Dog loaded with fleas after being treated vet...?

Question

I am just furious! I paid for those 'on the shoulder' flea treatment by the vet, vacuumed the house, washed the bedding, etc, and now my poor dog is loaded with new fleas (and yes I know the egg cycle!) I washed him with a flea shampoo. (no not right after the treatment - I know to wait), but seems that these treatments just ATTRACT the critters. I don't want to let the dog in the house for fear of re-infestation of the house.

Is there a safe home-made 'water dip' (water & hydrogen peroxide?) I can use (BTW he's Dachs/Peke mix)? His skin is SO irritated from scratching. I'm on a fixed budget, so can't afford to take him to a fancy place. Maybe a garlic rub?!?!

I'm not blaming the dog...it's been so unseasonably warm here and no doubt in the yard! We've vacuumed and sprayed in the house already.

update: dog was rewashed with Hartz flea shampoo after haircut. I let the medicine shampoo sit for 2 minutes and dog is resting nicely now. We vacuumed again and will watch for all the signs you folks posted. I never though about the fact that the fleas may be 'attracted' to the medication that the vet put on him. I just hate to see him suffer! THANK YOU ALL

update: dog was rewashed with Hartz flea shampoo after haircut. I let the medicine shampoo sit for 2 minutes and dog is resting nicely now. We vacuumed again and will watch for all the signs you folks posted. I never though about the fact that the fleas may be 'attracted' to the medication that the vet put on him. I just hate to see him suffer! THANK YOU ALL

Answer 1

OK, let's not forget it wasn't the vets fault your dog needed this treatment in the first place.

If the veterinary spot-on didn't work, what luck do you think you're going to have with a garlic rub or diluted hydrogen peroxide exactly? First thing to to is ask the vet, if you don't already know, exactly what treatment was used. It's not impossible (though unusual) for a vet to stock one of the stupid cheap remedies you normally only get in pet stores. I would be surprised, but it could happen.

Frontline, Advantage, Revolution and Advocate (the veterinary spot-ons) are good. They can't work for 100% of cases because nothing in the world does, but they're your best bet I'm afraid. Maybe you just got unlucky with and the dog's fleas are immune to the particular spot-on used! So try another one. All 4 veterinary spot-ons are different chemicals, so if you've say used Frontline, try Stronghold. Maybe put it on yourself so you can be sure it gets on the animal's skin, not fur - maybe your vet is crap at applying it, I don't know!

Also, just to check - you didn't wash the dog before the veterinary treatment did you? Because that would also inactivate a spot-on. And you waited 48 hours before bathing? I would NEVER personally bother with any form of flea shampoo, they're all rubbish and I wouldn't put it past them to deactivate a chemical - actually, not all spot-ons are waterproof.

Check what was used, and use another. I can see from your current thinking you're going to end up rubbing garlic or dawn dish soap all over your dog or something but if you do don't say I didn't warn you!

Chalice

Answer 2

The house is already infested...you will need to treat with a spray of some type. The floors, the sofa, chairs, bed, every little nook and cranny. Also, outside...unless it is below freezing where you live, the fleas will develop outside and your dog will pick up new fleas from outside. Spray the yard too.
It may help to add either a powdered or spray flea killer in the vacuum bag, or cut up a flea collar and add it to the bag. This will help kill the fleas you vacuum up. Make sure to empty the bag or canister right after you vacuum, bag up the trash and get it out of the house right away.
For your pup, just bathe him with an oatmeal shampoo. This will soothe his irritated skin.
The topical treatments really do work. However, some are better. For example, Frontline Plus is preferable to Frontline, as it contains an ingredient that kills flea eggs and larvae, rather than just adult fleas. Read the label to make sure that whatever treatment you use kills the eggs and larvae as well as the adults.
Good luck. Fleas are a pain to get rid of.

Answer 3

The flea treatment is working just fine..it is doing exactly what it is suppose to be doing...in a severe flea infestation it will take up to 3-4 months to get it under control.
Keep doing exactly what you are doing including treating with Frontline or Advantage from your vet. You can also use a flea comb to comb fleas from your dog.
Be advised the fleas are attracted to your treated dog and once on your dog will be killed (and if using Frontline so will the eggs) so won't reinfest your household. If reinfestation does occur then you need to treat outside your home as well since the reinfestation is NOT coming from your pet.

Answer 4

you need to redo all of the cleaning you did in the house and TREAT it for fleas,continue treating the dog. if the dog is staying outside then HELLO you have to treat the yard and dog house etc. it's a combination of things to treat. you have to do them all together so that there are NO untreated areas at any time for the fleas to retreat to ...also are you spraying the vacume cleaner or vac bags? this is not the dogs fault.

Answer 5

If you are looking for something you may have around the house use dawn dish soap. This it what is recommended for puppies and it kills the fleas. Just use it like you would any other soap lather, sit for a few minutes and rinse. Good luck I know the the feeling.

Answer 6

my dogs used to have fleas on them too.. a lot.. and i bought frontline and it works really good.. after i used it on them.. i found a couple of dead fleas lying on their coat. and it was only the day after i used it.. i know frontline is pretty expensive if you buy it at the vet.. but i bought it on ebay for only 25 bucks with free shipping.. i hope you will look into this.. because i swear it works on my dogs.

http://myworld.ebay.com/flea_doctor

and for the flea shampoo.. they don't work.. they're crap.. so don't waste your money on those useless stuff

look into that ebay thing.. it's cheap and will help.. good luck!

Answer 7

The best way to kill the little bastards that I've found is to use Adam's Flea and Tick shampoo. It will kill all the little nasties on your dog.

I tried the garlic rub thing years ago, all it did was burn my dog's skin. The fleas didn't seem to mind at all.

Answer 8

Your dog had got "infested" by your own neglect in the first place. Try not to repeat it by using "home made" crap.

Answer 9

HEY BUY SOME CHEAPISH FLEA POWER AND GIVE HIM A GOOD CLEAN BATH.BUILD A DOGGY CAGE FOR IT AND LET IT BE FILLED WITH BAD SMELLING MEDICINE. IT'LL WORK IN NO TIME