My dog has had fleas for a little while, but...?

Question

I bought a good flea shampoo for her and I have given her a couple baths with the shampoo. I know it's working because there were a lot of dead fleas in the bath water as I washed her each time. but, she is still itching a lot.

My first instinct was to give her more flea baths but I know that can apparently damage the dog's skin am I right? or should I bathe her more until they are gone?

I took care of making sure there aren't fleas in my carpets.

Answer 1

The flea meds are irritating your dogs skin and coat. We don't recommend our clients use them habitually. Even once a week is a lot. bathing her more is going to further exacerbate the issue with her skin and coat.

Get Advantage or Frontline- it will kill your dogs fleas and will not cause irritation.

Vacuum your carpets and empty the bag immediately.

Raid does have a good spray- but please do not spray near your pets or children, it is very strong.

After using a professional flea product- you are going to notice a drastic decline almost immediately. It works fast. They will die out on their own but you can use products to further the progress.

Good luck!

Answer 2

There's no such thing as a 'good flea shampoo' I'm afraid. Sure, you saw dead fleas in the bath - any sort of wash is likely to wash the fleas off, but that's not helpful - you need something preventative, or the dog will be reinfested with fleas before the day is out.

Don't bother with any pet store products at all, none of the are worth it and some are even dangerous. To keep fleas off your dog for at least a month, get hold of some Frontline, Advantage or Revolution from a vets. These are liquids that come in a pipette, that you put on the skin of the back of the neck (not the fur).

You're right about it not being a good idea to bath a dog too often - baths are for when they're dirty, not for getting rid of fleas. You also can't bath within 48 hours before or after applying a spot-on because it will deactivate it.

Chalice

Answer 3

You need to treat your carpets and furniture AS WELL AS kill the fleas on your dog, not one or the other. Get some Advantage or some Frontline (its over the counter, you need to have an idea what your dog weighs, and even though its not cheap, it will pay for itself 100 times over) it will kill/repel fleas for a month at the very least. Treat your dog with it, I would wait for 24 hours and then treat your carpeting and furniture. The fleas will target YOU when they cant get any nourishment from your dog. And they can live for a very long time with no "food", so you will need to repeat these treatments every two weeks for a month ,or even two wont hurt. This way you get all the existing adults the first time around, then the newly hatched eggs the second time and any that you missed the third and fourth time. Raid used to have an excellent spray that even killed the eggs but I dont know if they still make it since we havent been bothered with fleas in so many years. But this product was safe to use on the dog too, although you wouldnt want to use it if you have treated with another type of flea killer. Also, you need to have your dog tested for tapeworms (they get these from fleas) and have her treated if she has them. Again, this isnt cheap, but it's what is needed for your dogs good health. Good luck!

Answer 4

You'll need to continue to clean and treat your carpets every week for a while because the sprays, etc. don't kill the eggs, just the fleas. When the eggs hatch you'll have another batch of fleas. Also wash the bedding your pet sleeps on in hot water every week until the infestation is gone. (It's a drag isn't it??)

It won't hurt her to bathe her weekly with the flea stuff. If you see fleas on her I would continue to bathe her until they're completely gone which may take a few weeks. Use a flea bath that lists that it is good for the dog's skin on the bottle.

Answer 5

fleas won't merely take a seat there and help you to look at them. it somewhat is flea dirt, or in greater comprehensible words, flea poop. supply him a tub in any shampoo. does not would desire to be flea shampoo. there are pesticides in flea shampoos which would be risky in case you do no longer be attentive to what you're doing. merely supply him a tub and then circulate to the vet or possibly a groom save, or petsmart or petco and get some Frontline or Revolution. You notice it between the shoulderblades. then depart it on my own and don't bathe him for no less than 3 days. the drug gets into the glands interior the floor so as that if a flea bites him the flea will die. this facilitates do away with them. meanwhile clean your living house and all bedding and so on and spray for fleas in case you will desire to. that's a vicious cycle stable success

Answer 6

A product like Advantage (you apply it to the back of the neck once a month) works much better than flea collars or shampoos. And you're right, it's not good for their skin to keep washing. I use Advantage with my puppy and cats and never have problems with fleas.

