male, Aka, was walking strangely and his tail was crooked and trembling. He was also trying to bite at his tail and his back. Of course I panicked and immediately started further researching the medication and found hundreds of stories of pet owners having similar issues and even far more serious problems. We immediately threw him in the tub and scrubbed him down to try to remove all the medication we could and though our female, Emi, was not showing the same signs, she got the same. By the time she was finished being blown dry, she was showing the same previously mentioned signs.

A little more info, Aka is fawn, red nose, he's 18 months old and weighs approximately 45 pounds. Emi is blue, she's 15 months old and weighs approximately 50 pounds. They were extremely healthy prior to this treatment and even though we washed them again a second time (within 20 hours of the application), this time with Dawn dish washing soap, they are still exhibiting the same signs and even a little more frequently. They had never had any fleas or ticks, but my parents live a few streets away and their dog came down with a huge tick infestation so we wanted to take precautions.

I am KICKING myself for not researching this further prior to exposing my babies to this toxic substance, but I suppose I saw what I wanted to see in my original research and bought it wanting it to work the way it claims to. The fact remains that they have now been exposed and I do not know what to do.

I understand that Advantix does NOT affect all dogs this way (though through my searching it is HORRIFYING how many dogs HAVE been adversely affected), but am looking for anyone that can shed some light on any experience(s) with the same problems. I also understand that most vets will not believe and/or admit that the Advantix could have caused the symptoms and that there is no antidote or nothing they can do to counter the medication once it has been applied (besides multiple washings). I am monitoring them closely for any worsening symptoms and will take them to the vet/hospital immediately if they begin deteriorating further.

Sorry for the book, but here are my questions: Has anyone experienced this with Advantix or known anyone who has? Do you know how long the medication stayed on the dog(s) before it was washed off of them or if it was washed off at all? Do you know how long these symptoms may last? Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

Lastly, tonight I actually did find a tick on my boy. The first one ever. I removed it and cleaned the area with alcohol and then checked them both thoroughly for more and did not find any. My problem is, now not only are they NOT protected, but I am NOT putting any other chemicals on them. I am terrified to. But after finding a tick, I have no idea what to do. Please help me if you can.

Thank you in advance for your time.


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## pitbullmamanatl (Jun 1, 2010)

Ah, I am pro chemical but we'll just leave it at that. I haven't heard of anyone having this issue on here but I am going to send this link to the Bully Doc, a member here who is a veterinarian, and she might be able to give you some insight. She probably won't see this until tomorrow though. Where do you live? I wouldn't think to even look for ticks on my dogs in January, but I live in the South.


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## Hawaiiantigerlily (Mar 25, 2011)

Thank you so much for your response and for passing this along for another opinion. I am definitely not anti-chemical, I am just anti-chemical right now. They are skittish, irritable and sleeping a lot as well--all symptoms that many have also reported--so I would hate to give them something else that would give them even more problems, or worse, interact with the residual Advantix and become more dangerous.

I live in Sugar Land, Texas, and I, too, am surprised that there are ticks out right now. Though I'm not sure WHY I'm surprised since it was in the 30s last night and today's high will be in the 70s. Good grief, I guess there is no "tick season" here. As I mentioned, my parents dog came up with them but he's an Australian Shepherd and has an extremely thick coat.


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## pitbullmamanatl (Jun 1, 2010)

Hawaiiantigerlily said:


> Thank you so much for your response and for passing this along for another opinion. I am definitely not anti-chemical, I am just anti-chemical right now. They are skittish, irritable and sleeping a lot as well--all symptoms that many have also reported--so I would hate to give them something else that would give them even more problems, or worse, interact with the residual Advantix and become more dangerous.
> 
> I live in Sugar Land, Texas, and I, too, am surprised that there are ticks out right now. Though I'm not sure WHY I'm surprised since it was in the 30s last night and today's high will be in the 70s. Good grief, I guess there is no "tick season" here. As I mentioned, my parents dog came up with them but he's an Australian Shepherd and has an extremely thick coat.


The weather has been hella crazy so they very well could be out since it has been so warm. I sent Bully Doc this link so hopefully she will have a chance to look at it. If anything I will call her in the morning and just see what she says about the reaction and if it is normal etc etc. Don't freak out too much  For now the best thing to do is check them for ticks often if they go outside until you have an alternative. Here is a good thread about tick prevention and treating ticks.

*http://www.gopitbull.com/health-nutrition/39456-best-tick-prevention.html*


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## BullyDoc (Jun 11, 2011)

Sorry I am late, lol. Any flea/tick medication with pyrethrin in it can cause this reaction. Cats are especially prone, but dogs (obviously) can be affected as well. Unless you get it off within the first few hours, the medication is already in the system. As long as your dogs are not seizing or falling over, you can just wait it out. The effects aren't permanent! It just has to work its way out of the system, like any drug. But in the future, I wouldn't use any products with permethrin or pyrethrin on your two. Where did you purchase it, if you don't mind me asking?


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## Hawaiiantigerlily (Mar 25, 2011)

Oh thank goodness and thank you both for your responses. I am watching them closely for any signs of seizures. Thankfully, I haven't seen any. As for where I purchased the Advantix, it was at a Petsmart here in Sugar Land, Texas. Thank you so much for the input and I will definitely stay away from those two ingredients.


