Unbelievable behaviour fom 2-y-o Schnauzer. Can anybody help?

by Judy
(Houston, TX)

Hi. Can someone please try to help me because I'm at my wits' end. I love my baby Rex so much.

BACKGROUND: He is on hypoallergenic food, treats, etc. and at 10 months he had an almost fatal bout of haemmoragic gastroenteritis that landed him in hospital.
I started giving him Sentinel for heartworm & the K-9 Advantix for fleas. In Jan 2011 he had a horrible reaction from K-9 so I bathed him repeatedly with Dawn to remove it as best I could. I stopped flea treatment altogether for Feb, Mar, & Apr to give him a rest from these pesticides.
In May I gave him the last Sentinel pill and bought 1 pill of Comfortis because I saw a flea on Rex. They told me about the new "wonder pill" Trifexis. So, reluctantly in June & July, I gave him the Trifexis. They say the most common side effect is that some animals vomit after taking it.
I always gave Rex his tablet (wrapped in a pill pocket), about 20 minutes after his morning meal and luckily, he kept it down. He just was a little lethargic rest of the day. However, for the past 2 months now, I've noticed some strange behavior:

HERE IS WHAT I AM QUESTIONING:
1) Why is it that every morning and all day into the evening, does he start doing full body shakes (off and on). These are not seizures. It's like the same quick shake dogs do after you bathe them and they are all wet. I started really noticing it and they must happen at least 10-15 times a day. No fleas or mites on him. Vet is clueless about it.
2) Sometimes, he walks up to his chair or the couch and wants to jump up, but he just rocks back and forth like he is scared to jump or forgot how. Very strange as he has always been a jumper. About 5 or 6 tries later he gets up.
3) He doesn't like to be held much anymore and when I try to pick him up he literally snaps and sometimes bites the tar out of me. It's like he is dazed and confused at times when he does this.
4) The other night he jumped off the bed. I turned on lamp and he would take a few steps and lie down, jump up again run around and lie down again, as if restless. He jumped up and ran around on the other side of the bed near the dresser.
When I called him he ran over to me, looked up and ran around in a real fast circle 2 times. It freaked me out. I held him on couch for about 20-30 min. and then he relaxed and we went back to bed. No foaming at mouth, shivering, or shaking. Again - vet is clueless about it.

Yes, I have had my vet check him out so many times it is unreal. Full blood panels and health workups, including stool and it all has negative results. Heart & pancreas seem fine. He doesn't have any ear infection or ear mites either.
I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO ANYMORE AND I AM WORRYING MYSELF SICK ABOUT IT. HE ALSO DOES SCRATCH AND BITE HIS SKIN A LITTLE, ESPECIALLY WHEN COMING BACK INSIDE OF THIS HOT HOUSTON TX HEAT. All he wants to do is lay around.

A VET Tech admitted the other day (when vet left room) that the spinosad in Trifexis should last 7 weeks. If that's so, when why the hell are they having me give it to him every month? Makes no sense and he only weighs 17 lbs.
Sorry this is so long, but wanted to give you Rex's history. My prayers are that he will be okay and not have neurological damage from these products.
Thank you for any responses/comments.

Comments for Unbelievable behaviour fom 2-y-o Schnauzer. Can anybody help?

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Apr 23, 2014
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Yorkie mix died after 2nd dose of Trifexis
by: Anonymous

My 11 year old Yorkie who I dearly loved died after his second dose of Trifexis. Within a day of his 2nd dose he refused to eat, threw up and had diarrhea. He became weak and I took him to a vet out of town (not the vet who administered the Trifexis). They did blood work and said my dog only had 20-30% kidney function left and would probably not live another month. I took him home but he just became worse, would not eat and kept throwing up. I had to put him down the next day. It broke my heart.
NOTE FROM LINDA AND MAX:
So sorry to hear of your loss. At least he lived to 11 and sounds like he had a lovely life with you. Remember the good times.

Jun 02, 2013
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Suspicions of Trifexis
by: Susan