Answer 7

Keep treating the yard. How old is the dog? Don't over do the baths if it is a puppy. Also, instead of bathing you can use something like Advantage on an older dog. Don't forget the bedding and if it has a yard you should treat that too.

Answer 8

What are you feeding your dog? There may be something going on with that. Corn and other bad fillers that many dog food companies put into their kibble will irritate many dogs' skin and cause allergic reactions.
You can sprinkle pet-safe Diatomaceous Earth around your home (outside too) - Be sure to Google this term so that you are familiar with handling it. This stuff will get rid of fleas, but will also kill earthworms. Good luck!

Answer 9

If your dog has fleas I'd strongly assume you have the fleas in your home and/or your car, and in anybody else’s home or car in which your dogs have spent any time. You'll almost never see the eggs or the larva, they are soo soo very tiny, about the size of a grain of salt.

Adult fleas (the biting stage) spend almost their entire life on the dog, not in the carpet. Eggs are laid on the dog's fur and fall off into carpeting, under cushions, and wherever else your dog sleeps, lies down or spends time. They can lie dormant for many months until the conditions (moisture, temperature) cause them to hatch (eggs incubate best in high humidity and temperatures of 65-80 degrees). After hatching, the eggs transform into larvae, pupae, and eventually adults to renew the cycle.

Nearly 60% of the fleas in someone’s home at a given point are in the larval stage. Larvae are like little caterpillars crawling around grazing on any flea dirt in their area. Flea dirt is the feces of the adult flea, which also falls off your dog along with the eggs.

After molting 3 times, the larvae spin a little cocoon and become pupae, eventually developing into adult fleas. Pupae are impervious to all available home insecticides. Pupae hang around (read: months) until the conditions are right... then when they sense a footstep, they hatch and jump onto a warm body (you or your dog) to complete the cycle.

If your dog has terrible allergies to fleas, how about using one of the products like Program (Just for fleas) or Sentinel (For both Heartworm and fleas). (One or the other, not both.)

Both of these products contain Lufenuron, which works by preventing eggs from hatching. This breaks the life-cycle of the flea. Once used, you'll never get more than a couple of adult fleas on the dogs, and any eggs they produce won't hatch. Both Program and Sentinel must be given on a full stomach in order to work!

Another product that works in the same way is the egg stopping collar. It works the same way in preventing the egg from hatching. Unlike conventional flea collars, these contain methoprene or pyriproxyfen which prevent egg hatch for several months. Thus, the overall effect is much like Lufenuron.

One brand available through veterinarians is the Ovitrol/Ovitrol Plus Flea Egg Collar; OTC brands include the Fleatrol Flea Egg Collar and Relieve Collar, which are supposedly sold in pet stores and discount chains. Carefully read the package of the collar to verify that methoprene or pyriproxyfen is present.

Once put on, the egg-inhibiting substance releases from the collar and distributes over the hair of the dog, killing flea eggs on contact. This breaks the life cycle and infestations never become established. These collars are said to be 100% effective at preventing flea eggs from hatching for at least 6 months on both dogs (and cats).

I have no experience with using the collar, but I have used the Lufenuron (Both Program and Sentinel at different times) and it worked great.

To get rid of adult fleas off of your dog right away, you can give him a flea bath, or use a product called Capstar. Capstar is an oral medication that begins killing fleas in 20 minutes. It does not last beyond the few hours that it is in the pet’s system.

Combine these approaches with a topical insecticide (like Advantage, Advantix, Frontline or Frontline Plus) to kill adults and you probably wont have problems with fleas. Any fleas that do jump on your dog (from other dogs or the environment) will not produce more fleas, and the insecticide will kill the adults pretty quickly. With our non-allergic dog on Sentinel, we never had to have a collar or other insecticide for fleas -- just for ticks. But that's another page

Answer 10

USE FRONTLINE ON YOUR DOG,AND YOUR RIGHT TOO MANY FLEA BATHS IS NOT GOOD,AND THE ITCHING IS AN ALLERGIC REACTION TO THE FLEA BITES,JUST AS WE HAVE FROM MOSQUITO BITES,FRONTLINE IS A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE FLEA REPELLENT AND KILLS FLEAS WITHIN HOURS AFTER APPLICATION.