Comments on: Sergeant’s Gold Flea Treatment should be boycotted

By: Kasey

Kasey — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 06:00:20 +0000

I’m livid after reading all these stories! My boyfriend and I just went through the same thing yesterday with our 8 month old pug, Gatsby. I noticed some fleas on him, and decided I would pick up a flea treatment at the store, to tide him over until I had a chance to get to the vet. I told my boyfriend to put the treatment on Gatsby on Monday, since he had the day off from work and could take him to the vet in case a reaction occurred. Well, he had a reaction alright! Just like every animal that has come in contact with this horrible product! When my boyfriend noticed the reaction, he gave the dog a thorough bath. Gatsby then spent the rest of the day isolated in the bedroom, which is very unusual for him. When I came home, our puppy was shaking his head, scratching violently at his neck, biting his feet, and rubbing up against everything he could. Thankfully, we got him into see the vet later that evening, and she seemed shocked that these over the counter flea treatments are still sold in stores. At this point, our dog was panting heavily and drooling quite a bit. But our vet assured us that he would be fine after a couple days, once the poison has left his system. She gave us some muscle relaxers to help with his twitching and hopefully relax him so he could finally get some rest. Now, a day later he still seems very itchy and agitated. He has scratched the back of his neck so much, it’s red and raw looking. We put his fleece dog coat on, and that has calmed him down and keeps him from itching that sensitive spot. He is eating and drinking more frequently, and getting more playful. It’s such a relief to see our playful little boy coming back!

I called the Sergeant customer service line today and spoke with a customer representative. I had to wait on hold for at least 10 minutes, which leads me to believe they must be swamped with complaints about their product. She asked me to explain the problem, and I did in full detail, making sure to mention the fact that my boyfriend did apply the product just as they specified. When I mentioned the raw red spot on the dogs neck, she said “just for future reference, you need to apply the product from the neck, down the back. Don’t just apply in one spot. That could have caused the skin reaction.” This really pissed me off! She was trying to accuse us of doing something wrong, even when I JUST explained that we followed the directions carefully. And I said “Don’t worry, we don’t need that advice anyway, we won’t be using this product in the future!” I asked what documentation she needed in order to get a refund on both the product and reimbursement of the vet bill. She didn’t seem shocked, and asked me for my address so she could send me an “Adverse Reaction Complaint Form.” Obviously this company is well equipped to handle the influx of complaints coming in about their products.

So in the meantime, I’m stuck feeling like an awful pet owner. I should have done my research, but I thought I could trust a product sold at my local grocery store. It blows my mind that this company is still in business and selling their products without any limitations.

By: Kat Muir

Kat Muir — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 08:59:11 +0000

Wow I’ve given this product to my dog before and she’s never had a reaction, but was her reaction quick..Within two hours she couldn’t even stand or support her weight, was constantly shaking..I knew it had to be the flea treatment because there was no other reason why she would be acting this way, so on instinct i ran her into the bath and washed her really good. Then while she was laying down I found this website and was horrified to read all your stories, especially that apparently white dogs have a higher risk of reaction, shouldn’t that be on the box? I mean my dog is almost pure white. I felt so bad she couldn’t even shake the water off her back. Luckily I decided to give her another bath, and she seems to be doing better now, I’m glad that I caught it as soon as I did, but I just am so amazed that this product is still for sale especially after the clear volume of people that have had bad problems with the product. Like most of you out there I’m sure, my dog is my child..and as soon as she couldn’t stand or walk I was terrified and started crying. I hope they ban this product! Not worth killing dogs and cats over!