My husband and I just had our 10 year old rat terrier euthanized because I believe she became extremely ill after we administered Trifexis. She was a healthy and vibrant dog with the exception of a heart murmur but even our vet said that her decline was not attributed to it. I did not mention to him that I had given her Trifexis the day before we saw any symptoms because I never suspected it to be the culprit nor had I even heard of other dog owners claiming that the drug had made their pets violently and fatally ill. In fact after numerous tests including blood work, X-rays and ultrasound our vet was stumped as to what was causing our dog to become so sick. Her symptoms included fever, vomiting, lethargy, loss of appetite, shallow breathing, drooling and extreme pain in her stomach and lower back. She hid in her bed (her dog kennel) and was unresponsive to our coaxing her to come out. Her behavior also drastically changed from happy, jumping, playing and eating to complete lethargy. I knew something was really wrong when she wouldn't eat peanut butter, a treat she otherwise would do back flips for in the past. Her white blood count continued to accelerate so our vet put her on two different antibiotics and meds for her pain. His findings were negative to any parasitic disease, i.e., Rocky Mountain fever, nor could he find any blockage or spinal deterioration. He had mentioned pancreatitis but even that was inconclusive. Her pain seemed to worsen and she bit me when I tried getting her out of bed. I am not 100 % certain that Trifexis caused her illness but I was suspicious after reading several accounts of dog owners whose dogs exhibited similar symptoms after giving the medication. Regretfully, I only came across several testimonies of the harmful and adverse affects Trifexis had on their dogs after we euthanized her and by then it was obviously too late. I have yet to tell our vet about my suspicions. I don't blame him or his staff for her illness and demise after prescribing Trifexis but I would like his feedback regarding the possibility that it contributed to it. I am doing further research on the adverse affects of Trifexis before I tell him.
Grief-stricken in Indiana.

Jan 07, 2013
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mini schnauzer whole body skin shake.
by: Larry

My mini-schnauzer does a whole body shake like his skin is wet probally 10-15 times a day. He has no apparent skin issues, insects, has clean ears and etc. I was hoping to see somewhere on the internet that it's normal but so far no luck.

Nov 23, 2012
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Trifexis - BAD DRUG
by: Tiffany

I gave my three year old dog Trifexis for the first time. 24 Hours later she threw the medication up. I thought she just had a reaction to the medication, as she did the other flea pills.
I gave her her second dose one week ago. Two days later I noticed she would not drink, eat, or play. I took her to the emergency vet Wednesday night. They kept her for 2 days. No answers yet. I am determinded to say it is this medication.
They believe it could have caused Kidney Damage. PLEASE DON'T GIVE YOUR DOG THIS MEDICATION!!!!

Oct 25, 2012
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Danger trifexis
by: Anonymous

My poor little bichon had tremors (shaking) 6 hrs. After I gave him trifexis and also had problems jumping on couch !!! Very scary, I will never give this to him again. He also looked confused!please never give your dog this medication!!!
Scary

Aug 07, 2012
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siezure from trifexis
by: mjones

I gave my 5 1/2 month old Trifexis without researching - he had a mild seizure 24 hours after giving it - I know it is the med, and I foolishly did not research it.

What I want to know - if I stop giving the meds will the seizure stop? Or have I done permanent damage to beuatiful little puppy?

Jul 24, 2012
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Boxer died after Trifexis
by: Anonymous

I have/two boxer both 7 years old and gave both Trifexis. On one no problem on the other she puked up an hour later and became lethargic and would't get up for days unless it was to eat and drink and bathroom. Her eyes were bloodshot almost immediatly. WE took her to the vet and she prescribed a prednisone treatment which seemed to bring her around. After the treatment stopped she went back to the same lethargic, seizures (many) not getting up. We went to the vet to get back on the prednisone but it didn't do anything. She was constantly panting and drooling. She then started to fall over and when she was outside she couldn't get back up the stairs. I tried to lift her and she let out a massive yelp. I couldn't take it anymore and had to get the neighbors to help me get her to the vet. They put her down. This was a healthy rambunctious boxer an hour before I gave Trifexis. It either works fine or is a disaster. I still cry over this dog and it been about 5 weeks now.The other boxer is lost as well. I take her out for walks and she still stops to look behind her to see if her buddy is there.

May 16, 2012
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My Poor Buddy
by: Anonymous

I have a 35 lb. pitbull puppy, Barely 5 months old,today is wednesday i gave him the Trifexis Monday evening, My poor buddy has had every symptom i have have read about, i am horrified, i can not believe my vet has basically poisened my baby. I reminded them that he had a reaction to the wormer they had given him just 2 months ago, they assured me that this medication has nothing to do with that type of wormer. now what? I gave him some childrens benadryl, i cannot afford to keep taking him back to the Vet, What the Hell? Do i wait another day and the risk of him dying? I want to report to 1-800-BAD-DRUG !!!!!!!!!!!Never again will i give this to an animal..And for the Vet to be so unaware of the side effects is just beyond me...Thank you for allowing me to Rant, I really wanted to go smack the Little B*^%*H that was so rude at the vet

Mar 28, 2012
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trifexis side effects
by: am

