Chemical burn from frontline plus ?

I'm sorry I haven't posted here in forever but read everyday.

A few days ago Leo, my sweet black boy, had a tick on him. I applied frontline plus to the back of his neck knowing, if there is one tick, there's bound to be more in the yard. Last night I noticed a lump in the fur on the back of his neck. Upon closer examination the hair pulled right out and he has what appears to be a quarter size oozy burn where I applied the frontline. We're going to the vet this afternoon but I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else. I don't apply frontline often, only if we see a flea or tick which happens a few times a year. Lucky for me the girls had just had baths so I didn't want to put any on them for a few days. They won't be getting it now. Thanks.

I always knew that it was bad news with those flea & tick medications....I am so sorry to hear this...see if there is a pill at your vet for fleas or another alternative....

Definitely sounds like a chemical burn from the Frontline. A small percentage of dogs react to it or to other brands of topical flea/tick control. Most dogs do just fine with them, however.

I always knew that it was bad news with those flea & tick medications....

Well, I personally am not so quick to just dismiss them all out of hand. They have their place, particularly for dogs who suffer horribly from FAD (flea allergy dermatitis). One single flea bite can produce days and days of utter misery for them.

I put Advantage on Marlee a couple times a year. We don't encounter fleas where we are (luckily) most of the year, but the minute they arrive, that Advantage goes on. I'm horribly allergic to insect bites myself, and using Advantage is a huge help.

Didn't one of Pugdad Michael's pugs have a chemical burn from Frontline a few years ago? It was a nasty burn if I remember correctly.

I don't remember if it was frontline but Pugdad Michael (I think it was Sugar Ray) had a serious reaction problem with one of the flea meds.

Pugsley Ann would freak out when we would put Advantage on her but once we switched to frontline plus she has had no issues. We only use it a couple of times a year instead of monthly.

I'm so sorry! Yep, it was Frontline that Michael's dog had a reaction to. And on another forum someone's dog recently had a reaction to Advantix. Apparently if you contact the manufacturers, they will cover vet costs. What does that say? That the manufacturers are completely aware of the probability of reactions but don't make full disclosure.

Poor Leo! I would absolutely contact the manufacturer. Sending good thoughts that his burn heals rapidly and well.

Thanks everyone. Leo's spot is definitely a chemical burn. My vet gave him cream for it, antibiotics and some pain meds. Thankfully it's only about a quarter size area. The vet did say they don't see too many reactions but have seen a few. They report them all to the manufacturer for the owner and he didn't charge me so I assume they may request the reimbursement themselves. He said he definitely wouldn't put anymore on Leo and would use something else if I see fleas (normally we get a few ticks a year but no fleas). In the future I'll just remove the tick.

I love my vet and he was really up front. He said it could have been a bad batch or an anomaly of some sort but he still feels for most pets the advantages outweigh the risks if you have a flea or tick problem.

dieselsmom wrote:Didn't one of Pugdad Michael's pugs have a chemical burn from Frontline a few years ago? It was a nasty burn if I remember correctly.

Yes, it was on Sugar Ray. I just heard of someone else posting this too.

Rebecca and the Pugs wrote:

dieselsmom wrote:Didn't one of Pugdad Michael's pugs have a chemical burn from Frontline a few years ago? It was a nasty burn if I remember correctly.

Yes, it was on Sugar Ray. I just heard of someone else posting this too.

Yea, I just saw something on one of the pittie related FB pages (Bad Rap or one of the Vicktory dog related pages). The pittie had a really severe reaction.

I remember very well the burn little S.R. suffered from and it was horrible & have seen a couple cases come into the vet as well when I'm there with a shelter animal.

I work with dogs every day and have came home on 2 occasions with large bright red spots where I've handled dogs people have brought in that they are fostering which had been treated with it (even after briskly scrubbing/washing my hands/arms).

I have always used Advantage (we don't have a tick issue here but fleas are a whole different story). Nothing is foolproof as each dog can have different reactions but my boys sleep with me the same day theirs is applied and I haven't had a problem nor have they. I hate using anything like that but don't really have a choice because 1- our neighborhood is a haven for stray cats and 2- i can easily bring home one nasty little critter on my shoes from work and with 4 pugs plus cat , we'll soon have big problems.

Work uses Advantix (even though it costs more)as it's neccessary with different ones coming in that have plenty of icky friends in tow. ugh

I hope you're little man heals in a speedy manner.