Pesticides & Preventatives Poisoning Pets?
Written by Jan on January 8, 2009 – 3:14 pm
As most of you know, I have for years been sounding the warning siren about the slow poisoning of dogs from pesticides, co-called “preventatives” and other toxic chemicals. If your e-mails are any indication, many of you are listening. But many of you aren’t. Veterinary waiting rooms continue to be filled with accidentally poisoned pets. Some of these pets don’t survive.
Okay, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: 46% of dogs and 39% of cats dying of disease will die of cancer. Pesticides are proven to increase your dog’s (or cats) chance of getting cancer. A University of Pennsylvania vet school study showed topical insecticides (aka preventatives) “significantly increased” bladder cancer risk, especially in overweight dogs. Other studies have shown cancer risks from herbicides. Some products meant for pets can even increase the chance you and your children will become ill.
Snail, ant and rodent baits may also prove deadly, sometimes killing quickly, sometimes slowly. Don’t think it can’t happen to your pet. In the “poison free” yard of my favorite pet safety advocate (me!), both of my dogs were exposed to rat poison. I immediately induced vomiting, got advice from ASPCA‘s Poison Control Center, took them to the emergency room visit followed by weeks of Vitamin K supplementation yet my dog Jiggy’s liver enzymes rose off the charts. Now, nine months later, an incompetent exterminator has lost his job and Jiggy still shows impaired liver function. Jiggy’s vet bills top $3000 with no end in sight.
Even when we don’t realize it, pesticides, insecticides, herbicides and other poisons assault our dogs’ bodies in countless ways:
- We purposefully apply insecticides to kill fleas and ticks. Surely, none of us would rub poison between our children’s shoulder blades, or bathe them in poisons, but when it comes to pets, we trustingly accept the “wisdom” of advertisers and flea-and-tick product vendors. You can check out your Flea and Tick products for safety at Green Paws. Don’t forget to check all the products your groomer or kennel owner uses, too, and have them send for a Green Paws Action Kit. And remember, even if a product is labeled “natural” or listed as “safe,” it may still be harmful to your pet’s long-term health. In 2008, ASPCA toxicologists reported more than 31,000 calls related to insecticides, often because of misuse of flea and tick products. If you use one of these products–particularly products from Hartz, Sergeant’s, Farnam, and Bayer–please read Pesticides in Pet Products: Why Your Dog or Cat May Be at Risk I hope you’ll also watch this CBS video sent to me by one of the people featured; she lost her dog Lincoln to flea and tick medication. Here are two related links from the Environmental Protection Agency: Increased Scrutiny of Flea and Tick Control Products for Pets and Listing of EPA-registered Spot-on Flea and Tick Products.
- We administer insecticides orally to kill heartworms, even when sustained cool temps make contracting heartworms all but impossible (according to the University of Pennsylvania and other experts). Yet, advertisers tell us to buy these products year round. It’s about money, honey.
- Pets unknowingly auto-apply pesticides, herbicides, and other toxins during walks with you. Even if your own yard is free of toxic chemicals, romps on golf courses, common areas and dog parks, with their unknown pesticide and herbicide products and treatment schedules, can prove deadly. Whatever gets on your pet’s feet is licked into their bodies, assaulting livers and increasing carcinogenic loads.
- Pets eat hidden pesticides in their food, especially corn-laden grocery store kibble. Corn deemed unfit for human consumption—sometimes because of excessive pesticide contamination—often ends up in pet food. Pet food expert Dr. Jean Hofve tells me there is no upper limit for pesticide contamination.
- Pets get into rodent, ant and snail poison even when you are careful. Some of these products (like rat poison) cause a slow death by internal bleeding and you may not recognize symptoms until it’s too late. Just a tiny amount of some products (like snail bait) can kill fast. (Read this to learn about snail bait poisoning.) My dogs’ poisoning came in an usual way: from rat bait locked inside a safe-looking bait box; a raccoon trying to get at the bait banged the box on the ground and my dogs found the scattered bait. Note: it’s not enough to use safe products in your yard. Ask your neighbors to as well.)
- Pets (and hunting birds, coyotes, etc.) eat poisoned animals (rats, groundhogs, etc.) and are poisoned themselves. This happens more than you might suspect.
So here’s what to do to keep your pet safe from poison. First, check all products for child safety. If they’re not safe for kids, they’re not safe for dogs and cats. Second, wash your pet’s feet after walking on any suspect area. At least, wipe paws with a damp cloth. Clean paws, too, after walks on grimy chemically-laden streets and salted roads. If you wouldn’t lick a surface, don’t let your animal lick the grime off his paws. It just takes but a moment to wash up, and could save you countless tears, wasted days and thousands of dollars at the vet’s office.