By: Jessie

Jessie — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:15:15 +0000

I have yet ANOTHER terrible story to add about the effect that Sergeants Gold had on my 2 yr old Shitzu-Beagle mix “Liddles.” I applied the flea medicine late Monday night to my dog after finding a few fleas on her. (Usually I use Frontline on her but I didn’t have the $ to afford another dosage for her and I was desperate to make her fleas go away) That night the only unusual thing I noticed about her was that she did not sleep in our bed with me curled up in our feet, she slept sprawled out on the bathroom floor. I just figured it was a little warm in our house for her so the cool bathroom floor cooled her down?? I honestly didn’t think anything of it. The next morning she didn’t want to go outside to potty, & she didn’t beg at my daughters high-chair while we were eating breakfast. A few hours later she became really distressed & uncomforable, yelping & twitching her back right leg, & arching her back in agony. At this point I still didn’t think it could be the flea medicine because after all isn’t it suppossed to help the dogs rather than harm them? I put her in the tub and bathed her with some medicated tea tree oil shampoo – she was instantly relieved. I thought the problem was solved so I relaxed a little bit. Later that night we came home from being gone for a few hours & couldn’t find her in the house (normaly she greets us at the door) She was hiding in my daughters room on the shelf of the changing table. My automatic reaction was to freak out and pick her up. I could tell where she had been itching & back her back because it was close to bleeding. I got online & goolgled “dogs allergic reaction to flea medicine” & got the idea to bathe her in Dawn dish soap. The I googled “Sergeants Gold” & luckily found this website where I got the idea of the Benedryl & Vitamin E Oil. I bathed Liddles in Dawn & it brought her relief for a few minutes. So I kept bathing her every half hour making sure to rinse her very well. I could tell in her eyes that she was appreciative of the baths. I gace her 1/2 tablet of Children’s Benadryl. I tried anti-itch cream & it didn’t help much. So I washed it off & poured Vitamin E Oil all over her back & it brought relief to her. The only thing I found to help 100% was petting her back where I had applied the flea medicine the day before. Something about the constant touch soothed her burning skin. We fell asleep on the living room floor last night & about 4am this morning she was able to walk herself into the bedroom & jump up on the bed. She was still shaking & twitching but nothing compared to what she was before. I am writing this Tuesday morning & Liddles is resting on the back of the couch, still isn’t completely back to normal but has majorly improved. First & formost- I hope my story HELPS someone who was as desperate as me relieve their dog if they make the mistake of buying this product. Because when I was frantically searching for any remedies for my poor dog I know is that I wanted to find something to help her. As for the company supplying this product I hope the get sued off their ass one of these days in the near future. I WILL be spreading the word!

By: tina

tina — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 04:53:13 +0000

Well add another story to this endless tale of horrors. My little chihuahua and shihtzu have been suffering now for 24 hours. I thought I had killed my babies!!! I have been crying pratically nonstop. Belle (the chihuahua) is just lethargic not wanting to do anything and her eyes are so “glassy” she seems to be having trouble standing on her back legs. Boomer (shitzu) has been going “CRAZY” he cries so much and seems to be in sooo much pain. I did the phone call and was told the same, baths in dawn, vitamin e oil, it eased a little while but he started in again. took them to the vet and they both got a cortisone shot. I have also given Boomer some benadryl to help him sleep. I was afraid to give Bella any because shes already so lethargic.Thank God for this website It has helped with some of the “unkown” fears. But to have put my babies through this devastates me. I will also do ANYTHING to help prevent other babies from going through this.

By: Liz

Liz — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:01:02 +0000

I’m so sorry to hear about your schnauzer, Taryn. I wouldn’t doubt a bit that the Sergeant’s flea medication caused this. I would like everyone to know that I did make some headway in getting the Sergeant’s products pulled from the shelves of one store chain. After calling the store manager where I had purchased the Sergeant’s gold, he asked me to bring the unused portion back to the store so they could have a look at the package. (I also took back two Sergeant’s flea collars that I had purchased the same day but had not opened yet, because my vet informed me that they are also toxic to animals, and some Sergeant’s wormer I had bought for my cats). When I returned the products, I found out that that particular store had gotten a recall on the Sergeant’s Gold the month prior and had pulled the product from their shelves. When the manager looked at the package, he knew immediately what had happened. Sergeant’s had sent them a new supply of the stuff in a different box! Boy was he angry. Needless to say, the manager not only refunded my money for all of the Sergeant’s products I had purchased, he set workers in motion immediately to pull their products from their shelves and notified their corporate office of what had happened. He also had received many complaints about the product and knew immediately that I was telling the truth about what had happened to my poodle. I did finally receive a reply from Sergeant’s customer servicew department via e-mail yesterday. Of course, they tried to explain everything away as just a fluke because they felt that the number of pets that have been adversly affected by their product is minimal. They asked me to send them the proof of purchase and any vet bill receipts so they could start their “own investigation.” I let them know that I had already been reimbursed by the store where my purchase was made and that I was not going to cooperate with them in any way, shape, or form! I also told them that they need to look at the numbers, because from what I have seen so far, the number of pets being injured or dying from this crap is way more than minimal! I let them know that poisoning pets just to make a fast buck was not o.k. It is sick and inhumane and I also hope someone sues the hell out of them and shuts them down! We all need to keep complaining to the stores that carry the crap as well as to the agencies that regulate the products and make our voices heard. Keep spreaing the word and sooner or later, someone will have to listen! Hopefully it will be sooner and no more pets will have to suffer or die because of these heartless bastards!

