Dawn Dish Soap

Verify with FDA CVM →

10 adverse event reports submitted to the FDA

Important: Adverse event reports do not establish that a drug caused or contributed to the event. Consult your veterinarian before making treatment decisions.
10
Total Reports
1
Deaths Reported
1000.0%
Death Rate

Active Ingredients

Dawn Dish Soap

Administration Routes

TopicalUnknown

Species Affected

Cat 6
Dog 4

Most Affected Breeds

Domestic Shorthair 2
Cat (unknown) 2
Beagle 2
Domestic Mediumhair 1
Retriever - Labrador 1
Cat (other) 1
Dog (other) 1

Most Reported Reactions

Lack of efficacy (ectoparasite) - flea 3
Application site erythema 2
Application site irritation 2
Other abnormal test result NOS 2
Application site hair loss 2
Tachycardia 1
Hypersalivation 1
Muscle tremor 1
Weakness 1
Hind limb ataxia 1
Application site lump 1
Application site reaction NOS 1

Outcome Breakdown

Outcome Unknown
4 (40.0%)
Recovered/Normal
3 (30.0%)
Ongoing
2 (20.0%)
Died
1 (10.0%)

Data Summary

Metric Value
Total adverse event reports 10
Reports involving death 1
Case-fatality rate (reported events) 1000.0%
Distinct species in reports 2
Distinct breeds in reports 7
Distinct reactions reported 20
Active ingredients on file 1

Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reporting (CVM AER). Counts reflect voluntary reports only.

Dawn Dish Soap Adverse Event Insights

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine database currently holds 10 adverse event reports referencing Dawn Dish Soap, including 1 reports in which the animal died — a 1000.0% case-fatality figure among reported events only, not a population-level mortality rate. Active ingredient on file: Dawn Dish Soap. Reported administration routes include Topical, Unknown. These numbers reflect voluntary submissions from pet owners, veterinarians, and manufacturers and therefore under-represent mild events and over-represent severe ones — a pattern the FDA has documented repeatedly for pharmacovigilance datasets.

The species most frequently named in Dawn Dish Soap reports are Cat (6 reports), Dog (4 reports), with Cat accounting for the largest share. Within those species, Domestic Shorthair (2), Cat (unknown) (2), Beagle (2) appear most often — though breed popularity and ownership density shape these counts as much as any drug-specific sensitivity. This distribution matters because the same active ingredient can behave very differently across body sizes, ages, and species physiology.

The most commonly reported clinical signs associated with Dawn Dish Soap are Lack of efficacy (ectoparasite) - flea (3), Application site erythema (2), Application site irritation (2), Other abnormal test result NOS (2). Of the 10 reports with a coded outcome, Outcome Unknown is the leading category at 40.0%. Because FDA adverse event data describes correlation rather than causation, these figures are best used to frame informed questions with a veterinarian and to compare reporting patterns across related products — not as a standalone safety verdict on Dawn Dish Soap.

Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reports FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reports Data reflects voluntary submissions and may not represent actual incidence rates

Related

Data sourced from official AKC, AVMA, ACVO, and breed-club veterinary references. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainBreed Editorial