I wrote a post about Sergeant’s SentryPro XFC topical flea and tick product almost a year and a half ago. The treatment threw Porter and Rosie into an allergic reaction that consisted of trembling, panting, scratching, and “air licking.” I made the post because I was upset. I was upset at Sergeant’s for putting the product out. I followed the directions and BOTH of my dogs has an adverse reaction. I was also upset at myself for not using my usual Frontline (which I’ve never had a problem with before or since the SentryPro incident).
So, I made the post in May of 2007. I had no idea that thousands of people would read the post, hundreds would comment, dozens would email me personally, and the post would be the number one Google search result for “SentryPro XFC.” I got mentioned on The Consumerist. Some of my readers started a class action lawsuit.
It took all of that an sixteen months, but Sergeant’s finally responded.
People who have posted a comment in the past are automatically emailed when someone makes a new comment, so hundreds of people got an email tonight with Sergeant’s reply. A few people have already started to reply …. I have a feeling this isn’t over by a long shot.
I tried it on my dog today and he is giving me fits and I don’t know what to do–I gave him a bath and rubbed anti-itch cream on his skin where he is digging it raw with his paw. I assume( it was on about 2 hrs before he started itching )it has absorbed into his skin. I am wondering how long he will suffer from the itching before he gets some relief. He ate grass outside and then he vomitted.
I just googled sentry pro XFC and saw your post. My dog is having the exact symptoms that your dogs were having. The scary part is I bought the same brand for my cat and applied it at the same time. He is a very old cat.
I’m very worried. I also, use frontline but the vet was closed at Pet Smart so I purchased the stupid, sentry pro XFC.
Now, I am deeply saddened by it. Looks like it is going to be a long night! And why haven’t they taken this off the market??
I just got back from taking my 2 year old pom to the vet after using this horrible product! the vet told me they have nothing but bad reports on sentry pro xfc. i purchased it from petsmart and when i went to return it the employee told me at least one person a week returns it after complications. one dog had a seizure and another dog began bumping into walls like it was drunk. the employee told me petsmart won’t take it off their shelves if they don’t have enough complaints. So a store that consumers trust is going to allow this product to stay because they don’t have enough complaints?! REALLY! i am disgusted in sentry pro for making a product that would harm animals and petsmart for selling it. they both know what this crap has done! my dog was restless, panting, vomiting, scratching, and foaming at the mouth because i trusted the store and read the packaging and felt safe using it on my dog. it’s back to frontline for me. the only reason i stopped using that was the price was getting outrageous. it’s not worth saving a few bucks after watching my baby suffer.
I bought Sentry pro XFC and put it on both of my dogs last night at about 7:00 pm. At about 3:00 am I woke up to a strange sound. I got up and went to check and our jack russell was coughing and gaging constantly. He couldn’t stop. Our beagle was coughing a small amount but not as much as the jack russell. The jack finally threw up and I freaked out and called the emergency vet clinic. They told me to bring him in but my fiance thought that I should wait a bit and take him to the regular vet which opened in just a couple of hours. So, we waited and Jack kept coughing and gaging. We tried to nap but he couldn’t sit still. He kept getting up and re positioning himself all night long. So, I called the vet when they opened and told them what had happened. He said to bathe them so we did and give benadryl and have them eat tuna. After that the Jack russell seems to be improving but the beagle is hoping on one foot and chewing on his feet. The vet seems to think that’s the fleas dieing. He keeps shaking his head too. The main thing the vet is concerned about it seizures and muscle spasms. So far haven’t had those but the first sign of them I am taking them in. =[ My poor babies!! I was just trying to save money and now they have to suffer. From now on it’s frontline for me.
WOW!!! Simply put same exact thing.. Vet was closed, couldnt get Frontline, wasnt prepaired because its the end of season, went to Petsmart bought this JUNK for both of my dogs, one we figured out it was burning his skin right away, we figured it was because he has very sensitive skin, we gave him a bath right away. The other one however, a bit tougher we thought he seems fine. NO WAY, he has burns on his back from this junk, he has scratched so bad that he has 3 inch circle scabs now!!!! NEVER AGAIN WILL I STRAY FROM FRONTLINE. my poor itchy dogs.. P.S. I called Petsmart explaining what happened, they say never had a problem with that product but they will pass it along.
Incident
On 11/3/08 I purchased Sentrypro XFC flea & tick squeeze on for dogs at Petco. I applied this, as directed, to my 6 month old miniature schnauzer puppy. Within a couple of hours, Harley was scratching & biting himself in the area where this product was applied. He then began to act crazy…running around the house, continually shaking his head, drooling & not able to sit still. I checked the back of the box & read that if there were signs of sensitivity from the use of Sentrypro XFC, to bathe the dog with a mild soap & to rinse with large amounts of water. I gave Harley a bath, using a mild puppy shampoo, but this did not work. Harley vomitted 2 times before I gave him a bath. After the bath there was still no change so I went online to do some research. I was totally SHOCKED at what I read about this product! There were thousands of complaints from people who experienced the same thing as I did with their pets. How in the world can this product still remain on the shelves for people to purchase???? I immediately called the Emergency Animal Hospital and I brought Harley in right away for an examination. He was given another bath, injections of Benadryl & a steroid (Dexameth Sod Phos). I was told by the veterinarian that she had seen several cases like this. I brought Harley home and he could not sit still. We were up all night, as he was unable to lay down for a minute. I gave him another bath to see if that would help, but it didn’t. This morning I went and purchased Dawn Soap Detergent as I read that this was the best thing to use to remove any oil left from Sentrypro XFC. I gave Harley his 4th bath & also gave him a half of Benadryl table (which was recommended by the vet). I went to Petco & asked to speak to the manager. I explained to her what had happened & she said that she had many people come in with the same complaint about Sentrypro XFC. She was genuinely concerned & said that she wished that she could remove this product from the shelves. She promtly refunded the money that I had paid for this product.
Damage Resulting
Total cost within 24 hours of buying and applying Sentrypro XFC to my puppy:
$18.99 + tax for SentryPro XFC (money was refunded from Petco.)