Find a wealth of additional information in an article called Pesticides and Pets. I hope you’ll print it and read it. No, don’t just read it. Study it.
The EPA has a flea and tick fact sheet and The National Pesticide Information Center has a tips sheet.
You can report a problem with pesticides, drugs or foods at this excellent new AVMA reporting page. Also fill out the form at Beyond Pesticides.
Finally, those of you who have my book, Scared Poopless: The Straight Scoop on Dog Care, please reread the chapter “Stop Pest-ering Me” to learn natural ways to protect your dogs from pests. If your pet has been exposed to any poison, immediately contact your veterinarian or the ASPCA Poison Control Center’s 24-hour hotline at (888) 426-4435.
You can also find the links mentioned here on my Links page. Want to know the truth about Heartworms? Click my heartworm link to find 3 in-depth articles. And please bookmark this blog post so others can find it. And here’s another article from my friends Drs. Kim Bloomer and Jeannie Thomason: Battling Fleas, Ticks, & Mosquitoes: Pet Health Care or Billion Dollar Pet Industry?
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Posted under Cancer, Flea and Tick Meds, Pet Meds, Uncategorized | 20 Comments » Email This Post
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January 9th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Good article, but realize that more pets are dying of cancer because they are living longer, the same with people.
In the past people would die of heart disease, not cancer, no one lived long enough for that.
February 4th, 2009 at 10:01 am
The problem isn’t that pets aren’t living longer so that cancer is evitable. It’s that dogs are getting cancer at a much younger age than they did in days gone by. This is what is alarming so many vets.
March 16th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Hello,
I have a cardigan welsh corgi, he’s 9 mts old I have heard that heartgard can cause kidney problems in herding breeds. I lost my last dog to kidney desease and she was only 8 yrs old. I feel so guilty because I listened to everything the vet told me she shuold have as far as shots and frontline and heartgard.do you have any info on this product and herding breeds. right now I’m NOT giving ” Rocco” any of these products.
sincerely’
Tammy
May 6th, 2009 at 8:37 am
What can I do to get rid of dandelions safely?
We have three (3) little dogs.
May 12th, 2009 at 8:21 am
this is very informative and useful article for me. This post is very useful for me. This would help me to tell some important caution about cancer.
thanks
yogi
May 13th, 2009 at 7:10 am
[...] Part 2 of this article will explore who should consider giving meds year round, plus ways to cut back on any meds you give. Sign up at the upper right hand corner of our blog to receive notification of Part 2. In the meantime, you might like reading Pesticides & Preventatives Poisoning Pets? [...]
May 15th, 2009 at 4:46 am
[...] Pesticides & Preventatives Poisoning Pets? [...]
May 17th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Great article! I can never, ever read enough about this topic! Life makes us forget what we are doing as we get so caught up in the day to day of things. Easy to read, great articles like this make the world of difference as people are sometimes just so overwhelmed with all the information, true or otherwise out there. I have sent it to all my clients; let’s hope they read it! Learn more about poison-free living at http://www.c4paw.com/
May 31st, 2009 at 11:48 pm
Great article……More pets are dying of cancer. Because they are living longer, the same with people. Very sad to say that dogs are living in short time with happy life…
June 19th, 2009 at 8:48 am
For all of you who are saying that pets are living longer, you are sharing the disinformation of the status quo. Pets are not living longer. In fact their lives are being cut short by the kibble diets, the vaccines, and the pesticides.
Dogs and cats are dying from cancer at age 1-5. That is NOT living longer. Medium sized dogs, when naturally reared without all these toxins, can live up to 30 years of age. When was the last time you saw a dog that old? Cats can live up to 40 years of age when naturally reared. I know of one sanctuary in CA that takes in supposedly older pets (age 16+) and through a NATURAL protocol without these pesticides and other toxins, detoxes them, feeds them a raw diet, they THEN live up to close to their normal years of 30-40 years.
So please, stop with the disinformation and the rhetoric in saying they are living longer. That is just not true.
Dr. Kim Bloomer
June 19th, 2009 at 9:52 am
ARE PETS LIVING LONGER? Brava Kim! I hear vet friends — like Margo Roman and Stephen Blake to name two — talk about how much younger dogs and cats are getting cancer. If so many human kids were dying this young of “old age diseases,” even our government would take notice.
Holistic healers blame over-vaccination, commercial food and pesticides (for flea, heartworm, etc.) for the epidemic of poor health. Half of all dogs and a third of cats are now dying of cancer. It’s becoming commonplace to see pets with missing limbs and chunks out of their faces where tumors were removed. Vet bills are steadily rising: $11.1 billion in 2008 expecting to rise to $12.2 in 2009. Up $1.1 billion in just a year! According to the American Pet Product Manufacturer’s Association, surgical vet visits for dogs now AVERAGE $453 a year for dogs and $363 for cats.