By: Taryn Zihlman

Taryn Zihlman — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:40:23 +0000

As many of you have stated, I used the sergeants on my pet schnauzer. It was a weekend, he had been with a family member and had fleas. I wanted to give him instant relief. I used the product. Within minutes, his back grew welts and he was scratching feverishly. I put him in the tub and washed the crap off!! He had no further instances, that was a year ago. This past Sunday, I had to put my poor boy to sleep at the age of 7 for complications of lymphoma, which I believe were a direct result of the sergeants product. As anyone else experienced this. It is a pesticide, but I had no clue that it would come to that. I do not want money, I want retribution in the form of having the product pulled, the company shut down!!!

By: Liz

Liz — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:56:40 +0000

My poor little poodle went through the same thing. I put the sergeant’s gold flea treatment on her Friday afternoon and went grocery shopping. I came home to find my poor little girl in agony, rubbing frantically against the furniture and floor, scratching herself raw and whining. I bathed her three times that night to no avail. She was in agony all night long and no one in the house slept. I feel so horrible and she suffered so much. The last time I saw an animal suffer so much was when another poodle I owned several years ago was poisoned by a neighbor with rat poison. She died! I tried benadryl, aloe spray, cortzone cream, and neosporin to relieve her pain and itch but nothing worked completely. I finally had to put a shirt on her Saturday morning to keep her from scratching herself into a bloody mass. She scratched so much that she tore holes in three shirts before the day was over but finally the itch and pain began to subside. I could not afford the $300.00 emergency vet bill over the weekend so she suffered most of the weekend. Today is Monday and she will see the vet this afternoon. Her itching is getting better, but her skin is still very red and irritated, even after all of the bathing. Right now, I’m just glad she’s still alive and seems to be on the mend. I did contact Sergeant’s through their website and informed them not only of her reaction, but let them know that I would seriously be making every effort to get their product pulled from the shelves. I also called the store where I bought it and let them know what had happened. They also informed me that they had received many complaints of the same nature. That crap should not be on the market at all. It would be safer to spray your pet with raid! I hope they do get sued!!

By: Doris

Doris — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:41:32 +0000

I ran out of Frontline and am now paying for an incredibly stupid mistake by purchasing the Sergeant’s Gold Flea & Tick medication. I gave my little shih tzu a bath and then applied the medication, only with the good intentions of taking good care of my dog. About 2 hours later, he was scratching and twitching so badly, I went online and found this website with all of these horror stories. I called the emergency vet clinic and they told me to wash him again and then bring him to their office immediatly. At the vet’s office he got a shot of Benadryl and we brought him home. He was up all night, not able to sleep because of all of the twitching. We took him back to the vet this morning where they monitored him and gave him a prescription for muscle relaxers. Long story short, 2 hours after the muscle relaxer, he is still twitching and cannot sleep. I feel helpless and terribly guilty and from what all of you are saying, Sergeant’s does not offer any help.
So I have an idea, and maybe some of you can do this too. Here at work, I ran off some address labels, with the words
WARNING – this product can cause severe damage to your pet. Do not purchase! I plan on carrying these labels with me and where ever I see this product, I will place a label on the box.
Maybe someone will pick it up and see my label and put it back on the shelf since not many retailers are removing it themselves. I will go to Walmart, Target, PetSmart, etc…
and start labeling!!!

By: Alissa

Alissa — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:11:25 +0000

Thankfully, I found this website less than 24 hours after my pug was given a dose. He didn’t handle it well; he experienced restlessness and refused to stay in my room. I figured he was just not tired, but when I looked up everything about Sentry, I learned that it’s the terrible product to blame. I must have touched my face also because it is cold and numb, like a feeling from an icy-hot patch or something like it. It’s terrible. I gave my pug two baths, one with regular shampoo and one with dish soap, and he’s finally sleeping and acting normal again. Earlier he was running all over the house, jumping into the tub and going from room to room which was unusual because were practically attached at the hip. Now, I’m worried about myself! When will the numbness go away?! I’ve washed my face several times.. Should I just wait it out? How can people sell such a terrible product?!

By: Kathleen McCormack

Kathleen McCormack — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 01:32:35 +0000

OMG! I am going through this sheer hell right now. I treated my 1 year old havanese with this crap this morning. I too was trying to save a couple bucks. I noticed him scratching (he was fine prior to application) but thought nothing of it. But now it’s 12 hours later and I thought, hey, something’s wrong here and went on to the computer to search. I have bathed him with my son’s natural shampoo and put on a little oatmeal conditioner in hopes to alleviate some of the itch. My dog is practically ripping his flesh off, twitching, having spasms, restless… it’s killing me to see him like this! It’s 9:30 at night. My young son is sleeping soundly. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. My husband is not home from work yet and has no idea what is going on on the homefront. I am going to call this” hotline” myself right now but I reckon that I too will be at the vet’s in the morning if my poor Monte makes it through the night.