# Dog licked off flea medication. Is it safe?



## lreed89 (Jan 30, 2014)

Daisy has been on Vectra 3D monthly for six months. I put it on her today as directed (from her butt up to the back of her neck). We found her a few minutes later reaching her head back to lick it off her back.

Should I worry?


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## NicoleIsStoked (Aug 31, 2012)

Yes you should worry. While I'm not familiar with that particular medication, most flea preventitivesnare highly toxic when ingested. After all, they are insecticides. If I'm not mistaken they Gould be applied above the tail and on the back of the neck. Not all the way up the back.


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## Damon'sMom (Aug 2, 2011)

Call you vet. Better safe than sorry.

I use the same product and we sell tons of it at my clinic. I hate the instructions on it however. We tell people to start between the ears and to go no lower than between around the shoulder blades. That way they can't get to it. I do multiply little spots on the skin in that area rather than one streak too. Never had any problems when I do it this way.


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## lreed89 (Jan 30, 2014)

NicoleIsStoked said:


> Yes you should worry. While I'm not familiar with that particular medication, most flea preventitivesnare highly toxic when ingested. After all, they are insecticides. If I'm not mistaken they Gould be applied above the tail and on the back of the neck. Not all the way up the back.


I wouldn't have applied it like that if the instructions didn't say to. That's exactly how it's meant to be applied. I ended up Googling it and found that Vectra, when licked while wet, is not fatal to dogs but may cause foaming at the mouth or minor GI upset. It's been six hours and she's fine.


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## lreed89 (Jan 30, 2014)

Another update: It's now been nearly 12 hours since she licked the medication and she's fine. No foaming, no vomiting, no diarrhea. I was also worried because we were trying to separate her from the cat (because the medication is toxic to cats, of course), but they managed to play for a few seconds before we could separate them. However, the cat is fine as well.

It seems pretty stupid to me that they'd manufacture topical medication to put on an animal that could potentially kill it or make it sick. Animals lick themselves! And I certainly can't stop her from doing it for 6 hours while the medication dries.


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## Benjismom (May 19, 2013)

That is exactly how the instructions tell you to put it on so you did it correctly. There is even a video. I used it once on my dog in conjunction with Comfortis. I was instructed to do so by the vet as Comfortis has no tick protection. My dog kept laying on his back and rubbing it off. It seemed to bother his sensitive skin. (a Bichon) I am looking right now for something else I did not use it again I am not sure about the Comfortis. It is a powerful pill for a dog. I am fearful of side effects which can develop after they have taken it not just an immediate reaction. I am looking for something less invasive for my dog. I don't see how these strong chemicals can be good for my dog.


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## lreed89 (Jan 30, 2014)

Benjismom said:


> That is exactly how the instructions tell you to put it on so you did it correctly. There is even a video. I used it once on my dog in conjunction with Comfortis. I was instructed to do so by the vet as Comfortis has no tick protection. My dog kept laying on his back and rubbing it off. It seemed to bother his sensitive skin. (a Bichon) I am looking right now for something else I did not use it again I am not sure about the Comfortis. It is a powerful pill for a dog. I am fearful of side effects which can develop after they have taken it not just an immediate reaction. I am looking for something less invasive for my dog. I don't see how these strong chemicals can be good for my dog.


When I was looking up whether the Vectra would hurt her, I found an alarming amount of people saying that their dogs had horrible reactions to this medication. I'm glad that hasn't been the case with Daisy. I even saw claims that people's dogs started having seizures after the Vectra was applied. Yikes!

We use the Vectra 3D for fleas and ticks and Sentinel for heartworm prevention. I'd like to get an oral medication that covers all three, but our vet didn't know of anything like that she felt comfortable recommending. It would be nice if there was something we could give her that was safe for her, but also safe for the cat. Worrying that my dog's flea medications will kill my cat makes me wonder how good that medication is for the dog in the first place.


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## Benjismom (May 19, 2013)

Yes I know well look up Comfortis if you think Vectra reviews were bad, and the Vet had me use them both on my dog in conjuction with each other--he is an 18 pound Bichon a little guy not even a huge dog!! I am now currently reading about Brewers Yeast as a flea control. I would so love to find something natural, holistic that works rather than give him such strong chemicals. I am fearful they could give him cancer. I mean how good would be that he has no fleas but now he has cancer of the liver, or whatever due to the flea meds??? What sense is there to that? It is always a dilemma for me and with your cats as well it becomes more complicated.


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## Fade (Feb 24, 2012)

I actually had a meeting with Ceva the makers of Vectra 3d when we decided to sell their product. So directly from the horses mouth . this is what they told our staff and told us to inform the people who buy it who ask this question.

They said it is extremely non-toxic. in fact they said the smallest dog could ingest as many of the large doses as it could eat with very little side effects.

I see many dogs have reactions to flea medications. I have found this with all different brands using different chemicals. The one I have found that does not have as many bad reactions it the Seresto flea collar mostly because if they do have a bad reaction you can just take it off problem solved. The topical stuff absorbs quickly and you cant stop the reaction once its starts. My dog is allergic to all the topical medications Ive tried to far on him. HORRIBLE reactions.lost his most his fur for 3 months. was on all sorts of medications to reverse the reaction. So I stopped applying topical to him. I use the ovitrol spray if he has a issue which kills on contact then he gets a bath. have had no issues.


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## Benjismom (May 19, 2013)

What is interesting is "back in the day" when I was a kid growing up with our family dog, flea collars were all we had available as I recall. I do not remember our dog ever having fleas or a problem with it and I am from a warm weather climate. They must have worked back then--just fine. I am thinking of getting that Seresto flea collar. When we put Vectra on our dog, we just gave him a bath after serveral days after application. The Vectra seemed to be irritating his skin. Rolling on his backside and rubbing himself constantly.


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