how do i get rid of fleas on 3 wk. old puppies?

Answer 1

take them to the vet for a flea bath along with the mother - meanwhile, clean your house too to rid the fleas.

thanks for the thumbs down guys - i guess that's why so many humane society give stray pups flea baths when they're brought in - it is a gentle mixture - highly diluted, not the traditional flea bath - better go to a vet with a 3 week old pup than to pour dawn on them - 3 week old pups are not suppose to be bathed in the first place. And notice how informative you guys are - pups get their fleas from their environment and their mom, most likely the mom has it too - just getting rid of the fleas for that one moment won't do any good if you don't get rid of all of the fleas from the mother dog as well as wherever you keep the dogs.

Answer 2

I have had this problem before when I actually rescued a 3 week old puppy from a person that was trying to pass her off as 6 weeks, I was furious.

The first thing I did was check her gums and see if they were a normal pink or white. So you need to check yours. If the puppy has white gums get her to the vet ASAP. Fleas can suck a puppy completely dry of it's blood. If the pup is anemic the vet would have to do a blood transfusion. I want to warn you though that sometimes it is just to late for the puppy at that stage.

Now if the gums are still pink then I would do what my vet recommended me to do. She told me make sure that the room I was going to bathe my puppy in was really warm. Then when I did bathe her I was to use Original Dawn dishwashing liquid. She told me to leave it on the pup no more then 5 minutes and then rinse really well. When your through you have to make sure your puppy is completely dry too. I got mine dry and the put her under my shirt for extra warmth and comfort.

The reason my vet recommended Dawn it is the most gental and quickest thing to obtain to use. The Dawn literally kills the fleas without hurting the animal. I also found out that Dawn has been used in cleaning wildlife after oil spills. It's gental enough that it will not harm even the birds that are covered in oil.

You have to remember though that over bathing of any animal will hurt their coat and skin. After you bathe these puppies, if they aren't anemic, then you need to make sure that Momma is parasite free and so is their living space. Otherwise you'll be wasting your time and putting the animals health back into jeaperdy.

On a last note, I'd highly suggest your worming your puppies as well. They CAN be wormed at that age. Although if your not familiar with it, and this is the first litter you've ever tended, I would take your puppies to the vet and have them do it and teach you the correct way. Even puppies that are super wormery will die from the parasites.

Good luck in what ever you choose to do. My vet was a graduate from Texas A & M and she was at the top of her class.

I also recommend if your still leary to bathe your puppies then take them to your vet. Or you can call your vet and other vets and ask their opinion. You do what you feel most comfortable with.

Have a great day!

Answer 3

At 3 weeks he is too young for flea baths. Most are 8-12 weeks. Some vets have a pill that will kill fleas on the dog that can be given at a young age. I'm not sure of 3 weeks though.

Answer 4

You shouldnt really use a shampoo on the puppies, try using warm water and a lice comb to comb the fleas out maybe. Rake your nails under the fur while their in the water to pull the flea's out etc. Also some stores have an Organic Flea powder that you can use. I've used it on kittens and ferrets. Just make sure theres no chemicals and rub it into their fur, its usually meant for bedding but it works good on small animals. Keep them rubbed in the the powder for a while and spread it THINLY on their bedding. Also talk to the vet about treating their mama, if you can get her to stop bringing them into the house then you can save the puppies from the fleas. Good Luck

Answer 5

flea baths are out of the question and may cause a toxic buildup in the puppies system. when i have puppies come in that need fleas removed that are you too young for flea baths this is what we do: get a tearless puppy shampoo, give the puppy a bath and lather up the shampoo alot, leave the shampoo on for at least 10 minutes, rinse and repeat. make sure the shampoo stays on AT LEAST 10 minutes. when the puppies are 8 weeks old you will be able to put them on a flea preventative.

Answer 6

I hate questions about flea treatment on young puppies, because people ALWAYS say the only thing to do is to bath them, and it isn't true! People mean well, but this is not good advice. Bathing will not keep fleas away on animals of any age.

There is only one safe and effective treatment that I know of for animals under 8 weeks of age, and it's the spray version of Frontline. You should be able to get it from most vets. You can use it on cats and dogs from 2 DAYS of age - it stays on the skin of animals you see, very safe stuff and MURDER to fleas. It's what we always use on our young 'uns but no one on here seems to have heard of it.

Come on then, roll on those thumbs down, I know you guys by now - but I also know how to treat fleas on younguns.

Chalice

Answer 7

Give the little guys a baht using the original blue DAwn dish soap, wet them w warm water & soap em up, hold em while the soap has a chnace to soak in a bit & them rinse them gently....careful not to get any in their eyes. You will more than likely have to treat the mother w a flea bath too & treat your house otherwise the fleas will still be there. Dawn works great & is safe to use on young pups & kitteks alike, Ive used it for years

Answer 8

Call the vet. Giving a puppy or kitten a flea bath can kill them.

Answer 9

I've heard Dawn works, but I've never tried it. The puppies are too young for most traditional flea remedies. Just to be safe, you should probably ask what your vet recommends.

Answer 10

I wouldn't leave a puppy wet for as long as ten minutes. Use the dawn & get it done & over with. Add a capful of Infusium Leave-In Hair Treatment to the bottle of dawn before you use it. I've had Infusium muscle tested on myself so I know it's not toxic. Dawn will kill the fleas right away. Infusium will keep the dawn from drying the coat & skin.