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## ames (Jun 6, 2010)

We had only 1 frost in my area (I live in Massachusetts) and apparently the little buggers are still alive cause I got a tick on myself when walking in the woods last week. I asked a few people on facebook and they said they are finding them still as well. I guess temps need to stay steady below freezing for at least two weeks in order to kill ticks. Blew my mind, our weather has been so crazy the last few months, never more than a day or 2 of cold which rocks, except for bugs. 

I also know my vet spoke to me about oral medicine for ticks, you might want to talk to your vet about alternatives too. They maybe able to offer alternative suggestions as well. Good luck and welcome!


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

Like bully doc said it is already in the system and I have seen reactions like this and they can get bad. Many of these are oil based to spread on the dogs body over time and washing the dogs down with dawn dish soap removed the rest of the product from the dogs but like she said it is already in the system but at least you can try and get it out of the coat. Don't do this more than once, maybe twice or you will really dry out the skin. Sorry your dogs had this type of reaction and I am soooo happy we do not have fleas in my part of the country. Now ticks we have a ton of and I'm next door in New Mexico. One year we had ticks so bad they were crawling around outside in swarms but I have not seen them that bad in several years. I have about 17 dogs that live outside during the day and in the dog room in crates at night. I never treat for ticks unless I pull more than a few off every day, then I will treat my yard, then the dogs if I absolutely have to. If you only found a tick or two on your dog DO NOT TREAT just pull them off. It is not worth having reactions like this. On the other hand you run the risk of a tick borne disease but even with meds you could still have a tick latch on. Again if you only have a few it is not worth treating IMO. Especially if your dogs spend the majority of the time indoors. If you do not treat for ticks it is worth knowing what tick diseases are in your area by asking your vet and know the symptoms. By the off chance your dog gets one knowing what it could be and early treatment should leave your dogs relatively safe. 

As far as natural cures for ticks or fleas, I have found none that work or are worth it. Unless Bullydoc can recommend one I normally find if I have to treat I start with the yard first then dogs if I have to. I also never liked the drops on the back treatments, when I was a vet tech we would see reactions all the time from different brands.


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## Hawaiiantigerlily (Mar 25, 2011)

performanceknls said:


> Like bully doc said it is already in the system and I have seen reactions like this and they can get bad. Many of these are oil based to spread on the dogs body over time and washing the dogs down with dawn dish soap removed the rest of the product from the dogs but like she said it is already in the system but at least you can try and get it out of the coat. Don't do this more than once, maybe twice or you will really dry out the skin. Sorry your dogs had this type of reaction and I am soooo happy we do not have fleas in my part of the country. Now ticks we have a ton of and I'm next door in New Mexico. One year we had ticks so bad they were crawling around outside in swarms but I have not seen them that bad in several years. I have about 17 dogs that live outside during the day and in the dog room in crates at night. I never treat for ticks unless I pull more than a few off every day, then I will treat my yard, then the dogs if I absolutely have to. If you only found a tick or two on your dog DO NOT TREAT just pull them off. It is not worth having reactions like this. On the other hand you run the risk of a tick borne disease but even with meds you could still have a tick latch on. Again if you only have a few it is not worth treating IMO. Especially if your dogs spend the majority of the time indoors. If you do not treat for ticks it is worth knowing what tick diseases are in your area by asking your vet and know the symptoms. By the off chance your dog gets one knowing what it could be and early treatment should leave your dogs relatively safe.
> 
> As far as natural cures for ticks or fleas, I have found none that work or are worth it. Unless Bullydoc can recommend one I normally find if I have to treat I start with the yard first then dogs if I have to. I also never liked the drops on the back treatments, when I was a vet tech we would see reactions all the time from different brands.


If you don't mind my asking, what do you recommend to treat the yard? Not sure if I will need that just yet, but would like to be prepared.


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## Hawaiiantigerlily (Mar 25, 2011)

ames said:


> We had only 1 frost in my area (I live in Massachusetts) and apparently the little buggers are still alive cause I got a tick on myself when walking in the woods last week. I asked a few people on facebook and they said they are finding them still as well. I guess temps need to stay steady below freezing for at least two weeks in order to kill ticks. Blew my mind, our weather has been so crazy the last few months, never more than a day or 2 of cold which rocks, except for bugs.
> 
> I also know my vet spoke to me about oral medicine for ticks, you might want to talk to your vet about alternatives too. They maybe able to offer alternative suggestions as well. Good luck and welcome!


Thank you! Well, I just bought my first house and I have only been here since October so I have no idea what to expect. What I do know is that we will never get below freezing here long enough to kill them off so I need to be prepared. I will definitely be looking into the alternatives. All of the Advantix was washed off within 2-20 hours and here we are 4 days later and they are still having problems. I was hoping I got it off quick enough that we wouldn't have to wait the whole 30 days, but at least they're not seizing (thank goodness).


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

Well it's probably oil based and just a bath will not remove all the product and why bathing in dawn dish soap removes the oil from the coat.

Oral meds really only treat heartworms not really a preventative and again you are dumping more meds into your dog. I would just treat the yard.

Again if you get a tick or two or even once a week no need to really treat to yard for the dog. If you need to treat the yard there are several good products and I just can't remember what the one is I use. I get it at the feed store for tick control, you spray the yard and trees and keeps they out for a while. You can go to any feed store or probably even a garden store and get something that you can spray. Just remember to keep the dogs out of yard till it dries. It will be a spray that you hook to your hose to get a large area.


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