A sad-interesting-happy ending story of a dog accidentally "glued" in a crate after the application of Advantage flea control product was reported last week by the VIN News Service.
The product was applied to the 15-year-old poodle mix before the owner went to bed. The dog was then put in a crate for the night.
From the VIN news story:
Residue from the product Advantage, which was applied between the poodle's shoulders, somehow came in contact with the plastic base of the animal's crate, dissolving the plastic and causing it to adhere to the dog's belly.
When the dog wouldn't come out of its crate the next morning, its concerned owner brought the dog, crate and all, to Dr. Tej Dhaliwal of North Town Veterinary Hospital in Ontario, Canada. Following two hours of sleuthing, Dhaliwal concluded that benzyl alcohol, an inactive ingredient in Advantage, was to blame.
Thankfully, the dog was freed by Dr. Tej Dhaliwal and is doing fine. It is interesting to note that the cause of this dog's problem, benzyl alcohol, is found in many consumer products but it is considered to be an "inactive" ingredient.
From the VIN news article: "It's not possible to determine which products contain the compound by reading their labels, as manufacturers are not required to list inactive ingredients."
Take away message
This story is a good alert for this potential benzyl alcohol and plastic reaction. Also something to consider if your pet wears plastic or plastic-coated collars or jackets that could possibly react with a spot-on flea treatment. The same goes for couches, car seats, or anything your pet may come in contact after spot-on application. Caution is advised.
This story is also a good warning/reminder to not apply pesticide or give medications without monitoring your pet for a while before going to bed or leaving the house.
Related Reading
- The Dangers of Your Pet Ingesting Glue
The popular Gorilla Glue is apparently tasty to some pets. - Well-Intentioned Pet Owners Unknowingly Poisoning their Pets
Top household poison claims from a 2007 survey. - Top 10 Pet Poison Prevention Tips
Pets are unpredictable - prevention is the key to a safe environment for pets (and children). - Top 8 Common Household Poisons
The average home contains many possible poisons for pets and children.
Image: Advantage Flea Control for Dogs by Bayer © PriceGrabber
Comments
That owner (and others in similar situations) might do well to get a wire crate and put a mat or bed on the bottom for the dog to lie on. There’s no excuse for what happened to this dog. On a similar note, though it does not involve glue, plastic dog dishes should not be used as they contain chemicals (I think they’re called PVCs or something but don’t remember the exact name) but the important thing is that those plastic bowls can emit chemicals that can eventually damage pets. Some of them are made of plastic containing melamine as well, a key ingredient in many of the recalled dog foods in that massive recall two years ago. I use stainless steel bowls as oppsed to stoneware or ceramic because I know they won’t break, react chemically or otherwise hurt the dog. The ones I use have rubber on the bottom so they don’t move around on the floor as much. Just FYI. Laura