I know a lot of you prefer not to use flea prevention such as Frontline, etc and prefer to go with natural remedies.

But for those of you who do, PLEASE DO NOT USE CERTIFECT!

We got coupons for Certifect so we decided to use them for this summer season. Last night we applied it to Storm and Ginger, and this morning Ginger did not want to get out of bed, and when she did, she appeared very weak and disoriented that she also had a couple of mis-steps going up the stairs. She ate and drank OK, but didn't even go outside to potty when that would be the first thing she did when we woke up. She had a hard time walking across the hard wood floors and would even cross legs because she could bare walk. When we took her out for a walk this morning, she seemed to walk OK, but on the lethargic side. When we got home, she barely got her hind legs on the sofa to lay next to me. Since she did go potty in the morning, she leaked a little on the sofa.

Storm is on the lethargic side, but is walking normally.

Lethargy is a side effect of Certifect, and even itching, but for Ginger it is very scary.

I called the vet and they said this is the second case they have heard/seen with Certifect and was told to give her bath, and so I did washed the part of her body that the Certifect was applied to and she should show signs of improvement by this afternoon. Otherwise, we're at the vet, ASAP.

Good Luck Claudia! I hope everything turns out ok with Ginger.

~Chris~

I'm not a fan at all of the topicals. I used Sentry on the cats when we got fleas in the house a couple months ago, and they both got huge bald spots and Gremlin got a nasty rash down his back that's still there. I hope Ginger feels better quickly and there are no lasting effects!

OH NO!

I would have done the same thing, honestly, if I got a coupon for it. I've never even heard of Certifect, but I'm glad for the heads up.

I hope she gets better, fast!

OMG! I hope she does better! is there any other way of flushing her system of what has already been absorbed into the skin?

LillDragun wrote:

OMG! I hope she does better! is there any other way of flushing her system of what has already been absorbed into the skin?

I don't know of any other than encouraging her to drink more water to she goes potty more often. She doesn't really want to move unless she absolutely has to, so I brought her some water which she didn't want to drink until I sprinkled some Nupro in it.

We just thoroughly washed Storm in the area we applied it to, and then gave ANOTHER wash in the area applied for Ginger until hubby couldn't smell it anymore.

thanks for the warning Claudia! i saw your post on FB and was wondering if it was a flea med. S&J had the same reaction Storm did when we used front-line plus, never put it on them again. so far we have been free of fleas or ticks but i do have some tea tree oil in the house just in case. i hope Ginger feels better soon.

do you think she is worse because she is smaller then storm or did they have diff. doses?

jbealer wrote:

do you think she is worse because she is smaller then storm or did they have diff. doses?

They both got the same dose as it's for 44-88 lbs (or something like that). But yes, I do think because Storm has 20 lbs over Ginger, the effects on Storm is less.

We're watching both of them closely for at least the next 36 hours, however, I'm headed to Arizona on a 9pm flight tonight. Hopefully we will see a little more improvement in Ginger before I head to the airport. She does look slightly better since we washed it off her, and she does appear to have a slightly easier time walking on the hard wood floor the last time she went over it.

I'm headed to the vets office to return the unused portions and they are going to return it to the manufacturer and I don't think they will be carrying it anymore.

We used First Shield on Ginger when she had head lice, and then again the following summer season without any side effect. However, I'm now reluctant to really use anything on her! Or maybe we go back to First Shield but only use part of the dose on her. In any case, we won't do anything until I see both of them back to 100% for a couple of weeks.

has the Doc. had anyone else with issues?

jbealer wrote:

has the Doc. had anyone else with issues?

Yes, they have seen a similar reaction with one other dog so far.

I am returning the unused doses and they will be returning it to the manufacturer. And I doubt (but not confirmed) that they will carry Certifect in their office from now on.

