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Fleas!!!!

vgaffney83

Well-known member
OK so I took Lucky to the vet about 2 weeks ago, some of you may remember he was soooo itchy and scratchy around his rear....as I was giving the vet tech our story and she was taking his temp, she ran a flea comb down his rear.....how could it be as easy as fleas! I felt so stupid!
So anyway, he gave Lucky a CapStar and told me to apply the Advantix when I got home. I did so and Lucky had relief within 24 to 48 hours. The itching, scratching and chewing was over.....well starting about 3 to 4 days ago it's back! The vet said he may just be extra sensitive to that so to apply the flea preventative every three weeks instead of four but I think 2 weeks is too soon. Any ideas??? I just combed 2 fleas out of him and its been 15 days exactly since he was treated....can I give him another proventive? That seems like a lot of chemicals in a 2 week period...
 
There may be fleas in his bedding or in the carpets, that you'll need to get rid of. Treating the dog alone is not always enough.:v*cuum:

It is not safe to give the dog the Advantix again so soon. (I asked the same question a few months ago and that was the answer). Check with your vet, but I think it's okay to give him Comfortis (Google it) which is oral, as well as Sentinel, while also using the Advantix.

Capstar will also work, while also using Advantix, but it is $5/pill around here and that's expensive.

Are you using Advantix, or K9Advantix? I believe there is a difference. I wouldn't add any other chemicals without talking to the vet first. These are all strong, toxic substances with potential side effects.
 
Ok so I plan on going and getting Capstar and Confortis tomorrow. Does that mean I should wash the bedding tomorrow also? I feel like there's little eggs all over and its freaking me out! Can anyone recommend a treatment for the bedding, some sort of tried and tested spray or something??
 
Flea larvae can survive about 45 days without food. They are not strong enough to hold on to fibers if you vacuum thoroughly, and they will die if dried out (that means bedding etc. in the dryer till it is practically cooked). Good luck, fleas are a never ending battle
 
I just talked to the vet and they said to give him a CapStar today which will kill the live ones on him and then I can apply Frontline....(even though he had Advantage 2 weeks ago.....)hmmmmmm.
 
Any topical pesticide (Frontline, Advantage, etc) will not prevent fleas from biting him, but will kill the flea once it does. I personally wouldn't give my dogs another round of topical.

The problem is you still have fleas in your house and yard. You must attack! Wash all bedding, vacuum & vacuum again and throw the bag away in the outside trash. Spray a good flea spray all over the carpets, and apply "Borax" laundry booster to the carpets, rugs, sofas, bedding, etc. Let sit for about an hour, and then sweep (with a broom) so it gets down into all the fibers, then vacuum any excess. Wash all the dog's bedding in HOT water.

Bathe the dogs- any regular soap will kill the fleas- dish soap is actually the best, but it's drying so use a conditioner after you do. I would spray them with a flea spray (like Frontline) I actually find this works better than the topicals for REPELLING fleas.

It is a MAJOR pain, but if you're ever going to get rid of them, you have to do it. Once you're finding he's scratching less, you know you're getting rid of them. Then the key is just keeping the topical on him once a month and it will eventually stop the reproduction cycle.

Also keep in mind, he can pick them up if you walk him in an area with fleas and then they come in to the house. What a nightmare it is!

Good luck!
 
Any topical pesticide (Frontline, Advantage, etc) will not prevent fleas from biting him, but will kill the flea once it does. I personally wouldn't give my dogs another round of topical.

The problem is you still have fleas in your house and yard. You must attack! Wash all bedding, vacuum & vacuum again and throw the bag away in the outside trash. Spray a good flea spray all over the carpets, and apply "Borax" laundry booster to the carpets, rugs, sofas, bedding, etc. Let sit for about an hour, and then sweep (with a broom) so it gets down into all the fibers, then vacuum any excess. Wash all the dog's bedding in HOT water.

Bathe the dogs- any regular soap will kill the fleas- dish soap is actually the best, but it's drying so use a conditioner after you do. I would spray them with a flea spray (like Frontline) I actually find this works better than the topicals for REPELLING fleas.

It is a MAJOR pain, but if you're ever going to get rid of them, you have to do it. Once you're finding he's scratching less, you know you're getting rid of them. Then the key is just keeping the topical on him once a month and it will eventually stop the reproduction cycle.

Also keep in mind, he can pick them up if you walk him in an area with fleas and then they come in to the house. What a nightmare it is!

Good luck!

EXACTLY!! don't forget that fleas can hide in curtains (especially if they drape the floor) baseboards and furniture.

Fleas generally don't live on the dogs and cats (and people if they get hungry enough)-- they just feed on them.
 
We cleaned the whole house....vacumed and sprayed everywhere and plan to continue to do it. I think I found the source...there's been a cat hanging around out front, never comes in though. (we named him Kevin! LOL) I checked him last night and he's swimming in fleas! Yuck! Went to Petco right away and got topical for him......thinking back, the first infestation in Lucky started shortly after Kevin "moved in". Hopefully we've made a dent in them. It's not a bad infestation at all, it's just that Lucky seems to be allergic and he is soooo miserable chewing and scratching. It seems to have lightened up since the CapStar and Frontline yesterday. I washed all bedding on warm, dried on hot and then sprayed the whole house and all bedding with treatment......
 
Frontline stopped working on Charlie when he was about 5 years old.
He suffered considerably with biting and scratching until I figured out that the (extremely expensive) stuff just wasn't working anymore.
We switched over to Advantix and have never had a problem since.
 
I was going to say re: chloe92us -- that's a great post on exactly what needs to be done.

Also a great idea to treat the cat! Bet he will be a lot happier now, too. :)
 
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