$176.20- Emergency Animal Hospital Bill
$ 2.99 – Dawn Soap Detergent to bathe Harley
$ 5.00 – Benadryl
This expense is a huge burden to me. I am a single mom who works paycheck to paycheck. I never have any extra money to put aside & have a difficult time paying my monthly bills. I had to put the vet bill on my credit card. This was so upsetting to have my little puppy go through this & I have so much GUILT for applying this poisonous crap to my dog! Consumers trust that the products on the market are safe for their pets. I cannot believe how many pets have suffered and it’s a shame that SentryPro XFC is still available for purchase. Unfortunately there will be many, many more helpless pets that will experience the same effects that my poor Harley had to go through. I only wish there was something that I could do to stop this from happening again!
4 and half hours ago my ordeal began. I decided to pick up SENTRYPRO XFC at PetSmart because it was Sunday and the vet wasn’t open. at 7pm I applied the crap to my 1 yr old Shih Tzu and my 2 1/2 yr. old Jug. Within an hour both dogs started running around the house like 2 crazed beasts, the Jug started to whine uncontrolably while the Shih Tzu started licking the air.About 8:30pm both dogs started this aweful cough sorta like a reverse sneeze then the Shih Tzu started jumping off and on the couch and kept repositioning herself like she couldn’t get comfortable. She started running around and stopped at my feet as soon as I seen her eyes all bugged out I started to get a little worried. I picked her up and thats when the seizure like activity began. I immediately read the box to see what to do incase of ad reaction, it simply said bathe dog with mild soap and use large amounts of water. Ok simple enough right? NO WHERE CLOSE! I bathed btoh dogs and the Jug seemed to calm down once he was dry, no such luck for the Shih Tzu, she started trembling and her legs were jerking and she kept throwing her head back coughing again. by this time it is 9:30pm. I called local Vetinary Hospitals and they all were closed and gave the number to the nearest trauma center. I called the trauma center and the receptionist told me to wait an hour because the Vet was in surgery. I said ok I would watch her. 10 minutes off the phone and her condition worsened. I grabbed her and jumped in the car and rushed her there. The Vet said this is quite serious because there are 2 pesticides listed on the box the one she has never heard of, she contacted poison control and they recomended 24 hour observation. So as I type my little baby girl is in a cage with an IV doped up on valuim to ease the muscle spasms, I have to pick her up at 8am only to transfer her to a clinic that can keep her full time until she gets better.
So far I have spent $20 on SENTRYPRO
$617.00 to admit her to the emergency trauma center. who knows what tomorrows bills will be! At this point I don’t care how much it costs to get her better because I will get that money back one way or another. Even if I have to sue the bastards! I am now going to purchase Frontline for the whole yr. round not just March-October! Now I feel so guilty for not waiting until tomorrow or I should say today to go to the vet and pick up Frontline.
Please pray for Izzie the Shih Tzu!
I bathed my baby shih tzu this am and applied Hartz Gold after she had dried. About 2 hours later she began having a very bad reaction — foaming at mouth, bad scratching, and noticeable suffering. We’ve rushed her to the vet for help. They are going to bathe her several times, administer benadryl and watch her closely. I do not understand how these products can stay on the market. We must get the word out asap to save other animals from this poison!
11-28-08 I have a King Charles Cavalier that is six months old. Noticed a flea on him (Charlie) and wanted to start a treatment for fleas right a way. Went to PetsMart and purchased Sentry Pro XFC. As soon as I applied it to Charlie he started running around the room trying to rug off what I have just put on this back. I thought this reaction was probably normal. About an hour later, Charlie started turning circles whining as if in pain. We I would pick him up and hold him in my arms we would be calm, but as soon as I put him down, he would start running a whining while looking for a place to hide. I caled by vets office and the office manager got in contact with the vet who was out of the office and he said if Charlie was not vomiting, drulling or had diarea he would be okay, but to wash off the Sentry Pro XFC using something like Dawn liquid several times. I have done all that. It has been about 10 hours since I put the Sentry Pro XFC on Charlie and he appears to be feeling somwhat better. He is still not acting normal, but I hope by tomorrow he will be. Tomorrow I will be paying PetsMart a visit it get my money back and demand they remove a product that adversally affects so many pets.
11-28-08 This is unreal! My 5 month old puppy is currently in critical care overnight at the vet, she was drooling, vomiting, beginning to foam at the mouth, she was having tremors in the car on the way to the vet. Thank god we got her there and treatment before she had a seizure. We are looking at a $700 + vet bill tomorrow morning. Happy Holidays Sentry! This stuff is poison!
To everyone who has had this problem:
I have notified the FDA in a formal complaint of thos issue. They have a form to fill out on their website. just print it out and have your vet fill out some of the info and send it to the FDA they actually have a self addressed portion that prints out with the form. I reccommend anyone who has had their pets have an adverse reaction to Sentry Pro do the same. If we flood the FDA with these complaints maybe they can step in and do something. Petsmart will not remove the product from the shelf unless there is a recall on the product by the manufacturer. So how many dogs have to suffer before they take it off the shelf. I feel as though Sergeants is doing their clinical trials in the community at our cost and the cost of our pets health. Also on the box there is a 24 hour hotline # call them ASAP! I called and the intake person seemed a little cold but there was a consumer realtions person who called a few times to take updates on Izzie’s condition and sent me documentation to fill out and send back with the vets reports. She said they will review the case for a refund of the medical costs. Save the box and any unused product as you will have to send that with the documentation. I made copies of everything.
We just recently moved to CA from OH (where you don’t need to treat for fleas in the winter) so, we were caught off guard by our dogs itching. Because of the move, money was tight, so we chose to use SentryPro XFC this month instead of our usual Frontline…Bad idea! I would rather each Ramen Noodles every day in order to provide my dogs with Frontline. Both my lab and boxer are still itching (we haven’t found any fleas or eggs), and my usually calm boxer has diarrhea and cna’t lay still for more than 30 seconds…he is constantly pacing the house. Although not as serious as some of the other horror stories, I still feel awful, because my dogs can’t DO anything to help themselves!