They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing but expecting different results. It’s also failing to read labels and think for ourselves. Fear marketing is winning. The losers are our pets.
June 25th, 2009 at 9:23 am
My dog has all the signs of heartworms, i fear that it may be too late to help her. Is their anything i can do because I dont want to make her worse I just want to help her. If you have any advice I would love it. Thank you very much.
June 25th, 2009 at 9:49 am
WHAT TO DO IF YOU THINK YOUR DOG HAS HEARTWORM Hi Lindsey. Don’t panic. Dogs survive heartworm all the time. In fact, the current movie star dog Benji is a healthy heartworm survivor.
Here’s what to do.
First, make sure your dog has heartworm (or doesn’t have it) by having your vet do a simple blood test called a heartworm antigen test. You can learn more about diagnosis at http://www.heartwormsociety.org/article_11.html
Second, if your dog doesn’t have heartworm, please read my articles on heartworm prevention.
Third, if your dog does have heartworm, my vet recommends a cardiac ultrasound before starting any treatment. If the infestation is mild, you will treat differently than if it is major.
Fourth, there’s an interesting video on heartworm treatment that you should watch. You can fast forward through the commercial beginning to about halfway through. Discuss this option with your vet before proceeding.
Let me know how it goes. Don’t worry. Learn the facts and then proceed calmly. Remember, your dog will sense your stress and then become worried herself.
August 2nd, 2009 at 8:11 pm
I am at this site too late. After a routine exam Friday, my sweet doxie Penny, was given the 6 month heartworm injection, along with rabies. I was worried about it, but was told it was fine, it wouldn’t hurt her at all. Today (Sunday) she is ok, but feels warm, and is acting very tired! I am pissed to say the least, that my vet failed to inform me of possible side effects and problems. I’m also upset with myself for not checking it out first! She was given to me 5 years ago, already grown, and is now 10-11 years old. She has never had the heartworm prevention as far as I know, and her blood test was negative!!!!! I do live in the deep south, which is why I went ahead with it. If anyone reading this is a vet, is there anything can be done to help her now, if she gets worse? Something tells me no! I am very worried, as she is my best friend, and I love her as much as she loves me. You know, God entrusted everything to us, what do we think he thinks about how we care for what he has given us? Any advice, I will be very grateful.
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:09 am
Eva, I can think of few things more reckless than giving Proheart 6, especially without explaining the history of the drug and connected deaths. And giving it was a highly reactive shot like rabies? That’s horrible. I hope you don’t go back to that vet again — except to conplain. This is a violation of the doctrine of informed consent, which violates veterinary reponsibility. I hope you read my Truth4Dogs.com article on Proheart 6 and the two on heartworm medications. These three articles are on the same page (http://www.dogs4dogs.com/blog/category/pet-meds/heartworms/). Also see my rabies shot page: http://www.truth4dogs.org.
As to what you can do now, I think you need a vet trained in homeopathy to help her deal with medication. Find one from the referral lists on my Find a Good Vet at http://www.dogs4dogs.com/vet I hope this helps.
August 3rd, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Thanks Jan, I’ve been looking everywhere on the net for something homepathy to give her to help dilute, or help her get rid of this toxic medicine. I’m not having much luck without having big dollars. Do you know of any place that might have ideas or remedies for free or low cost? Does anyone here know of someone or something? The vet I take her to, billed me so I can make payments as I lost my job this last year! In addition, she found 2 cysts near her lowest breasts, and wanted to take out ALL OF HER BREAST GLANDS, to prevent cancer. That I backed way up on, as this seemed to me needless pain for my girl. I tell all the board that as of today, she seems to be doing ok, but is still acting tired, her hot feeling seems to be less today, but I’m still worried. I just started studying herbs and their health applications, I just wish I knew more to help rid her body of these poisons. Again, thanks to any and all who may help!
August 3rd, 2009 at 9:41 pm
Jan,
I am so thankful for you and embrace your written word! You get to say all the things I’m repeatedly told not to… It isn’t good “business” to scare people and put their decisions under some light. I say this because I’m very passionate about the issue of pesticide use and the human responsibility to make informed decisions. Our pets and children depend on us to do what is right. I should know. I started Wondercide because my Akita-Husky mix, Luna, had serious side effects to her vet prescribed flea & tick medication, Frontline. It wasn’t just one vet over the 9 years of her life that prescribed it, it was many. As I traveled for work and life experience through my twenties, Luna was there with me every step of the way…and I never knew that I was poisoning her. I didn’t know I was reducing her lifespan by more than 30%. Its harsh, and its true. But the reality of the magnitude of the problem is far worse. When she got sick, I got informed. We sought out to find an alternative flea and tick control for all of our “kids” living here in the coastal south. Down here, garlic tablets and brewers yeast just don’t cut it. The pest control service wasn’t working and it smelled horrible. What is going on here? I became obsessed with finding a truly safe alternative to pesticides. I quit my job and cashed in every penny of savings. It turns out the adage is true, “Treat the Source Not the Symptom”. And the other one about “putting your mind to it”…that one is true too!
