Nothing is working on fleas... puppy is allergic?

Question

My puppy had been on advantix since she was old enough to be on it. We started having problems 2 months ago, she was very itchy and had bumps all over her. We went to the vet immediately and they said she had a flea allergy and found live fleas on her. the vet treated her twice that month with her flea medicine. The advantix and then 2 weeks later frontline. We had our condo flea treated and the carpet professionally cleaned. We stopped sending her to daycare for the time being to control the problem. We have no other dogs. She STILL had fleas. We had the house retreated and went back to the vet. Bella was put on antibiotics for her soars and prednisone for the allergy. they said to treat her every 3 weeks witht he frontline. The vet prescribed a chemical to treat the house with and we have. SHE STILL HAS FLEAS!!!! I feel so bad I don;t know what to do.

I am actually still seeing LIVE fleas. She only eats canidae lamb and rice and if she gets treats I started making them and I started adding GARLIC to the treats since I had been told about garlic by a friend.

Will the DAWN wash off her frontline? I have been using biospot since it says it will not wash off frontline.

Answer 1

OK, this is quite a tough one!

I can tell you right now however, you should NOT be using Biospot, as well as being quite useless it's a pretty dangerous product, stay far away from it.

Apart from that, you've done all the right things that usually work. Here are the only suggestions left I can make:

1) Switch to a different spot-on i.e Revolution or Advocate, these being the only remaining ones that work that you haven't tried.
2) Do make sure the spot-on gets on the SKIN of your animal when you apply, none on the fur!
3) Fleas can be hard to get out of the house. I'm not especially surprised the exterminator didn't work. Try spraying the whole house again, about 2 weeks after the first time you sprayed - this is often necessary to get the remaining newly hatched eggs. OR:
4) Get hold of Skoosh spray, it's a new treatment that is pesticide-free and very effective at killing eggs and larvae as well as adults.
5) Don't wash in Dawn dish soap! While it won't wash off the Frontline or whatever if you wait 24 HOURS after applying, it just doesn't work. All it will do is wash off some of the current live fleas, but not the eggs, and then the pup will just get reinfested again. If you bath the dog in ANYTHING you have to wait 48 hours before you can apply any spot-on, or the spot-on won't work.
6) For getting rid of all fleas temporarily, I would go with Capstar, which kills all fleas within a few hours (it's a tablet) but it's not a preventative.
6) I also recommend Program tablets, which sterilise fleas and so are a good preventative - useful for any flea allergy, but particularly one when the fleas are as resilient as this!

Chalice

Answer 2

First try Advantage for the dog. Not Advantix or Frontline.

Next go get yourself some Raid flea spray. Take everything alive outside like cats, kids, birds etc. cover any fishtanks with plastic wrap and make sure to turn off the air pump for it. Then spray the house with Raid (you can come back in after about 3 hours). It kills flea adults, teens, larva, and eggs.

After spraying... DO NOT vacuum but let it settle down in the carpet, under the beds, on the furniture that the dog hangs out in for at least a day. Make sure you do all of the rooms. After the Raid has had a chance to kill (if you have a basement or crawlspace do that too) for at least 24 hours, then you can vacuum up all of the dead stuff. Wait a week or two and repeat the process. You will be flea free. Don't forget to do your yard and car as well.

I've had flea infestations so bad that I couldn't set my foot on the floor without my leg turning black from fleas jumping on me. This worked for me, so I know it will work for you. My home and yard and pets have been flea free for several years. The Advantage works the best on pets... not frontline or advantix.

Answer 3

Fleas are very common in all dogs. No matter what the breed is, they will almost always encounter the fleas. Now I know this may worry you, but fleas do not really hide in puppies in the age of 3 days. Also, dachshunds do not have a lot of fur and dachshund pups barely have any fur. I suggest you wait until they are old enough or take them gently to the vets for a careful checkup. I know it might cost you a lot of cash but hey, it's worth it.

Answer 4

Try Diatomaceous Earth. It's an all natural powder you can get at any home improvement store in the garden department. You sprinkle it on the carpets and bedding leave it on for 48 hours and then vacuum. You can also rub it on your dog. Also give your pup garlic and yeast tablets. You can find these at Only Natural Pet Store online.

At this point are you actually seeing the fleas or evidence of fleas yourself, or are you just seeing the allergy symptoms on Bella? If you're not actually seeing fleas or evidence of fleas, she could be having an allergic reaction to something else. Most allergies in dogs are diet related. Also, fleas are more attracted to dogs with unhealthy skin, so the allergy could actually be attracting fleas.

I had the same problem with the bumps on my dog's back and after all the hits and misses with the conventional vets I ended up bringing her to a holistic vet who now has her on a treatment program. I am starting to see improvements in her skin and am also noticing that she doesn't seem to be attracting as many fleas. Basically, between the prednisone, antibiotics, frequent advantix and frontline applications and the chemicals you treated the house with, Bella's immune system is slowly being broken down. I seriously urge you to seek the help of a holistic vet. Here is a link to a Holistic Vet Directory so you can find one in your area.

http://www.holisticvetlist.com/

Also here's a link to my page on natural flea control:
http://www.peaceful-organic-planet.com/natural-flea-control.html

Answer 5

In addition to the dawn soap, try feeding her brewer's yeast tablets (avail in pet stores), which helps control fleas feeding on her, but it sounds like you need to treat your house a few more times...to kill all the eggs...if she's not going anywhere else, she's getting them in the house. Also, for some reason, marigolds (the flowers) are a natural flea repellant...not sure how many you'd need, but you could get several pots of them to keep around the house. If you are in a condo, do either of your next door neighbors have flea problems? This might be why you keep getting re-infested.

Answer 6

This is going to sound cheap but it works....the blue dawn dishsoap...when you bathe her let it sit for about 5 mins and do it about 3 times in a row, I go thru and pick the fleas off...also, if you can get a bowl, and put it where your dog wont try to drink out of it...fill it with water then put a little bit of the dawn in there, and put it by a light, the fleas will be attracted to the light jump over there and into the water and die, we did this recently cause we had a similar problem and it helped!

Answer 7

OK, first before you do this call your vet. I went through the same problem, only my dogs were NOT puppies and I don't know if you can do this around pups.

Borax is the answer. The same stuff you put in your laundry as a booster.
You sprinkle it on all your carpets and under couch cushions, between mattress and box springs, everywhere.
Use a stiff bristled broom to work it into the carpets. Then vacuum vacuum vacumm until you can't see it any more.
Three days later we were flea free.
It dehydrates the little critters and they slowly die off.
*** but again, I don't know if you can use it around puppies. Call your vet first.

Answer 8

There are flea killers you can plug into outlets, my dogs are house dogs and thankfully I never had to deal with fleas yet, but my sister found it the only way to get rid of them. The name of the product slips my mind but if you go to a pet supply store they should have them.

Answer 9

Wash her in plain old Dawn dishwashing liquid...the original one...fleas hate it! Don't wash her too often though as it can dry out her skin.

Answer 10

introduce garlic to your pups diet. it safe natural and fleas hate the garlic smell and taste in the bloodstream