We just moved from Brazil to Augusta, GA and we’ve used Frontline since Philly, a lovely Maltese, was a puppy with great results. We could not find it at PetSmart and bought SentryPro XFC instead. In 20 minutes Philly was itching and in 40 minutes we had to take her to the Vet. This is the second night in the Hospital and she does not seem to get better. She has the same symptons as the other dogs. It is heartbraking. Where are the authorities of this country?
Wow, I just read this site and I wish I had a week ago. I purchased SentryPro XFC and it too created issues with both of my pugs. I have a male that is 8 months old around 25 lbs, 10 days older than my little female who is about 12 lbs. They both were scratching their neck very frequently, wouldn’t sit still. I noticed the male threw up and ate a lot of grass, and had diarrhea a few times. The female on the other hand, started to develop this unusual spot on the back of her neck. It had this brown sticky icky stuff, and some blood. I left them both in the same crate for a few hours came home and noticed hair was gone about a penny size in the same spot. I cleaned it out and it kept getting worse. I called the vet they too advised benadryl, soft soap and water. Overall it worked but her spot seemed to get worse because she was twisting herself to scratch it, which caused some bleeding.
I saw Dawn soap was used from this site to clean dogs, I just applied it on both dogs. The spot on her neck isn’t hard anymore. Looks better but it smelled, I never noticed that before. I gave both dogs benadryl and they are acting normal hyper pugs. I am going to Petco to get my money back. I am really disappointed and upset that a company can still sell this product as well as the FDA. I also took pictures of her spot before the Dawn bath and after.
Wow, I just read this site and I wish I had a week ago. I purchased SentryPro XFC and it too created issues with both of my pugs. I have a male that is 8 months old around 25 lbs, 10 days older than my little female who is about 12 lbs. They both were scratching their neck very frequently, wouldn’t sit still. I noticed the male threw up and ate a lot of grass, and had diarrhea a few times. The female on the other hand, started to develop this unusual spot on the back of her neck. It had this brown sticky icky stuff, and some blood. I left them both in the same crate for a few hours came home and noticed hair was gone about a penny size in the same spot. I cleaned it out and it kept getting worse. I called the vet they too advised benadryl, soft soap and water. Overall it worked but her spot seemed to get worse because she was twisting herself to scratch it, which caused some bleeding.
I saw Dawn soap was used from this site to clean dogs, I just applied it on both dogs. The spot on her neck isn’t hard anymore. Looks better but it smelled, I never noticed that before. I gave both dogs benadryl and they are acting normal hyper pugs. I am going to Petco to get my money back. I am really disappointed and upset that a company can still sell this product as well as the FDA. I even took pictures before the Dawn bath and afterwards.
On February 5, 2009, I went shopping at Pet Smart. Newby, my 13-year-old healthy full of life Jack Russell, was being groomed in the grooming department. While I was waiting I decided to do a little shopping for her. So I bought a few items, one of the items was a Sentry Pro XFC flea and tick medication. When looking at all the different brands on the shelf, I thought why not – it says three weeks of control, that’s what I get out of my usual flea and tick medication – and this stuff is less than half the price. My gut said way is it so cheap? So just to assure myself that I was making the right decision, I asked a Pet Smart employee about the product. She assured me it would be fine. That was good enough for me and plus why would a store like this endorse a product that they are not confident in. Anyway I pick up Newby from the grooming department paid my bill and drove home.
Later that night, I fed Newby and while she was eating, I read the instructions front to back twice. When she was finished with dinner I applied the Sentry Pro XFC flea and tick medication. Bam, a no brainier that was just as easy as the old medication I used to use. A few hours later it was time for bed.
The next morning around 4:00 A.M. while getting ready for work I noticed Newby, was jumping, running and rolling around. I thought wow she’s in a good mood. A few minutes later I saw her scratching and biting herself. I thought – well the air is a little dry in here with the heat being on. A few minutes after that I noticed violent body shaking and she buckled to the floor. I stopped what I was doing, picked her up and held her like a newborn baby that was having crack withdraw. She was crying, panting, scratching, licking and she couldn’t sit still. She was going nuts. I have never seen her act like that before and I was scared. After a couple of hours she fell asleep, so I put her down and decided to do some research online. Now I was terrified after reading story after story of people telling what happened to their dogs after using Sentry Pro XFC flea and tick medication. Titles like “My dog died after I put Sentry Pro XFC flea and tick medication on him” and “Sentry Pro XFC flea and tick medication almost killed my dog”. Hundreds of stories, describing the same symptoms that Newby is going through. Nice, great I just killed my best friend.
I got a hold of my veterinarian and made the earliest appointment they had. When I finally got Newby in to see her vet, he did a number of tests. He saw her allergic reaction symptoms and called your hotline number to help him diagnose the different compounds that are in Sentry Pro XFC flea and tick medication. He felt this would speed up the recovery. He found high white cell count and blood in her urine and is going to call me back with the blood work results. He said the most important thing do right now is to monitor her and bring her back in if she gets worse.
I chose this product for all the wrong reasons – money. In a time when the world is going to hell and everyone is being penny-wise, I chose to save a little money on the most important thing in my life, Newby.
Boy am I glad I read these comments. I just bought some SentryPro XFC for my lab and terrier but decided to Google it before using since I’d never heard of it. Well needless to say, this product is going back and my mutts will be back to Frontline. Thanks for sharing.
On Feb 15, 2009
I Purchased A Flea Product called Sentry Pro XFC at PetSmart in Clarksville, Indiana…
I Applied it to my Pug the next morning before i left for work..when i returned my Pug was not at the door greeting me as she usually does…I called her and called her but she would not come to me..I looked and called her name several times..still nothing..I finally looked under my bed and there she was…I literally had to drag her out from under my bed and doing so..she was panting hard, twitching and trying to get to her back like it was scratching and running in circles like she was on fire…she was miserable to say the least..I got this product and called the hotline number and they advised me to give her a bath with dawn dishwashing liquid and then apply vitamin E to the area…I did as they said for me to do…she was miserable the whole night …whinning and scratching..and twitching…I couldn’t help but to cry myself..she was my baby..and I hated to see her in so much agony and pain..she was suffering so much…When I got up the next morning..she was still in alot of pain…but I had to go to work…i hated leaving her…At 9 am i called my vet and made arrangements to get her in there…I had explained what had happened…
My dog had suffered a reaction to Sentry Pro XFC. The vet administered some fluids under her skin to dilute the chemicals and gave her some steroids to take…but my dog is still suffering from scratching and twitching at times…
WHY is this product still on the market? I have read that many people are experiencing the same problems with their pets..its just not me…
Yesterday afternoon I bathed my rat terrier and after he dried I applied the Sentry Pro XFC as directed on the box. He seemed a little restless later that evening and by 6am this morning he was trembling, twitching and scratching constantly. The poor thing has been miserable all day and refuses to eat. I bathed him several times and made sure to rinse him well. We gave him benadryl hoping that would calm him down and help ease the itching but he doesn’t seem any better. I’m taling him to the vet tomorrow unless there’s a dramatic change. I’m so angry with Sentry, Pet Smart, and myself. I wish I had searched online about this poison before I gave it to my baby!!
