How do you get rid of dog fleas?

Question

I gave them a bath to wash off all the fleas. 2 days later, I gave them Frontline Advantage - that was 1 week ago and the fleas went away after a couple days. Then came back. I was told to give them a bath with Dawn liquid soap. That helped for 2 days... and they are back again. They are mostly indoor dogs and only go outside for the bathroom. The fleas are so bad, the dogs are chewing on themselves and biting off their fur. The Frontline Advantage is suppose to work for 30 days... Can I give it to the dogs again even though it's only been a week and a half? Is there something out there that works better? HELP! I've never had this problem before.

Answer 1

I would think the bath in Dawn dish soap reduced the efficacy of the Advantage - if you read the small print in the instructions, I think it says that bathing with 'emollients' (dish soap) reduces the efficacy of the product. Also, dish soap only washes fleas off - once the animal is dry, the ones that have been waiting in your carpet just hop right back on! It is not a preventative treatment.

Since you have a bad flea problem, you need to treat your animal and your house, as fleas will be present in both (their lifecycle is to live both on the animal and in the environment, visiting the animal for blood meals - they also lay eggs in the environment). I would advise switching to Frontline, this is the top product. It will be safe to use already - Frontline, Advantage and Revolution are very hard to overdose on, unlike store-bought flea products.

Treat your dog regularly with Frontline spot-on - that is, once a month. Also spray your house with a product from your vets - you may need to spray twice, as the spray may not kill the flea eggs and pupae, so you'll have to wait for these to hatch before you can kill them with a second spraying, a couple of days later.

Once you have rid your animal and the environment from fleas, use of Frontline Plus every 6 weeks on your animal will keep both the animal and the environment flea-free by killing the eggs as well as the adult fleas.

Chalice

Answer 2

OK well the problem with Dawn is that although it takes care of the fleas, this is the one product that will also remove the Frontline or Advantage from your pet's coat. Re-do the drops and this time don't wash them off again. You cannot bathe a dog within 2-3 days either side of putting the drops on, BTW. So wash with Dawn BEFORE you apply drops, wait 2-3 days, apply drops, wait another 2-3 days and if necessary after that they can be bathed with dog shampoo. I would not suggest too many baths as it can dry out the skin.
My guess is that your whole house is flea-infested (fleas & eggs drop off the dogs into carpet, beds, furniture, hatch and hop back on)
Treat the environment:
Wash their bedding, blankets, etc & dry in the dryer (heat kills flea eggs)
Vacuum vacuum vacuum
Flea bomb the house, take cushions out of sofas etc so the fog/mist gets down in there good
Vacuum vacuum vacuum
Spray the yard or sprinkle on insecticide, something with Sevin or Diazinon in it.
Vacuum vacuum vacuum
There is a one-shot pill called capstar that kills every flea on your pet in 24 hours, unfortunately after that time they can start picking the little buggers up again
Vacuum vacuum vacuum
Flea bomb the house again 2-3 weeks later; check labels as it will differ depending on the brand.
Some people swear by daily "garlic & brewer's yeast" tabs, both dogs and cats love them. Should not be your first (or only) line of defense but they won't hurt and might help.

Answer 3

No, do not re-Frontline your dogs. Did you Frontline your couch? Chances are, the fleas are on your furniture, your carpet, etc. If they are in/on all of these things, Frontlining your animals will do nothing except keep the fleas off of them. You need to get a spray from either your Vet or a pet store that you can spray on your carpets, furniture, etc.

Answer 4

Advantage works wonders - BUT you also have to vacumn your house and wash your area rugs and the animal's bedding. Flea eggs sit in there and then hatch. You've got to stop the cycle. Advantage is the only thing that worked for us when toxic sprays and all kinds of other things would not. But you've got to help too!

Answer 5

Flea medication they sell at any petstore, and maybe a flea collar to prevent a further flea situation?

For the best answers, search on this site https://smarturl.im/aDBnd

Answer 6

You also need to treat your carpets there bedding all dark corners with flea sprays and powders. You already treated the dogs now retreat them right after you get done vaccumeing and cleaning and treating all the rooms in your house

Answer 7

Training your dog will be a huge part of your interaction with him for the first few months. Learn here https://tr.im/4p1q5
This includes housetraining, leash training, obedience training, socialization, and problem solving. In addition to providing your dog with needed skills, this time will also be a great opportunity for you to bond with him. Take the time to really get to know your pet while training him and a loving relationship will easily develop.

Answer 8

I know. Ask a VETERINARIAN.