PSA - Seresto flea and tick collars

04 March 2021, 06:18 PM

quote:
Rhonda Bomwell had never used a flea and tick collar before. Pierre, her 9-year-old Papillon service dog, was mostly an indoor animal.

Still, her veterinarian recommended she purchase one, so Bomwell went to the pet store near her home in Somerset, New Jersey, and selected Bayer’s Seresto collar.

A day later, on June 2, 2020, Pierre had a seizure, collapsing while Bomwell was making dinner. Lying on his back, the dog stopped breathing and his eyes rolled back.

Bomwell tried giving him CPR. Then she called the police. An officer helped her lift the dog into her car, and she rushed him to the hospital. Pierre died before he could receive medical treatment. Bomwell didn’t think to take off Pierre’s collar.

“I just didn’t put it together,” she said.

Bomwell isn’t alone. Seresto, one of the most popular flea and tick collars in the country, has been linked to hundreds of pet deaths, tens of thousands of injured animals and hundreds of harmed humans, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency documents show.

Yet the EPA has done nothing to inform the public of the risks.

https://www.usatoday.com/story...source=pocket-newtab

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We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home. - Australian Aboriginal proverb

Bazootiehead-in-training

04 March 2021, 07:19 PM

QuirtEvans

Ugh.

Both of my dogs are wearing Soresto collars.

They've used Bravecto before, but flea collars are more effective.

Now I've got to figure out what to do.

04 March 2021, 07:44 PM

Nina

Passed it on to a few of my friends. My daughter was told by her vet specifically to not use collars, but I don't know if it was for this reason. She has something she squirts onto her dog once a month, maybe a teaspoon-sized dose.

04 March 2021, 08:12 PM

wtg

I poked around for additional info. Found these, that might be helpful:

https://www.dailypaws.com/dogs...-veterinarian-advice

This one is worthy of markb. The author raises a lot of valid points.

https://skeptvet.com/Blog/2021...e-new-satanic-panic/

And it could also be that some collars are counterfeit:

https://www.pennlive.com/crime...ts-seized-in-pa.html

04 March 2021, 09:07 PM

AdagioM

quote:
Originally posted by Nina:
Passed it on to a few of my friends. My daughter was told by her vet specifically to not use collars, but I don't know if it was for this reason. She has something she squirts onto her dog once a month, maybe a teaspoon-sized dose.

I tried that squirt on the neck stuff once with our cat (Frontline?) and Calvin thought it was itchy, he “violently removed his hair” according to the vet. They’re indoor cats, we don’t need flea prevention. No more upsell on that one.

05 March 2021, 08:00 AM

Jack Frost

Dog gets Frontline. Vet tries to sell something more expensive but I haven’t bit. Cats are indoor only so they get nothing.

Jf

05 March 2021, 09:30 AM

QuirtEvans

Frontline has never done the job for us. Both dogs seem prone to bringing things into the house. I have to figure out what to use, if it isn't going to be Soresto.

05 March 2021, 10:42 AM

wtg

Really is a tough one. We never had flea or tick problems, so we never used any prevention products on our dogs.

I think the flea and tick prevention products, both oral and topical, are basically neurotoxins; that's how they kill the insects. Could be the case that some dogs are especially sensitive and they react. Kind of like the sheepdog breeds being sensitive to ivermectin (Heartguard). Millions of dogs take the product without issue, but for some breeds or individuals it can be a problem.

I also looked up an oral flea and tick prevention product, Simparica, and the website and the prescribing information mention possible neurological issues.

I don't have time right now to chase down the studies on flumethrin and imidacloprid, the two insecticides in Seresto.

If you've been using the collars for a while without issue, maybe you're OK just sticking with them. I'm sure your vet is inundated with calls, but obviously best to consult with her/him.