Mary you are not alone..I wish I had searched before i gave it to my dogs too…I felt so bad because i am the one who put it on her…and she had to go through the symptons all day long while i was at work…I will never give her anything or put anything on her before i leave anymore…I can only imagine what she went through…poor thing…and to think that Sergeants are still marketing this product…Make me ill!!!! Good Luck….
Let us know the outcome at the vets…
This same reaction occurred in both of my Rottweiler dogs. They are 2 years old, one is 55 lbs, and the other is 76 lbs. I bought the XFC for dogs 44-60 lbs.. thank the gods I didn’t buy the larger dose for the bigger dog. My 55 lb dog was hit worse than my larger dog, but they are both coughing, panting, drooling, scratching, and the smaller one is walking sideways! I have bathed them twice with regular shampoo trying to cut through the XFC oils. There were 3 tubes of the crap inside the box i bought. I want to squeeze some in my then go shake the hand of the Petsmart manager where I bought the crap.
I can’t afford to take my dogs to the emergency clinic over this, but I’m off to buy dawn dish soap and benadryl as i write this.. I will definitely never buy another Sergeant’s product! How can Petsmart carry this??
Treated our 4 year old Lab mix about two hours ago and she’s acting hyper and crazy. Snapping and lunging at her hind quarters, panting like crazy. Have bathed her twice and used plenty of water to rinse. Hope this has removed this terrible product from her and she feels better soon. My advice to all dog owners is avoid this stuff.
I put Sargeants on my 15 lb Shih Tzu and within 30 minutes he started jerking his legs, then he started yelping loudly (in pain). Then he lapsed into partial unconsciousness. I called Sargeants Hot line and they didn’t sound alarmed or surprised. They told me to bathe him in Dawn original liquid dishwashing detergent. Then they told me to coat him in Vitamin E oil. I had to go out and buy the Dawn and Vitamin E oil. We followed the directions. Our precious Shih Tzu slowly (more than a day later) regained consciousness and days later seemed normal. Sargeants should be arrested for selling this poison to unsuspecting pet owners.
Just gave this to our 4 year old Shi-Tzuh and she is having similar symptoms. On our way to Walgreens for Dawn and benadryl…our poor baby!!
My 9 month old puppy was hospitalized overnight after licking the Sentry Pro – he almost died of the seizures.
Oh my God – I can’t believe this product is still on the market. We always use K9 Advantix and my husband decided to try this Sentry product on our 2 Lhasa Apsos.
Our girls had the same reaction yours did and have had 2 baths. I called the 800# and the emergency vet and was advised to bath them then watch for any possible life threatening reactions and if they happen to start frothing at the moutn to get them to the vet right away. The youngest seems to have settled down a little but the oldest is still whimpering, scratching, wandering from bed to bed and chewing her paws – not to mention panting excessively.
what do we have to do to get this poison off the shelves?
I too wish I would have read about this before yesterday. I am kicking myself for trying to save a few bucks and not going with my dogs usual tick control, somethign through my vet, Frontline or K9 Advantix…I do not remember.
It looks like we are lucky as my dogs only seem to be having a mild allergic reaction that is leaving them mainly uncomfortable and unable to lie still but I cannot believe with all of this happening this stuff is still avaliable!!
Thank you, thank you all for posting. I usually research everything I use for my entire family as I am an RN. I bought the SentryPro XFC as it was a new (to my PetSmart) product and put it on my two dachshunds. I googled it right after I applied it to them, just to be safe. After I read through this post I washed them both thoroughly, twice. I washed them as the med was still wet on their backs. Been 2 hours and no symptoms.
Whew!!!
Thanks everyone.
This stuff needs off the shelf!!!!
I have a two year old terrier mix dog. I used SentryPro and my little buddy and he had a full blown seizure! I had to take him to the emergency vet clinic where they did blood work, iv with fluid, bathed him, gave him activated charcoal and kept him overnight. I am spreading the word to all my friends to NEVER use this product and I will be filing a full complaint to the Petsmart location where purchased and to Sentry. After a vet bill of $430 it’s not worth the couple of pennies saved from using this less expensive product over the suffering he went through! Shame on you Sentry!
I hope your little guy is doing better, Amiee. After a terrible night with my lab puppy, Milo is no worse for wear, but I’ll definitely be contacting the FDA about Sentry Pro XFC.
I am beyond pissed. I went to Petsmart tonight to get some Frontline for my dogs. The vet assistant told me that they were closed and recommended either coming back tomorrow or using the SentryPro XFC. I told her that my puppy was miniature jack russel mix . I asked several times what size to get and if it would be okay as she was so small. She said it was and had an employee help me get the right ones for each of my other two dogs as well. I arrived home around 8:30 tonight and one by one treated my dogs. My puppy started barking and rubbing her body on everything , about 30 minutes later she started gagging like she had something stuck in her throat. I tried holding her and rubbing her throat, then she started licking the air and gagging worse now. I got up to read the back of the package. When I saw the warning label I immediately put her in the bath , washed her down good and wrapped her in a towel where she just laid down and whined. I quickly got dressed and drove to the ER animal clinic as I unwrapped her from the towel she was having a seizure and foaming at the mouth. The vet practically called me an idiot. He told me that there is a huge lawsuit about this very product killing hundreds of animals, cats dogs and the like since it came out and that she would probably not make it through the night at this point. So far I am at just over 600.00 but with resucitation possibly into the 1200 dollar range. The vet has told me to keep my phone by me as they would need my permission to put her down should it get much worse. Tomorrow I am to pick her up ( please god ) and take her to another vet for extended treatment as she is so little. The worst part being that the dose they recommended was 3 times the amount needed to kill her. I will be heading to Petsmart tomorrow and then a lawyer. I have washed my other two dogs , one was vomiting but showing no other side effects. He has taken the benadryl as well as eaten the tuna and seems to be okay. I have a chihuahua laying at my feet whimpering as I write who refuses to eat or drink which I am hoping is only due to loneliness as his playmate is gone at the moment, but should things take a turn for the worse off I go again.
