Which works better flea collar or flea medicne application?

Question

I have an 8 week old puppy who i just got on friday and he severely has fleas. I gave him a flea bath the day I got him and bought Sergeants Natures Guardian Flea and Tick squeeze-on for dogs and puppies and also a flea collar. Which of these will work better? Or is both ok to use at the same time? Also how often can I bathe him?

Answer 1

my mom uses frontline on our dogs and shes a vet nurse mom does puppy health checks at work and says you should never use over the counter medication on a puppy always get a vets advice as some are not suitable for puppies

Answer 2

Collars are worthless. Especially if you are in an area where there are a lot of fleas.
But check with your vet. You have to use the right flea treatment or you could harm the puppy.
Don't bathe the puppy more than once a week. You could remove too many essential body oils the dog needs.

Answer 3

I would suggest getting rid of the flea collar asap. Not only does it have toxic powders all over it that could be harmful to your puppy, they could be harmful to you. Make sure you wash your hands with soap and water after handling the collar. Also, some dogs have issues with getting frequent baths. Check with your vet about the frequency of bathing your animal. In addition to flea shampoo, I would also get some carpet stuff which will kill fleas. If your pet comes inside or rubs all over you, your house will be infested within a month. If your pet has bedding, make sure it's washed every other day to kill the fleas and eggs. The best stuff you can get for your puppy is frontline. My in laws breed golden retrievers and it is the only flea medication they use on their dogs. They live out on the lake and their dogs never have fleas, ticks or mites. You can probably find it through a discount website for almost half price.

Answer 4

Flea collars are worthless... they do not work. You should never use anything on a puppy without consulting a vet first. Puppies have very sensitive skin and it could damage him. Also some of the drops that you put on the dogs back can be toxic. Your best bet would be to call the vet and ask them what to do. Also it should have bathing instructions on the bottle of flea bath, that should tell you how often you can bathe him.

Answer 5

Flea collars are notoriously ineffective, and as another poster mentioned, over the counter flea applications can cause toxic reactions. Go to your veterinarian and he/she can sell you Advantage, Frontline, or some other prescription product that is much more effective in preventing flea infections. He can also prescribe a pill called Capstar that you can give up to every 24 hours, which will kill any fleas currently living on him, which should alleviate the need to give him flea baths. Good luck!

Answer 6

You have done the correct thing. Now you must wash all the bedding, and spray with Raid (outdoor) and place where the puppy was. The "eggs" of the fleas take up to 2-weeks to hatch, so you must kill them now before they jump back onto the dog. The best flea protection is the type you give the dog orally. But I think he is too young yet. Ask your vet - then join "Pet Meds" and get his meds over the web and save tons of money. If you are still seeing fleas on the little guy - (look down at his private parts) fleas need to drink and they go for that place and the eyes and ears. Bath him again, just with the sprayer - plug his ears with cotton batton balls, so the fleas can't run in his ears and hide. Spray over his face, holding your hand across his eyes. Use warm water - check it on your own elbow first - that is the most sensitive part of your arm, not the wrist!. As long as you see fleas, don't let him sleep with you, the eggs will get in your mattress and bedding. If you have other animals, you must also treat them. Have fun - and one thing for sure, Never ever let the dog play in the leaves, the most prominent place for fleas to hid. You see, its nice and warm in there... Remember fleas can jump from one animal to another. So don't introduce your puppy to another dogs for at least 3-months or until the puppy is 3-4 mos old. Read as much as you can about your dog, and become a Good Dog Owner. Your pet is for life, remember, treat him with lots of love and affection and you will have the greatest friend for many a years to come.

Answer 7

i would give him a bath first then use a flea med your vet prescribed.yeah don't use a flea collar they can make dogs sick.you can bathe him every week until the fleas are gone then depending on what breed every 2 weeks or so unless he starts getting a dry coat or dandruff then go to once a month also use a natural shampoo something with oatmeal and while he is still in the bath tub put the shampoo on and take a flea comb and gently brush him try not to pull his fur that could make him hate being bathed or brushed hope this helps good luck

Answer 8

Do NOT use either of these products on your puppy or any other OTC flea control it can kill your puppy!! Only use flea control from a vet such as Frontline or Advantage. These are far safer then any OTC product and work better too. Do NOT ever combine flea control products/methods this put too much toxins in/on your dog/puppy.

Answer 9

Everyone is doing a good job answering how to treat your puppy. I agree that Advantage and Frontline are both excellent flea products. Both are safe and effective. I also agree the OTC flea medications are unsafe and do not work. I have seen far too many kitties in our clinic (it is a cat-only clinic) with serious adverse reactions to OTC flea meds. I find it hard to believe they are even legal. That being said, read on...

Treating your puppy is not enough, however. You also have to treat your home. And here is where the dreaded flea-collar finds its only use. Put it in your vacuum’s bag or canister (cut off the metal part of the collar if you have a bagless), then vacuum your entire house. Don’t forget to vacuum under furniture and use the attachments to get into the crevices of your furniture and under seat cushions. When you’re done vacuuming, immediately dispose of the vacuum bag outside of the home. Machine wash anything that can be placed in the machine including throw blankets and rugs, pet beds and human bedding. After this, find a safe, effective home flea spray (our clinic uses and recommends Knockout ES) and spray the entire home. Keep pets and people out of the area being sprayed for the recommended time period (only 15 minutes for Knockout). Make sure to spray under furniture and seat cushions! I do not recommend “bombs” because bombs fail to reach those flea hiding places – the active ingredient settles on the tops of things, but does not reach under furniture, etc.

Even after you've conquered your current flea infestation, it is a good idea to keep all pets in the house on flea prevention (Advantage, Frontline or Revolution) all the time. It is far easier to "prevent" flea problems than it is to get rid of them! Good luck!

Answer 10

Flea collars are CRAP! NEVER use one on a puppy!!!!!!! The Sergents crap does not work either and could make him sick!!

Get Advantage!!!! Watch for tapeworms since they get them from having the fleas!!
Take the pup to the vet for worming and vaccines too. If he was sold with fleas...he has more problems and didn't get really good care.

Answer 11

I always use the meds given from the vet. The collar never worked well on the dogs I grew up with. Neither did the over the counter stuff. I give my dogs a bath every 4-5 weeks depending on how dirty they get. My cocker goes to the groomers every few months for grooming.