Has anyone used this stuff? My vet is recommending it at the mo, and after googling it I can only find negative reports, and I'm now too scared to use it :( I've used Stronghold, Advantage and Advantix in the past with no problems, wondering if I should return it :-/

I do trust the bloke though so thought I'd ask for any more up to date experiences on here.

Weirdly the breeds mentioned in the negative reports appear to be small light coloured dogs, mostly shih tzus, seems there can be a problem with the product in these types of dog..... Still be interested to hear of others who have used it.

What were you wanting to use it for ? There are various more natural products available that are effective for ticks, fleas and worms.
Personally I try and avoid putting chemicals in or on my dogs, as often the testing of veterinary products is not as extensive as human grade treatments.
A lot of spot on treatments cause quite severe reactions and nobody knows about the longer term effects of chemicals that enter the blood stream, reactions don't necessarily happen at the time the treatment was administered.
Have a look at some of the canine health, and natural rearing sites there are lots of things available now that in most cases are a lot safer and considerably cheaper to.

I've a dog with some kind of insect bite allergy.

Believe me, I have spent a lot of time and a small fortune on all sorts of natural products, and she is still uncomfortable. I would never ever consider any of these treatments unless I really felt I had to, they are raw fed, I do not vaccinate etc etc, I'm not happy about it but she's so uncomfortable.

Totally agree with everything you've said, but please trust that I'm not taking it lightly :) Nothing will touch her until I've done much more reading. The next step is allergy testing which as I'm sure you know can be a bit hit and miss.

I had a dog with severe allergic reaction to something he was eating.

Unconfortable isn't the word!

He spent 18 months on steroids, but it never stopped the itch and in the end I stopped them, as the dose was needing to be increased.

I did an elimination diet and it turned out he was allergic to ....  meat protein !    

He did amazingly well on a vegetarian diet based on peanuts and chickpeas :-)

Sadly in those days, there wasn't the internet :-) or even computers!   And when the vegetarian diet became unavailable he ended up back on dog food.  But he then needed Piriton daily to keep him from scratching himself raw :-(

I had wanted to make his diet myself, but in those days took the vet's advice not to try this as 'dire things would happen'.  These days, having more experience, and more information available, I'd ignore the vet and feed a home made diet.

Yes, the allergy tests can be hit and miss, but an elimination diet, though it can take some time, can help pinpoint the offending items.

What an inconvenient allergy, Dill!! Pleased you got on top of it in the end. I'm 99% sure it's not food related, because I inadvertently did an elimination diet some time ago, and the dog had a flare up in the middle of it (I only had access to two meats from the same source both of which were given daily and no other foods).

I am convinced it's either insect bites of some sort, or a smaller possibility is contact allergy. My other dogs are fine. I haven't found fleas on any of them, but I hear they are rampant at the mo, and one bite can start a frenzy that can last weeks. So who knows. After all I did have a problem with cats coming into the house a few months back as well. Other than that I know they've had tick, horsefly and other misc insect bites over the last few weeks. That's where my money is anyway. I hadn't heard of this spot on before but it is also supposed to repel biting insects, my vet is pleased with the feedback from clients. Just wondered if anyone on here had actually used it.

He also explained to me how allergens can have a cumulative effect, so it might not be only an insect or only a type of pollen, but the two smaller allergies, if you like, add up and symptoms present when they go over threshold. So if this doesn't work I will go down the allergy testing route. I'm currently ripping the house apart to treat for as much as I can, will also put DE in areas where the dogs can't access.

Dogs :)

Do you bathe your dogs?

I ask this as it could be an ingredient in the shampoo/conditioner that causes it.

I am allergic to wheat, even in shampoo!   Took years of unbearable itching to find out what it is.  Best description is feeling as if  have head lice, at best, or stung by bees the longer I use it.  My scalp was awful !

Horsefly bites are areally nasty, I got bitten in three places last year, it took months to go, and  I could cheerfully have scratched the skin right off!

We didn't care about the convenience, just about getting the dog comfortable, his skin was like an elephant's in places, where it wasn't raw.   We'd have done allergy testing, but the vet thought it would be pointless.   Poor dog had hayfever too, so piriton was best treatment in the end.

We had a flea infestation in the workshop where I groom dogs (oh's workshop)  as our dogs like to visit him we couldn't use the usual house sprays because of permethrin/pyrethrum allergy.    I used the pesticide free, silicon spray and haven't seen a flea since!  