I can’t believe I bought this stuff… My little 5 lb. Bichon/Papillon can’t stop scratching and whining. DO NOT BUY THIS STUFF!!!! You will be sorry and your pet could be seriously harmed… No sleep for me tonight…
I used Sentry Pro XFC on my dog on Saturday night and I have been up with him ever since. He is scratching, air licking, twitching and crying. I wiped him down, but I will now wash him with dawn soap as recommended by my vet and I have been giving HoBo Benadryl and that has helped. I called Pet Smart where I bought this product and they were very concerned and will report it to the main company. The Vermont Store here is VERY GOOD. I also called poison control. Had I not read about this product on line my little guy could be dead right now. He is doing better, still twitching and can’t settle down to sleep much, but he is better Monday morning than he was. This product should be taken off the market and from what I have read, THEY DO KNOW THAT THIS IS KILLING AND HURTING DOGS.
My standard healty poodle is another victim of Sentry Pro XFC posin. Within 30 minutes of application, my pet had a severe allergic reaction and began frothing at the mouth, running in circles, trying to scratch, licking his paws, shaking, and panting excessively. We tried to remove the application by washing and applying vitamin E oil, and gave him baby aspirin and Benadryl. It helped, but its been two days and he seems better. I just reviewed online comments about this Sentry Pro XFC product and discovered it has been harming and killing pets for more than two years and the manufacturer is defending a number of law suits, but still refuses to recall this harmful product. I will file my report with the FDA today, and call my lawyer who will do everything possible to get the FDA to order this poison product off the market ASAP, I will file a lawsuit immediately against the company.
I had posted our horror story earlier this week; however, I guess I did something wrong – cause it’s not here. Same story – as everyone else’s. It happened two weeks ago tonite – applied this poison to our 3 little girls – a 3 y/o Doxie, a 2 y/o Pug and a 9 m/o Pom. The Pug’s reactions were immediate – scratching, biting, licking, running circles. About two hours later the Pom started drooling, eyes dialated, etc. Had to take them to the ER – and they kept them about 12 hours. The Pom was pretty well back to normal by that evening, the Pug didn’t totally recover til almost a week later and both ended up with what looked like chemical burns – which of course was another vet visit.
I have filed complaints with EPA, Consumer Advocates and Sergeants. We got a “get well soon” card from Sergeants today in the mail. They also called to “interview” me – although I had the distinct feeling they were trying to get me to say that I had done something wrong – applied it incorrectly, used the wrong dosage on the girls, etc.
So – same story – different names. This stuff is bad news and as bad as it was for us – I think we got off pretty lucky.
I used Sentry XFC on my two Shih Tzu’s. That night, they howled all night. I have just moved and bought the product because I know have grass and found a tick in one of the dogs. I thought they were howling because that was the first night in two weeks I happened to put them in their cage. By the next morning, I happened to call in sick that day from work, one of the dogs was growling at me and acting very strange. I looked online about product and with just googling the product name found so many horrible stories. Immediatly took them to the vet. One dog was mildly uncomfortable but the other one was so bad he needed “doggy morphine” for three days and has horrible scabs vs. burn marks on his back. I feel terrible. What if I wasn’t home, would he still be alive. Cost me over 200 dollars in vet bills. Of course worth it.
Cont….
I also called the hotline number on the package who “suggested” I had overdosed my dog, I actually only used 3/4 because of the viscosity of the product was difficult to apply, thank goodness. They also suggested when I notified them of my findings on the internet that the other customers had overdosed their dogs. I then asked the rep if he would use the product on their dogs and he remained silent. Hmmm… What if I had used the entire product for the weight recommended dose?….
I wish I had found your site before i used this product on Gabi. We spend most of last night at the emergency vet. She had all the same symptoms as the other dogs here. They bathed her in Dawn and gave her 2 shots. Told me to use benedryl twice a day for the next three days. Her poor skin is bright red. She is miserable. I feel so bad. She wants me right with her all the time. I hope she gets better soon. I hate seeing her like this. I wish i could do something to prevent others from going through this.
I applied Sentry Pro XFC to my dogs last night and spent the night up with a dog that had all the symptoms described. Not being aware of the problems it took me a while to figure out the cause of his symptoms. I gave him Benadryl, a cold bath and hydrocortisone spray at the site of the greatest irritation with no relief. The symptoms of hyperactivity, itching, whining, panting, restlessness, etc. lasted approximately 18 hours even with intervention. I will never use it again.
We just finished washing our 3 pugs in dawn dishwashing soap and giving them benedryl. Their reactions to this product are identical to those already posted, including gagging, trembling, scratching and rolling/rubbing against everything. Hopefully we don’t end up at the emergency vet, too. DO NOT BUY THIS CRAP!!!!!! Who knows what long term damage it may do to them.
I wish I had read these before applying to my little dog. She is going crazy. Bumping into furniture and flopping on the ground. How in the world is this toxic crap on the market? I am pissed. Will wash her with Dawn now. I hope she will be okay.
Do not buy this poison !!!!!!!
As many others I wish I had found your site prior to buying this crap.
I found a tick on Brady my 1 1/2 year old Shit tzu . Alarmed, went to Petsmsrt to buy something that would prevent ticks, fleas so on. Of all products available
XPC Seemed as best choice, it was actually more expensive than others . I thought it had to be good. What a mistake!!!!!