I went to the vet to after having the heart worm test of course to check on heart guard. I was already using confortus to prevent fleas and my vet talked me into using trifexis. My 6 year old dachshund had taken the first dose and i noticed her acting a little differently. . . Lethargic, and some drooling. Didn't think much of it since it was a hot august. Then one day after the second dose she was very lethargic, excessively drooling, breathing hard, dazed and confused, couldn't jump even though she seemed to want to, very depressed looking, and had to be picked up from time to time(i could tell she wanted to listen but didn't seem to want to move). Got money back on day 2 talked to vet office. They had not heard of any such things, and did not offer and thing so i assumed since it was time release and fairly new id wait it out. She even disappeared for 5 days! Maybe too disoriented to find way back. She gained 7 pounds within that 2 month period. well several months later she had not improved nor had i heard anything i am treating a severe skin infection that showed up and seems to keep returning. she still has a hard time breathing and can no longer JUMP! vet just wants to treat symptoms. thyroid or cushing's disease. I have been to two different vets. i don't know. need more stories of severe cases. plus i am upset and don't want a million dollar dog which she is quickly getting to that. she is my baby and i can't bear her in this condition.

Feb 27, 2012
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Triefixs
by: rose

My dog has the same exact symptoms!!!! I gave him the first pill and he seemed to itch and scratch all the time. I told my vet that I thought he was allergic to the pill. She of course said NO.

I waited 3 months and gave him another pill at the vets urging and he started yelping when I picked him up, would not jump,he acted like he could not do it, very lethargic, feverish, decreased urine output. IT is the PILL!!!!!! I am so angry that I put my dog through this pain. I will never give him another pill like this again. I do know what is best for my dog and I hate that vets advocate repeated shots and these pills.

POOH Bear is a 1.5 yr chihuahua cute as a button.

Nov 23, 2011
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Stop the flea meds
by: Anonymous

If you research you will find that flea meds are not safe at all. there are more natural alternatives

Sep 13, 2011
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Trifexis seizures
by: Anonymous

I'm concerned that Barneys seizures could have been caused by his heartworm medicine. The vet suggested using Trifexis for heartworms and fleas. It was the first time I ever tried it. Now through research I see that many many dogs taking Trifexis are having seizures that never had them before!

Sep 10, 2011
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another possibility?
by: Anonymous

Has your vet considered mild epilepsy? I had a schnauzer that developed very mild seizures at first. He looked kind of dazed - and when he "came to" he would nip or bite - depending on the situation he was in. He didn't have coordination to jump or go up stairs when he was dazed either. It very well could be the medicine you've been directed to give him. But, it may be good to check into epilepsy too.

Aug 08, 2011
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Update on My Mini Schnauzer Rex
by: Judy

Thanks to you all for your time in making comments. I did talk to the vet again and told them I wanted to return the 4 Trifexis pills to them and they did refund the money. I do have to give him something for flea control. So, we discussed it at length and decided to give him Comfortis and see if that works okay. My dog Rex has tried Comfortis only 1 time before, and seemed to do well that one time.
When I made the comments "vet is clueless", it was out of frustration only. I have found only 5 star reviews of this "state of the art" facility and most importantly, the vets all have 5-star ratings. All the staff is great and I trust them and they really do love my dog.
The problem is that this TRIFEXIS IS FAIRLY NEW AND HAS NOT BEEN OUT THERE LONG ENOUGH TO GET MUCH NEGATIVE FEEDBACK. Believe me, I am a "freak" when it comes to researching everything beforehand. I believe my little schnauzer is just "extremely sensitive". I gave him his first Comfortis pill this morning at 7:30 a.m. and said a prayer he will be okay with no side effects. If he has problems with this stuff, I will go to a holistic vet and see if they can recommend alternatives for flea prevention. Thanks again!

Aug 06, 2011
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I'd get a 2nd opinion
by: Anonymous

I too would stop the pill. Then, I would immeditely make inquiries and find another vet and see what he has to say. Take all paperwork and a history and write down everything you can think of that would possibly be of use in the diaganosis. If you haven't done an indepth query on the internet about the T.pill (can't remember the name) do so and see if others have had problems with it.
I'd also join a few dog sites (dogster, etc) and inquire there to see if anyone else has had such problems similar to yours. And what was done for their dogs.
In the meantime, I would not take your pup out unless necessary. Since fleas, etc seem to bother him, get a little tee shirt. (Our dog is bothered by misquitoes in our horrible Atlanta summers) I buy size 4x. Also I spray her with with a an all natural product called Skeeter Beater.It's a combo of essential oils. Amazon carries. And, this may seem crazy, but attach a Bounce dryer sheet to the tee. (friends swear this stops misquitoeson humans and animals)

Aug 02, 2011
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stop medication???
by: Anonymous

I have no vet experience but I would say stop giving him the medication. Sorry I forgot the name of it already! Sounds very odd to me. Hope your loved one gets better!

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