Oh. Rest in Peace little sweetie. What did the vet have to say?
Susan

I am so sorry for your loss. My youngest daughter has a chihuahua that we rescued at the local pet store (someone just dumped her!) and she's the loveliest little dog - quite spunky in certain situations, though.;-) I can't imagine the pain of having this happen in such a sudden, un-explainable way.

That said, I seriously doubt that even if you sprayed a dog in the face - even one as small as a chihuahua - that it would kill. Maybe some eye damage and sickness for awhile, perhaps, but not kill.

Imidacloprid and other pesticides are sometimes applied directly to a dog's skin for flea control. Advantage is a familiar brand name, for instance. My daughter uses it on her chihuahua, in fact.

Please relieve yourself of any guilt.

Imidicloprid is a known, documented trigger of seizures in dogs who are susceptible to seizure disorder.

Because we had a seizuring dog, I have never and will never use Imidicloprid on my property.

For dogs who may possibly be susceptible to seizure disorder, Frontline is a safer chemical. Never, never, EVER Imidicloprid.

Jeri in Southern California

I think just as a safety precaution, from now on I'm going to make sure that the dogs are inside the house before I spray. I know the vet reccommended that we didn't treat him for fleas with any kind of treatment, so he's never been exposed to Advantage, FRontline, Etc (and luckily never had a flea problem). My other dogs all take chewable heartworm/flea preventatives, rather than the topical treatments. I didn't mention the insecticide while I was there because I didn't think of it at the time.

Susan, the vet I took him to wasn't my regular vet. My vet was about 20 minutes away, so I took him to the cloaest one, so they really weren't familair with him. They just guessed that it was his heart or a stroke :( Wish I knew more....

Tammy

They didn't do a necropsy? Guessing is poor vet work. I'm really sorry you lost your dog, whatever it was from. I had a dog once with a seizure disorder, and it's no fun.

I'm so sorry about your doggy. :(

My heart goes out to you on this passing of your sweet pup. I know you are in pain and so confused. Please don`t blame yourself. You don`t know for sure what happened...maybe it was just his time. I know that my pup wants to be with me every time I am in my garden...he is my best helper. Your other dogs will help you get thru this, but keeping them inside when using any chemicals will be a good thing now. Just to have peace of mind. I am so sorry for your loss. Lesley

Thanks for the condolences...it is still a shock, but I'm glad he went quick and did.t suffer.

They didn't do a necropsy because he would have to have been sent off to the University of TN vet school for it, and they're quite expensive. Since he had already passed, I didnt feel it was necessary. Just the thought of him going through the necropsy would have made me feel worse :(

It's very clear you gave him a happy life...do remember that. So very sorry.
Laura

It's very clear you gave him a happy life...do remember that. So very sorry.
Laura

I remember every pet that lived with me and it never gets easier when they leave. Even the pets that are old and fading away leave us sad when it's time for them to go. I try to hold it together at the vets and then I go home and it hits me. All you can do is try your best for them.

Remember to limit your exposure to chemicals as you garden. Wear a mask and safety gloves when handling chemicals to preserve your own health for the future. Avoid contact with any sprayed areas until you are sure the spray has dried. I wash down surrounding areas with the hose after spraying to limit wildlife exposure.

Rest in peace, sweet Dusty. I can tell that your Mama loves you. I'm really sorry about this, Tammy.

Hugs,
Connie

See the following news article that appeared today:

http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/2012/pets-and-environmental-health

Here is a link that might be useful: pets-and-environmental-health

Hey, Henry! THANK YOU for that!

A large % of "Dog People" are very much aware of these problems, these days, and I frankly hate to go to a garden center, and watch people buying some of these chemicals.

Jeri

So sorry to hear that Dusty passed. I think that most of us blame ourselves when something unexplainable happens. Truth..It was his time. Soon you will be able to remember all the good times as the pain passes.
I'm not a lover of chemicalls but I find it difficult to believe that a mild exposure such as this would have caused his immediate death.
Heis at peace and I'm sure that nothing you did had anything to do with Dusty's passing.
Peace and love
Jeannie

Very sorry for your loss. It's a really tough thing and never gets easier. He had a loving home--that is all any of us can ask for.

Thanks for all of the support. Dusty was a rescue from a puppy mill and I had only had him for a few months. As hard as it was to lose him, I would never have changed my choice in adopting him, and at least giving him a few short months of pure love. Being that he was a breeding dog and had been at the puppy mill for 7 years, we really don't know his history. Our vet thought that maybe the seizures were caused by a brain tumor or swelling of the brain. He had been on two different medications, but I guess it was just his time to pass. :( We just got his ashes back from the vet a couple of days ago; which was sad, but also comforting at the same time.

I also appreciate all of the information on pesticides and pets. After thinking about it, I really do think he had more problems than we knew, and that the spray would not have caused his immediate death. I am still being careful and getting all of my other dogs in the house before I do any spraying on my cuttings...just as a precaution. I would much rather be safe, than make any of my other pets even slightly sick. Like I said, I only spray my cuttings and not my full grown roses, because I don't want the pesticides in my yard.

Thanks again, all of your thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated.

Tammy

Sorry about Dusty. TNY78, I'm a vet. Although the seizure link is a true problem, I agree that merely being downwind shouldn't have caused sudden death. As for the guesses of "heart" or "stroke", it is entirely possible for Dusty to have congestive heart failure at 8 years of age (did he have a murmur before?), dogs don't die of either heart attackes as we think of them in humans, or of "stroke". There is no atherosclerosis to bring those diseases on in dogs.

A necropsy would have helped for sure, and it's possible the University wouldn't have been as expensive as you think. I work at Kansas State and previous clients of the Vet School can get gross autopsies free here.

Thanks Prof R...What you've said takes away some of the guilt I've had about his passing. I don't believe that he had a murmur before and he had recently gone through some pretty thorough exams trying to get to the bottom of what was causing his seizures. The only thing we didn't have done was an MRI, because they didn't have the capabilities at my vet, and we would have had to bring him to UT. Our vet and I made the decision that, even if we were to opt for an MRI and it showed a brain tumor, that there really was no reasonable treatment and we would just let him live out his days until it seemed like his quality of life was gone.

He was a fighter and made it out of a horrible breeder situation. Part of his neurological disorder effected his balance, and we even had a little wheelchair specially made for him. He was a sweet little guy and we miss him dearly :(

I think its wonderful that you work with a veterinary hospital. Ever since I was a little child, everyone told me I should have been a vet, and I greatly regret not going into that field and instead ending up in finance. I volunteer every weekend at a no-kill shelter and we also foster special needs dogs (how we came to acquire Dusty last year). Its not the same, but its my little contribution :)

Tammy

ps: sorry for hijacking gardenweb to talk about my Dusty!

I don't see any need to apologize. So sorry for your loss.

Just wanted to say that I really appreciated you sharing this with us, and the Prof's response. Makes me love this place even more.

I just ran across your post from last year. I'm so sorry about your loss. I almost had the same experience and have discovered the link. I had used Bayer Rose & Garden care and my dog walked in it (it's a granular) , licked her paw, and very quickly showed signs of poisoning. The cause was a mystery for a long time but it's Disulfoton--the lead ingredient in the Bayer granular I'd used. It is evidently EXTREMELY toxic to animals. Watch labels and avoid. Hope this helps others with pets.

Sorry for your loss...