With in 30 min dog was acting strange. Rolling on his back , sitting down a lot
Heavy breathing, constant itching, running in circles , bidding his tail , when called no reaction . It was as if he became a vegetable with sporatic movements. I had no clue what was wrong with him . His ears and belly was hot I am suspecting fever …So I gave him a bath which seemed to help a little, he slept 2 hours. This morning , ears still a little hot , acting strange as if he were sadaded ….. Took him for a walk but he was not his usual self. He would scratch , even lie down in middle of street . …….
I AM SO PISSED….. Something like this should be taken off market ASAP!!!!
Here I am buying something that should be good for my baby and it’s making him sick !!!!! Please do not buy this !!!! Let your vet recommed a on spot treatment. It’s very sad and frustrating to see your dog suffer .
Taking him to vet. This company should be shut down for making this crap !!!!!!
So mad!!! Poor Brady
It has been is absolutely ridiculous what we have been going through with my 11 month old lab and 8 month old Shih Tzu. We have not slept in 2 nights so far and I think we are in for another sleepless night! The first night my lab paced the floor rubbing on the walls, furniture, cabinets, etc ALL NIGHT! Also foaming at the mouth. She nor I got any sleep. Then my Shih Tzu started acting funny. He would lay down then jump up like he had been poked with a cattle prod. Now the lab is doing the same thing and shaking her head like she has mites in her ears. Poor things have had no rest and I feel so bad because I bought this “shit” of a product. It is now day 3 and neither one of them is back to normal. Symptoms are getting a little better but they are not by any means back to normal. BEWARE!!!!!! I could not imagine both my dogs (2 completely different breeds) have the same reaction. Now I know by reading these blogs I am not alone and I am wondering why this product is still on the market! How many dogs have to suffer before they pull it off the shelves? Anyone reading this DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!
my dogs doing the same thing after using zodiac
I applied this to our chocolate lab, and ended up giving her two chemical burns where the product was applied. Used Frontline before and this never occured.
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NEVER USE THIS PRODUCT!!!!
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MY LITTLE DOG STARTED ITCHING ON HER BACK, HER BACK PAWS STARTED TWITCHING REAL BAD, IT WAS HARD FOR HER TO LAY DOWN AND GET COMFORTABLE. EVEN AFTER WASHING IT OFF, THIS WENT ON FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS. FYI: USE THE BLUE DAWN DISH SOAP ON PETS. IT KILLS FLEAS AND IT TAKE THIS CRAP OFF. (:
Thanks so much for your Post!
My girl’s dog got this Sentry product, started kicking and scratching the air, shaking his ears and even climbed up to me! We knew something was wrong because that dog hates me.
I got already the Benadryl and Dish soap.
Thanks for sharing. Hopefully this post will help take this crap off the market.
I purchased sentrypro for my 3 chihuahuas, fox terrier and labrador. This stuff is poison. I have been up all night long with very miserable dogs and am kicking myself for trying to save money. I always used Advantage but thought the fact that this was less expensive and it said it was for mosquitoes as well that it would be ok. I mean I went to the pet store right? I have bathed all of my dogs 4 times with dish soap, applied vitamin E oil per the lady at the 1 800 number. This product really needs removed from these shelves. I will returned the product and purchased the Advantage this morning.
I wish I would have found your site sooner.On Tuesday June 9 at around 4:00 P.m I applied this horrible stuff on my 3 shih tzus,almost immediate reaction to this crap.They started going crazy and running around,we bathed them for at least an hour and called their number,they told us to bathe them with dishwashing detergent and cold compresses.Here we are at 11:00 p.m and no better.We dont know what to do!We need a class action lawsuit to get them to take this off the market….
I too used the SentrPro SFC on 3 of my dogs 6/12/09. Two out of the three had terrible reactions, which included: severe panting, trembling, scratching, irritability and crying. As soon as I noticed the panting in one dog I went looking for the others. We immediately contacted a vets office. We were told to immediately bathe the dogs with Dawn or Palmalive Dish Washing soap. This helped some with one, but not the other. So we then bathed them a second time. We ended up calling Animal Poison Control ($60) and were told to apply vitamin E and apply cold compresses and if really needed, liquid childrens benedryl. This did indeed help some. My dogs were severely agitated for 2 days. Now one is still panting sometimes and lying around. I contacted Sargents Pet Co. and were told that this was “only a sensitivity issue and that their hair may fall out.” I am furious that this product is still on the market and that this company told me they know of these issues. I too used to use Frontline, but it has become so expensive. I am going to go back to using Sentinel. I just wanted more people to be aware of this hazardous product and not check online “after” there is a problem.
OMG, I wish I had found this site sooner. Same symptoms as all the rest. I had already bathed my dogs several times and gave benadryl before finally doing some research. I am very lucky my dogs where not as bad as some of these unlucky pets. I don’t understand…the FDA has yanked some products that had far less side effects. Why have they not done something about this crap.
PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT
Value your pets life not the almighty dollar. I had to learn the hard way too.
Like so many, I used this product with horrible results. Two nights ago, I applied the product to my five dogs. All but one had a reaction. Two of them were so bad, I was forced to take them to the vet after, giving all of them baths, forcing tuna water down them, and rubbing aloe (I live in Florida) on their backs. The two worst dogs (3.5 lb Chihuahua and 35 lb. mixed breed) are still not right. The vet did blood work on the Chihuahua and found that he was dehydrated but all else looked normal. They gave both dogs IV fluids, steroid injections and a benedryl injections and told me to keep an eye on them. The vet said that all of the OTC flea meds may cause the same problems as they are using “old technology.” Well it is the next day and they are still pretty much the same. But to add insult to injury, I FOUND FLEAS on the mixed breed dog. So apparently the only thing that this stuff bothers is the dogs because the fleas are doing fine.
In reply to Teri, I was told by my vet yesterday that the ingredients that are in the SentryPro XFC do not kill the fleas and ticks. It is also very toxic to cats if the cat gets around the dog. So now we are worrying about the cat for a month and having to quarantine it upstairs away from the dogs. So now everyone also needs to worry if they have used this products and have a cat in the house.