Dill which spray is that, the pesticide free one?

They're very rarely bathed but saying that I've tried a neem shampoo several months back (they all rolled in poo) and another one, something like dynamite, a natural insect repellant type one, maybe a month ago.

But really the worst flare up yet started yesterday, no difference in diet, no baths, they did go for a paddle in a fishing lake reservoir but wouldn't let them swim as they only had advantage a couple of days before (don't believe it's a reaction to advantage btw- and I know not to treat again with anything for at least 2 weeks, but will go for 4), but they swim there loads usually and don't get itchy. I've picked horse flies off of them some days, and have had a couple of bites myself, hate them! Everything definitely points to insect bites, it's warm and muggy and there are loads around. But it could be a combination of things as I say. Just really want to get on top of it now!

Really appreciate your advice :)

Advantage contra-indications, warnings etc.

On very rare occasions skin reactions such as hair loss, redness, itching and skin lesions may occur. Agitation and disorientation has also been reported

Friends of ours used advantage on their dogs.  They were struck with unbearable itching, then the fur fell out all around the area and down their sides.   Almost a year later, and the coat is growing back, after many different medications.  It will be a good while yet till they can be shown :-(

It may say very rare occasions, but if people don't connect the problem with the product, then we'll never know how often it occurs ;-)  Not saying this is what your dogs have, I'm not there and can't see it.  But don't discount it out of  hand either ;-)

Sorry, forgot to say the pesticide spray was the Bob Martin Pesticide free spray, but there are others that use the silicone ;-)

Haven't there been a lot of terrible reports associated with Bob Martin stuff? I will look into it. The Advantage/Stronghold/Advantix doesn't match up with the flare ups, so I'm sure it's not responsible, but I do see what you're saying. I guess any chemical treatment you look into is going to have its horror stories :( I just want my pup feeling better.

Yes there has been in answer to your question about bob martins, including deaths. I haven't read all the post properly but has he been allergy tested?
I sympathise with pup I am reacting to something it may just be the heat generally that and the fact I cant shower without awful burning and irritation.
Its awful feeling like this :( poor baby

No allergy test yet, that's the next step. Happy to give it a go if this thorough attempt to stop any nasties biting doesn't work.

Hope you feel better soon, furriefriends! We're all feeling a little grotty with this weather but not quite to that extent :(

Normally, I wouldn't use anything by Bob Martin.

Yes, I have heard horror stories about their spot-ons, but this  stuff is completely  different

This is the pesticide free spray.  It contains only silicones/dimethicone - the same stuff used on our hair to prevent frizzies and also found in Dentinox Infant Colic Drops

An  explanation here
http://www.vetuk.co.uk/flea-treatments-household-flea-sprays-c-3_419/flee-pesticide-free-flea-spray-400ml-p-8286

I bought the Bob Martin one because it was the same ingredients and cheaper.   I fully expected it not  to work, but all the others contained permethrins/pyrethrum and my one dog is highly allergic - anaphylaxis could kill her ;-)   I was surprised to find that it worked really well!

I think I have the same breed as you and one of mine develops a rash on her neck, usually just in the summer. No fleas or anything tried different diet.
Then on the advice of another breeder we tried giving her a Piriton tablet (antihistamine) and the rash cleared up. We think she is allergic to some kind of grass pollen, as it only happens late spring or summer.
Just one tablet a day, and I can now buy the equivalent to Piriton at the supermarket, shops own brand, works just as well but only about a £1 a packet.
Worth a try, itches are really hard to identify. Has the dog been vaccinated recently ? On the Canine Health site there have been a number of dogs recently reported to have developed skin conditions and severe itching just after they have received a booster.

Piriton has helped. No she's never had a vaccination since I've had her. I have spent a lot of time thinking and for want of a better word 'experimenting', and am convinced it's insect related, with a smaller possibility of contact allergy, perhaps even both, but I'm sure it's insects. I just don't know what. But house has been thoroughly cleaned now, dogs have had a dousing of DE to see if that helps. Oh and it's a golden retriever :)

Thanks all.

Let us know if it works.
Itches and allergies can be so hard to get to the bottom of, I think hair analysis has worked for some people but not all.
Trial and error, and so many things can be seasonal.
Hope it all works out well.