So what we have now, is a vision and a mission that will stand firm and fight the good fight with people like you. For us, it isn’t about money or margins, its about saving lives. Its about educating people to 1.) READ THE LABELS of the products they use, 2.) ask tough questions, 3.)don’t accept the term “safe” without an ingredient label and a little research.
Jan, you are very eloquent in your direction and I truly appreciate your time here! Thanks again for all of your wisdom! I can’t get enough of your blogs and articles. Hope to meet you at the IHPE in September. Thanks again.
August 4th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Eva, my vaccination activist friend Elizabeth Hart sent me the following when I mentioned your dog being vaccinated against rabies at the same time she was given Proheart 6?
Did I mention to you that the vet who vaccinated my dog Sasha told me he’d given Sasha ProHeart when he vaccinated her? When I did some research and found out about ProHeart 6 in the US, I challenged him about this – and then he said he’d made a mistake, he hadn’t given it to her after all… What a vet, eh?
When ProHeart 6 was reintroduced to the US market, It was specifically stated: “ProHeart 6 should not be given within one month of your dog being vaccinated.” http://www.proheart6.com/docs/client_info_03_09.pdf
It just makes me sick that people trust their vets, and so many vets are not worthy of that trust.
August 4th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Eva, the thing about homeopathy is that using the wrong remedy can make your dog worse. You need to match the remedy to the exact symptoms, rather than just use, say, a vaccine remedy. My homeopath does phone consults reasonably. Why don’t you contact her and see what she’ll charge? [Contact info was sent privately to avoid the spam bots.] Beware free advice unless it comes from a licensed homeopath.
The one thing you MUST do is report the reaction to your vet. It needs to go into her record in case she gets worse. In that case, you’ll want to get an exemption to the rabies shot when the next one is due. I hope you’ll also admonish your vet for using Proheart 6. If you’ve read my article about it, you’ll know why I think that. If I remember correctly, you had to be warned about the drug before your dog got it. That was a condition for getting the drug back on the market. If you weren’t warned, your vet could be in big trouble. In that case, you should ask them to pay for any additional medical care.
Re vaccinating, your dog is unlikely to need any other shots. Make sure you read my vaccination articles on my truth4dogs.com blog, especially the one on avoiding unnecessary shots. http://www.dogs4dogs.com/blog/2009/04/22/no-unnecessary-dog-shots/
Good luck! (I hope you’ll subscribe to my blog or newsletter for more information. It’s free. http://www.dogs4dogs.com
Eva responded by email: Hi Jan, thanks so much! I will contact her! I have also been speaking with someone from another site, yes, my vet could get into deep trouble for not warning me. I am also going to report Penny’s reaction to the CVM, and also speak with Senate finance, Angela Choy for the senator of Nebraska. I am learning, and trying to find out all I can. Even if my Penny is ok, she will never again have this vaccine, and my hope is that no pets will be subjected to it! Things like this, really get my back up, as our pets/friends don’t have a voice with which to speak. I have read about so many different reactions to all kinds of so called meds to protect our pets, I have been so ignorant, I just thought their meds were regulated too, boy, was I dumb! It seems the only thing regulated is who gets what part of the money pie, off the sales of these drugs,LOL.
There is a true movie I saw once, about a boy who developed a life threatening condition, who’s regular parents kept digging and fighting for treatments and cures, until one day, they actually found a common oil that halted the condition and reversed the effects of the disease. I am always inspired by these 2 people who refused to give up, the film is Lorenzo’s Oil! I know that even we ordinary people can make a difference, and I’m so frusterated that I can do nothing for my baby, that I have now taken up this cause. My mother had a boston terrier that at age 13 died from cancer. This was out of the blue, but looking back at how my mom always took her for shots, gave her heartworm meds, etc, I’m starting to wonder….
Thank you again for all the advice, and if you know someone I should write to about this problem, just let me know. I’ll be keeping my eye on your site, and have signed up for the news letter.
August 4th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Stephanie, thanks for all the kind words about my blog, Truth4Dogs.com. I have just recently learned about your non-toxic flea products. They look wonderful. I wish there were more people working to make safe products for our animal friends. — Jan Rasmusen