I gave my 2 chihuahuas the sentry pro xfc and they both immediately started shaking and twitching. I thought they were reacting to the dying fleas. However, they started coughing and drooling profusely. They began vomitting all over my house. I called the 800 number and they attendant said to wash them with dish washing liquid. I did this, but they are still having muscle spasms and shaking. they cannot seem to get comfortable and sleep. I gave them both benadryl. I hope they will calm soon. i am very concerned. I have fed them and tried to make them drink water. they still seem to be having muscle spasms and it has been 5 hours since I bathed them. I bathed them twice to make sure I remoced all of the poison. I am very pissed an I cannot believe this crap is still on the market.
This stuff made my 1 y/o Black lab foam and start rubbing everything. we gave him a bath and applied tuna gonna buy some benydril and now he is acting normal, then we read online and were amazingly angery, they have had thousands of complaints and lawsuits yet they still sell this. wish we read sooner.
Just yesterday I purchased Sargeants Sentry Pro XFC for the 9-20lb range dogs. I applied the product as per package directions and all four of my dogs got a bad reaction. In fact this morning I had to rush 2 of them to the local vet emergency hospital. One of them had to stay and be hooked to IVs and administered Robaxin and Benedryl as well as fluids and we don’t know if he will make it or not. The other dogs are here at home with me but all are showing signs of sickness–pain,irritation,shaking and nervousness. I am disabled and on a very fixed income so I thought I was purchasing a safe product that would protect my babies at a reasonabel cost. I simply felt I could not afford the expensive Frontline product. Now I have a $462.50 vet bill and probably will have more to come and might even lose the sweet animals I have grown to love with all my heart. This product is very dangerous and should not be sold to any consumers anywhere. Had I known of its horrible effects I certainly never would have applied it to the babies I consider my children. I feel so guilty and angry. The Sargeant Company should be ashamed to market such a product knowing how awful it is. My vet told me that they were having many people like myself bringing their beloved pets to them because of the bad side effects of the Sargeant products. In todays economy where people have little extra to spend a product such as Sargeants seems to be an economical answer to their pets flea,tick and mosquito problems. Because of Sargeants false representation, I am now forced to spend money on vet bills that I truly can’t afford. After becoming disabled and losing my job last year, I am barely able to make ends meet and this is truly an expense that I am unable to deal with. Also, the anguish of watching my loved ones suffer is unbearable. Tonight is the first time me and my precious Current have ever been separated. I am terribly worried that he will never be the playful active dog he once was—in fact I am afraid he may never fully recover in that is seems to be neurological damage he has suffered. I did everything correctly and trusted what I read on the Sargeants package directions. For anyone who loves their pets, I hope you will heed this warning and never ever purchase another Sargeants product.
I had the same aweful expirence with Sentry Pro XFC. I’ve used the regular Sentry Pro so I didn’t think twice about using this. I should have. I applied it to both my dogs, but only my female had a reaction. It started with her not being able to sit still so we took her out for a walk, we should have known something was wrong because she didn’t get excited when we got the leash out. We were walking and she didn’t seem her self. We got her home, she refused water and started vomiting. We called the Emergency Vet where we found out how aweful this product was and how she needed to come in ASAP. They admitted her, bathed her (which we came home and did the same for our other dog and cats). She did develop muscle spasms, but they are going away. I have never been so scared in my life! I felt horrible because I applied this to her, but this isn’t my fault! This product MUST get off the market and we all need to take a stand and get it off. What if there was a product out there for humans doing this?
I too bought ans used this product on my Lhaso Apso. I thought I was being proactive being that we were going to the park the next day and I hadn’t received his Advantix in the mail. It took him an hour before he showed sings that something was wrong. I promtly washed it off and gave him some benedryl. That did not help. He was panting and overheating and incessently pacing. He couldn’t get comfortable. I am 7 months pregnant and I was up with him all night and bathed him 5 times that evening. nothing was helping. I finally gave him a trank at 5am, to help him. It didn’t even slow him down. At 7 am I held him down and applied ice packs to the effected area and forced water down his throat. After and hour with the ice packs he finally calmed down and passed out. I kept him on ice until the vet opened. This cost me a fortune, because it was Sunday. I spent the whole night worried that he was going to overheat and die and there was nothing I could do about it. This was also a disaster for my health and the baby I am carring… I gestational Diabetes and the stress of worrying about him cause my sugar level to go really high, I them needed to go to the hospital because of that and exhaustion. This product must be removed from the market!!!
It’s VERY VERY VERY important that you contact Sergeant on this and also your local media for a consumer report. Word got out of what happend with us and our local news did a consumer report warning people of ALL spot on treatments, but our problem was with the Sentry Pro XFC. It was so heart breaking to watch my pet go through what she went through, plus my husband was a wreck! Our pets are our children since we have none and may never. We treat them with love and care as it sounds like everyone on here does. We must take a stand and warn EVERYONE on this product and those like it. Not only is it heart breaking, but it’s extrememly expensive.
Hi,
I posted back in Feb. 8, 2009. I just wanted to share the following. Last night on Fox News Edge in Washington DC, Laura Evens did a story about Sentry Pro FXC. She reported about complaints of allergic reactions that dogs were having. She showed pictures of dogs that were badly burned from the poison and also had a quote from Sergeant’s Pet Care Products in response to the allegations. Sergeant’s representative Kellie Habeb’s statement was “THOUGH WE DO NOT WANT TO SPECULATE ON WHAT HAPPENED, IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT JUST AS WITH HUMANS, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SOME PETS THAT CANNOT AND SHOULD NOT USE A PESTICIDE BECAUSE THEY ARE SENSITIVE OR ALLERGIC TO CERTAIN CHEMICALS. IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT FLEA AND TICK CONTROL PRODUCTS ARE PESTICIDES AND EACH DOSE IS FORMULATED FOR SPECIFIC WEIGHT CLASSES”. I was kind of hoping for an, I am sorry or your right and we are pulling it from the shelves or we need to reimburse all the suckers we swindled or we have made a grave mistake for not pulling it sooner or I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy. No we got more of the same, no ownership of the crime they are committing. Saying “THOUGH WE DO NOT WANT TO SPECULATE ON WHAT HAPPENED, in the same paragraph with, EACH DOSE IS FORMULATED FOR SPECIFIC WEIGHT CLASSES” sounds to me like they are speculating. They are making it sound like we the consumer must have made the mistake of not reading the instructions. They also say “It is important to remember that FLEA AND TICK CONTROL PRODUCTS ARE PESTICIDES and each dose is formulated for specific weight classes”. We are not complaining about other flea an tick PRODUCTS we are complaining about SERGEANT’S and don’t try to fool the public by making it sound like your product Sentry Pro FXC is equivalent to Frontline or any of the other responsible pet care companies.
