im losing my battle with fleas! help!!?

Question

okay, so my dog is infested. but i dont understand why .. the grounds were sprayed last month, shes on flea pills from the vet, the vet also gave stuff to put onto her coat. she gets a bath once a week and shes STILL covered. they aren't on the cat. the arent biting us. its just her. i feel so bad because its like she cant walk 5 steps without stopping to scratch herself, and i know that has to suck. is there anything else i can do? i've washed her in flea and tick shampoo and the vet suggested dawn so i alternate by week, but its not helping . i swear they are multiplying by the second, and im out of ideas!! please help.

yeah, i have the stuff that goes on her shoulders as well, but i can see them running all over her. i know shes not allergic because i use to have a dog that was allergic and that was a bad deal. i know its the strangest thing but the cat really doesnt have fleas, ive checked her a million times and she never really itches at all. but as for the baths, she absolutely has to have one every week, shes a fairly big dog and we had to move into an apartment, so with her being in more than out now she starts smelling bad faster, the vet said it should be fine giving her baths every week so im taking her word for it.

Answer 1

I stumbled arcoss this last week ~ it worked for my kitten so it might work for your poor girl. We struggle with fleas in the fall too.

My son decided to pick up our 10 week old kitten while his hands were full of BBQ sauce.The only pet shampoo I had on hand was the flea type & it says not to use it on kittens younger than 12 weeks. So I just used our regular shampoo ( Sauve "aloe & waterlily") She came out smelling clean,her fur was so soft & to my surprise it even got rid of the fleas.

Answer 2

You need to have the inside of your house sprayed by a professional. Fleas spend time on your dog but other places as well. Do you see the fleas on your dog or could your dog be so allergic to them that one flea could send her scratching?

You may have also dried her out with a lot of bathing. Make sure that the professional you have come gets all of your house- spraying outside will not do the trick. They live in clothing, carpeting, etc. If they're on the dog, then they should be on the cat also.

Did your vet give you the flea medicine that you put on the dog's shoulders? This should kill the fleas when they get on your dog & break the cycle. You want to make sure that you don't bathe your dog unless it's time for another application.

Good luck!

Answer 3

What type of topical did you use for you pets?? I had this problem years ago. I had 3 cats that never went outside & they would get covered w/ fleas, I spent countless dollars on powders, shampoos, bombs etc. That never worked. I'd even bathe them everyday. By the next day it was as if I never did a thing. Finally I bought the flea topical Advantage. Within hours I could find fleas dying everywhere. By the the next day I could not find 1 flea & I was really looking! You can buy the Advantage at most Petsmart stores in a single dose, mulipacks, or the vet!

Answer 4

There are a few things you need to be aware of here.

1) Bathing a dog within 48 hours before or after applying a spot-on will inactivate it
2) Bathing in any flea or tick shampoo, or Dawn, is pointless
3) You need to treat ALL your animals whether you see fleas on them or not for this dog's sake, because their bodyheat is attracting fleas
4) If you're putting the flea treatment on her COAT as you said, it won't work - it MUST get on her skin, all of it. It cannot spread through her skin if it's on her fur.
5) I would get your own spray for your house - unless you've actually sprayed in your own house, soft furnishings as well, with a veterinary flea spray, you won't be covered.
6) Your vet doesn't sound very current with his flea-killing advice if he's actually suggesting Dawn.
7) Which flea pills? Most, like Program, sterilise fleas but don't actually kill them.

Chalice

Answer 5

When you wash your pup make sure you shampoo around her neck first very well..and then ALL around. Then shampoo the rest of her and let the shampoo sit for about 10 minutes. Make sure to use a flea and tick conditioner on her too--you don't want her drying out. You wash around the neck first because if you start anywhere else they will move up towards the head and into the ears. Did you vet check her ears? Can you see fleas on her? If it's dry skin give her fish oil pills or raw eggs. That's all I have, I am a new dog owner! Good luck!

Answer 6

I just had a battle of fleas that I won. After trying everything, and then repeating it all over again, I tried vinegar. I bathed the dog in pure white vinegar. I put vinegar in a spray bottle, and sprayed my couch, and rug, and whatever surface hid fleas. Then I washed the dog in flea shampoo and vacuumed the entire house. Wash all the bedding, humans and dogs.
RE Wash the source(the dog) in vinegar and then flea shampoo. It will probably take at least 2 gallons of white Vinegar (total), but within 32 hours I had gotten rid of all the fleas.

Answer 7

Flea Bomb the entire house. You'll have to do one room at a time and keep that room entirely closed off while the bomb is working (I'm talking towels under the door and everything). You should be using monthly treatments of Advantage or Frontline. My kitty had fleas really bad, infested our whole apartment, and since we've been using frontline they haven't come back.. It's expensive, so if you know a vet that gets it for free, ask them for it.. Good luck! I know they're terrible!

Answer 8

Let me know what works for you because both of my dogs have the same problem. They had flea collars, then after that didn't work I got the drops to go on their shoulders, AND they get a flea bath once a week but these fleas will NOT go away. lol Good luck.

Answer 9

I had that same problem last year. my vet gave me a pill i cant remember the name but i only had to give it to him 1 time and it killed all fleas that were on him and that got on him for 24 hrs then i put advantage flea medicine on the back of his neck just that 1 time and he has been flea free since.

Answer 10

fleas multiply rapidly you cannot see the eggs if you have carpet treat that before you kill your pet with poison!

the vet has once a month flea meds to put in between shoulder blades. and did you ever think to use a flea comb and kill them with your fingers? or that the bathing could cause dry skin?