My dog has fleas

[mollz007]

I feel like a bad dog mommy for not noticing sooner. :(Our friend that takes care of our dog a lot when we are not home called us a few days ago to say that her dog has fleas, and that we should check our dog because she was in her apartment. At first we checked her and we didnt see any, but today I checked her and I clearly saw them. She hasn't been itching that much, so thats strange. Anyway, Ill go get her some flea medicine today after my doctors appointent. Should I go to her vet, or petco/petsmart? Anyone have any brand suggestions that are also MM?

[jennistarr1]

stay away from Hartz...I personally would call the vet and ask how to treat

[chessie]

ur not a bad owner it does happen though especially now and with the summer we just had. First of all flea bomb your house if its bad, secondly, flea/tick wash your dog, head to the store get some flea powder, I use Gordon's Dairy & Livestock powder, not a lot for the dogs. Remember many times they might have 1/2 before the flea/tick stuff actually works, and then they fall off, that can be normal especially for now. Use your flea spray on your dog, update their flea collars. After that, wait a week flea bath again.

Tractor supply is normally where I get my stuff, pretty inexpensive stuff there under 10 bucks. Dawn dish soap works well also getting rid of fleas. I had a horse come in for an auction years back covered in them Dawn did the trick completely!

[mollz007]

Oct 4, 2012 14:05:12 GMT -5 chessie said:

ur not a bad owner it does happen though especially now and with the summer we just had. First of all flea bomb your house if its bad, secondly, flea/tick wash your dog, head to the store get some flea powder, I use Gordon's Dairy & Livestock powder, not a lot for the dogs. Remember many times they might have 1/2 before the flea/tick stuff actually works, and then they fall off, that can be normal especially for now. Use your flea spray on your dog, update their flea collars. After that, wait a week flea bath again.

So would you use a lea shampoo and give her a bath rather than just medicine, or both? I could do the bath tonight and then maybe give her meds if needed.

[Deleted]

There is an oral medication that you can get from your vet. I would do that + flea bomb

[chessie]

Oct 4, 2012 14:07:13 GMT -5 mollz007 said:

Oct 4, 2012 14:05:12 GMT -5 chessie said:

ur not a bad owner it does happen though especially now and with the summer we just had. First of all flea bomb your house if its bad, secondly, flea/tick wash your dog, head to the store get some flea powder, I use Gordon's Dairy & Livestock powder, not a lot for the dogs. Remember many times they might have 1/2 before the flea/tick stuff actually works, and then they fall off, that can be normal especially for now. Use your flea spray on your dog, update their flea collars. After that, wait a week flea bath again.

So would you use a lea shampoo and give her a bath rather than just medicine, or both? I could do the bath tonight and then maybe give her meds if needed.

Do the bath first, whatever you have around the house. Then if you need it medicine or the dust. The dust stuff works great though but only if its really bad. I dont think you need to head to the vet though, think things should be good, you got this.

I live in the country so it happens on occasion 1-2 will show up or even on the horses. Even sometimes stray animals will bring them near the dogs. Just watch your dog next few days.

[NachoProblem]

My dog is a poodle mix and I have to do the oral stuff from the vet. The drops on the back don't work with his fur.

[kellbell191]

Capstar is the oral medication. Is she on preventative? We give frontline every month. It is pricier than some of the weird generic ones you can get at walmart, but its actually been proven safe and doesnt have a lot of the seizure risks, etc associated with the other stuff. It can also take 3 months to kill all eggs so I'd get a 3 pack and apply once a month for 3 months.

[rubytue]

Don't feel bad, it happens. We are dealing with it too. I've been reading that some fleas are developing resistance to frontline. Joy. We just bought a years supply a few months ago.

We picked up capstar the other night. Plus gave her a bath, and I for a big jug of dimeteious (sp) earth to sprinkle on the yard. We have groundhogs and I think they are our problem. *sigh*

[mollz007]

Well, I ended up going to her vet to see what they recommended and they had three kinds of medicine. I wanted the comfortitis but they didnt have the right pills for her weight. They had a topical one which I cant remember the name of, but those dont work well with her because she will rub it off (she is smart.) The other one, trifexis, I didnt think we could use because it is a combo pill (fleas, ticks, heartworms, etc.) and she already takes a different kind of HW med, but the vet said that since she hasn't recieved her HW dose for october yet, we could give her the trifexis this month and switch to he regular brand next month. If it works well, we might consider switching to that when her current HW medicine runs out.

When H gets home, I am going to have him help me give her a bath. Hopefully that+the pill will do the trick.