If I was watching that story last night and didn’t know better, I would have agreed with the response from Sergeant’s. Unfortunately I do know better and it brought all of the anger back to me. I’m sick to my stomach!
Dear Sergeant’s,
I don’t want to SPECULATE but if you want to kill my dog please do it fast, because the last time you tried it was a long grueling process that cost my dog a lot of discomfort and pain and it cost me a lot of money not to mention she still isn’t back to her old self.
SPECULATE THAT !!!
how can we find this online?
I just went on Fox’s News website in DC. I couldn’t find anything, I’m not sure if it’s too soon for them to post that report or if they plan on posting it at all. It was very short one or two min. long. I did see that Laura Evens twitters. I don’t but if you do you can try that. If you get nothing and you are still interested I can video the report and put it on youtube. I have never done that but I can try.
Mike – thanks for post about Fox doing a bit on SENTRY PRO XFC – better known as slow torture for our four legged kids!!! If you do happen to post to YOU TUBE, please post here so we can see that it is out there – and thanks for even attempting to do it. I would LOVE to hear what these jerks said. Y’all are right though – when they called to interview me – they did their best to get me to say that I used the WRONG dosage for our small dogs. Didn’t happen – but that was their plan. Our pug is still having skin issues and I know it is a result of the Sentry PRO – she hasn’t been herself since the night I applied it to her.
I understand that with all “medications” just like with people – some dogs are going to have an adverse reaction – but please – so many of us have given it to more than one pet – and as in our case – two out of three had severe adverse reactions. I don’t think those are very good odds.
Still say this stuff should be taken off the market. After our nightmare with this stuff – we won’t even use Frontline or Advantix anymore – rather we have found a natural flea/tick repellant that – so far – we are having good luck with. During my research trying to find a natural remedy – I read a post from a doctor (on another website) that said giving “spot drops” to dogs or cats to get rid of fleas or ticks would be like a person having chemo-therapy to get rid of a cold. That kind of puts the “poison” factor into perspective for me. That is scarey…very scarey.
No luck on twitter so far, but keep me posted if you post it or see it. I’ll keep checking.
Billie Sue, what natural product are you using now? We are never ever using another spot on treatment on our dogs or cats again. Ever since we used the Sentry Pro XFC our dogs have been having an itching frenzy, i’m going to give them baths tonight with an Avocado Oil Oatmeal shampoo and rub them down with a little flax seed to see if that helps, but if not, then it’s another trip to the vet, which means more money. This company just doesn’t get it, plus honestly, how many people can really apply this product wrong, my goodness, it’s not rocket science! I live in NE and i’m halfway tempted to pickett!
Jennifer – we are using “Cedar-cide” – smells really good and so far has really done well for us. Try to go to http://www.cedarcidestore.com and see if that will take you to all the info about it. If not – just do a search for cedarcide and the website should pop up for you. you can get all types of products – for pets, to spray in the yard, your home, etc. My husband’s co-worker has used it for quite a while and has had excellent results. Hope this helps.
Wow. I bought the SentryPro XFC today at PetSmart because my husband forgot to go to the vet, but when I got home and showed it to him he didn’t think it would be as good as the Advantix we had been using since we got our dog two years ago. So, I said I’d research it online and I’m SO glad I did before we used it on Rowdy. This is going right back to the store tomorrow! Thanks so much to everyone who posted here, and I hope you and all your precious pups are doing better after such unfortunate and horrible experiences.
I am so glad the young man at Petco told me not to do it!!!! I decided to come home and do my own research!! THANK YOU LORD – Cause I do not have money to pay a Vet. It pays (no pun intended) to do your research. I sincerely pray that all the dogs/cats will be better.
I WISH the person at Petsmart had told me NOT to use SentryPro XFC!!! I stopped there to buy some Frontline from their vet but they were closed so I bought SentryPro XFC. What a HUGE mistake!! I put it on my mini dachshund a couple of nights ago and withint 20 minutes he started this cough and then throwing up fluid. That continued the rest of the night and he was still throwing up yesterday morning. He wouldn’t drink anything. He also was biting and his paw and scratching all over. I gave him a bath with Dawn and then took him to the vet. He is currently on anti-nausea/vomiting medicine and benedryl. However, that does nothing to prevent his biting/gnawing at his paw. When he was eating last night, he kept throwing his leg into the air. He is going back to the vet today. This stuff is poison and I feel so horrible that I put this on my dog. I pray that he gets better and suffers no side affects from this. I will NEVER again use OTC stuff as a shortcut because the vet was closed. I can’t believe that SentryPro XFC is still on the market. For everyone that uses flea shampoos or gets their pet flea dipped, be kind to your pet and wash them with Dawn dishsoap. The vet told me about using Dawn on my daughter’s pug when we brought her home because she had fleas. She was 8/10 weeks old at the time. Dawn works GREAT for killing fleas and it is the only thing I will use to wash my dog.
I have a 4.5-5.0 lb chiuahua and I applied this to him also, the Seargents brand. I need to know how much benedryl to give him. Please help. I cannot afford a vet visit but I hate to see him suffer like this, I have already bathe him twice with dawn.
I put this stuff on my German Shepard and she now has 2 bald burning spots and her paw is red from she scratched this poison .. we are bathing her a second time with baby shampoo and gave her Benedryl… we are all trying to save money, but its costing us more by having to watch our dogs suffer. Did anyone get Petsmart to give them their money back? This is crazy…. my dog is not trusting me anymore
Teresa,
Call Sergeants and report it! Also call your vet and have them report it to the EPA. They are required to do so anytime an animal has a reaction to a flea product. Sergeants, along with others is being investigated by the EPA so unless these things get reported the product will remain on the shelves and other pets will suffer!