We're taking Ginger to the vet to put her in fluids to flush her.
She was eating her lunch and she peed and didn't even know she was urinating

cmanding wrote:

We're taking Ginger to the vet to put her in fluids to flush her.
She was eating her lunch and she peed and didn't even know she was urinating

Oh no! Poor baby! I would be totally freaking out! Good luck at the vet. Please keep us posted

Poor Ginger!! Hope she gets better soon! Scary stuff...

Certifect is a very strong topical used to treat dogs who have an infestation of ticks and nothing else is working. As a simple flea/tick preventative it should never be used, let alone recommended. So sorry Claudia. It knocked Mickey and Mishka out for the first 48 hours and then they were fine after that. Hope Ging is OK!

Check your shampoo. It might be the kind that doesn't wash off flea and tick meds. You probably need to use detergent to get it off. I hope she gets better soon! That's so scary!

Poor Ginger. I hope she's better soon.

Certifect is made by Frontline I believe its their new thing? I always use Frontline Plus which I have never had a dog react too and Heartguard plus.

We got to the vet's office and she was given a shot to reverse the effects of one ingredient found in Certifect that is not found in Frontline Plus, Amitraz. She was also given IV fluids. Within 10 minutes, we Ginger perked up and was more alert, ears forward, eyes brighter, heart rate faster. Hubby walked her home (we live less than 1/2 mile from the vet) and watching her as they walked off, she already had more pep in her step.

Needless to say, we won't be using Certifect ever again.

We did get a full refund on the product and no charge for the vet visit.

She's doing much better and we have the vet's cell phone number in case anything else happens, she will meet us at her clinic within 20 minutes.

Thank you everyone for the well wishes and support!
It was really scary seeing Ginger like this, but she is doing much better!

Balonsmom wrote:

Certifect is made by Frontline I believe its their new thing? I always use Frontline Plus which I have never had a dog react too and Heartguard plus.

i have given frontline plus to S&J and have seen some lethargic reaction with in a few min. of applying it, i will not use it again. we dont use any treatment BUT Colorado does not have a large flea or tick problem so we are ok with not using it. we do give heartguard plus with no issues.


glad Ginger is feeling better

Balonsmom wrote:

Certifect is made by Frontline I believe its their new thing? I always use Frontline Plus which I have never had a dog react too and Heartguard plus.

Yes, they are made by the same manufacturer, Meril, which also makes Heartguard.
However, Certifect has Amitraz in it and Frontline Plus does not. This is what caused Ginger's reaction.

Storm and Ginger got the same does because it goes by weight, 45-88 lbs. However, Storm has 20 lbs over Ginger so the effect on Storm wasn't as bad. Storm just seems a little lethargic but otherwise moving, eating, drinking and acting normal whereas Ginger could barely walk on the hard wood floor, mis-step, 'woozy and/or drunk', etc.

I'm so glad to hear that Ginger is doing better.

yay! So glad she's feeling better. I've been worried!

We are avoiding topicals at all costs. I'm sorry to hear about Ginger, but I am very happy to hear she is doing okay. Jump on the essential oil band wagon - it's been great.

mheath0429 wrote:

We are avoiding topicals at all costs. I'm sorry to hear about Ginger, but I am very happy to hear she is doing okay. Jump on the essential oil band wagon - it's been great.

Hubby and I talked about going natural prevention, but essential oils sets off my vertigo!

Like Kristina mentioned, Certifect is a powerful solution and recommends only being used on dogs that need something this powerful if they have ticks and fleas.

We have used First Shield in the past without issue, and vet also said that we could simply use Frontline but either get a dose that is one below her weight range, or just use part of the dose that is for her weight.

In the meantime, we are not going to apply anything else for at least the remainder of June.

Glad she is feeling better! Hopefully your vet will not continue to carry that product. We have had good luck with Frontline. Tried Advantix but it made Luka super itchy. What we do is buy the 44-88lb dose, and split it between the two dogs, since Luka is just 45lbs, and their combined weight is less than 88. I use to get 6 months of free frontline per year when I worked at a vets office, and this is what the techs and vets did if they had more than one dog. The three vets I worked with said it was safe, but for legal reasons could never suggest it to a client.