Certifect and Amatraz toxicity

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Georgia Boy
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Certifect and Amatraz toxicity

Post by Georgia Boy » Wed Jul 11, 2012 4:29 pm

Just wanted to make sure everyone is aware of the serious complications and even death that this product is causing in some dogs. I just had a friend that almost lost his dog to this after trying the product on his vets recommendation. After treating the dog and doing some research his vet told him that working dog seemed to be more susceptible for some reason.
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Cajun Casey
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Re: Certifect and Amatraz toxicity

Post by Cajun Casey » Wed Jul 11, 2012 7:32 pm

I've not heard that, but we've not sold much, if any, Certifect. I will say I've used Amatraz collars for years and have only had one issue and that one recently. One of my girls got debris under her tick collar and got a raw neck that was a little more aggravated than I would have expected. It cleared right up, though.
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nj gsp
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Re: Certifect and Amatraz toxicity

Post by nj gsp » Wed Jul 11, 2012 7:39 pm

We switched to Certifect, but have been working through old Frontline Plus we had. Two of our dogs had a very bad reaction at the application site after the second month of treatment with Certifect. It was like a chemical burn - a reddish brown crust formed with heavy scabbing and hair loss. Our vet is contacting the manufacturer. I want our money back. We will probably switch all our dogs to Advantix now.

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dog dr
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Re: Certifect and Amatraz toxicity

Post by dog dr » Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:07 am

no problems with it here so far. everybody has been very happy with it. what happened with your freinds dog, georgia boy??

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Re: Certifect and Amatraz toxicity

Post by mcbosco » Thu Jul 12, 2012 11:17 am

I am happy with Advantix II but it does concern me how effective the stuff is.

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Re: Certifect and Amatraz toxicity

Post by Georgia Boy » Thu Jul 12, 2012 4:08 pm

dog dr wrote:no problems with it here so far. everybody has been very happy with it. what happened with your freinds dog, georgia boy??
It was very serious and began a few hours after application. Drooling, vomiting and loss of coordination, then the ability to move at all after a seizure like episode. He rattled off a whole list of tests and treatments including but not limited to the usual X-rays and lab work to determine what was wrong. They finally figured out what was wrong after a conference call with some other vets and he required IVs, transfusions, two doses of antidote and I think he said a "chemical" enema? He said it shut down his intestinal tract and he was going septic on top of being poisoned by the product. I don't know the percentage of dogs showing a serious reaction but if you research it yourself you will see it is happening. Merial is paying the $1000.00 vet bill in my friends case. I would be interested to hear what you find if you look into it.
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Re: Certifect and Amatraz toxicity

Post by Cajun Casey » Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:06 pm

All that you described would be associated with amatraz more than fipronil. It's a fairly hardcore chemical. Hope things work out for him.
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nj gsp
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Re: Certifect and Amatraz toxicity

Post by nj gsp » Thu Jul 12, 2012 8:17 pm

I was just reading that herding dogs are genetically sensitive to Amitraz, and may result in the systems described in extreme cases. What breed of dog was it Georgia boy? In our case, it was a Lurcher and a GSP. Lurchers are sighthound/herding dog crosses and the one we have that reacted is 12% Border collie. But regardless, the unused doses of Certifect we have are getting returned.

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Re: Certifect and Amatraz toxicity

Post by Georgia Boy » Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:47 pm

nj gsp wrote:I was just reading that herding dogs are genetically sensitive to Amitraz, and may result in the systems described in extreme cases. What breed of dog was it Georgia boy? In our case, it was a Lurcher and a GSP. Lurchers are sighthound/herding dog crosses and the one we have that reacted is 12% Border collie. But regardless, the unused doses of Certifect we have are getting returned.
The dog was a DD but it has happened with many different breeds.
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Re: Certifect and Amatraz toxicity

Post by nj gsp » Fri Jul 13, 2012 4:14 pm

I stopped by our vet this evening and they said 80% of their customers reported problems, either lethargy or skin problems. They said the tech support person at Merial said "these are possible side effected listed on the box". But 80%? Out vet is returning all of their stocks of Certifect and will no longer sell it.

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Re: Certifect and Amatraz toxicity

Post by dog dr » Sat Jul 14, 2012 7:25 am

nj gsp wrote:I stopped by our vet this evening and they said 80% of their customers reported problems, either lethargy or skin problems. They said the tech support person at Merial said "these are possible side effected listed on the box". But 80%? Out vet is returning all of their stocks of Certifect and will no longer sell it.
Wow!! 80%?! they do realize its a topical medication, not oral, right? :wink: we truthfully have had zero problems that i know about, unless the vet techs handled it and nobody told me. every dog is different though, and some are more sensitive to things than others.

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Re: Certifect and Amatraz toxicity

Post by nj gsp » Sat Jul 14, 2012 7:43 am

We only had a problem after the second dose. Our vet said that was consistent with all the complaints. The negative reaction occurred after the second monthly treatment. They said it was surprising to them because Frontline has been in use for a long time and has proven to be safe, and Certifect is just Frontline with a small amount of Amitraz. Amitraz is used in much higher amounts in the Preventic collar (I think that was the one) and they had never had any reported issues with the collars either.

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Re: Certifect and Amatraz toxicity

Post by ezzy333 » Sat Jul 14, 2012 8:32 am

nj gsp wrote:We only had a problem after the second dose. Our vet said that was consistent with all the complaints. The negative reaction occurred after the second monthly treatment. They said it was surprising to them because Frontline has been in use for a long time and has proven to be safe, and Certifect is just Frontline with a small amount of Amitraz. Amitraz is used in much higher amounts in the Preventic collar (I think that was the one) and they had never had any reported issues with the collars either.
Sounds like they may have some other issue other than the Certifect & Amitraz. Problems just don't work that way with a product, where one location has all sorts of problems and another has no problems. Makes you wonder what is going on.

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Re: Certifect and Amatraz toxicity

Post by Cajun Casey » Sat Jul 14, 2012 8:49 am

The problem is using amitraz as a spot on. All the pre-launch on the product was full of cautions about properly applying it. Amitraz is not the same category chemical as fipronil.
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Re: Certifect and Amatraz toxicity

Post by Georgia Boy » Sat Jul 14, 2012 4:54 pm

Cajun Casey wrote:The problem is using amitraz as a spot on. All the pre-launch on the product was full of cautions about properly applying it. Amitraz is not the same category chemical as fipronil.
Exactly! I talked with my vet today and he said they have decided not to even try it, they have had problems with other Amitraz products.
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Re: Certifect and Amatraz toxicity

Post by Cajun Casey » Sat Jul 14, 2012 5:24 pm

Georgia Boy wrote:
Cajun Casey wrote:The problem is using amitraz as a spot on. All the pre-launch on the product was full of cautions about properly applying it. Amitraz is not the same category chemical as fipronil.
Exactly! I talked with my vet today and he said they have decided not to even try it, they have had problems with other Amitraz products.
That would be Promeris. You would think they'd learn.....
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Re: Certifect and Amatraz toxicity

Post by mcbosco » Sat Jul 14, 2012 5:31 pm

Unless my experience with Advantix II is a fluke, not sure why Amitraz is needed even in a collar.

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