Frustrated With Fleas!

[ausgirl]

Hi everyone, I am new here and this is my first actual thread post.

Holly, my 2 year old Shihtzu Maltese cross it quite allergic to fleas, she gets quite itchy red spots from flea bites. So I always make sure she's treated. Previously I was using frontline but got frustrated because she still had sleas on her from time to time. So I changed to revolution and found the same thing, currently I am trying sentinal spectrum - it according to the pack also treats flea allergy dermatitis - which is good. Anyway, she gets the treatment on the 1st of each month, today she was scratching more than normal (she's always a bit scratchy) and lo and behold, a very healthy, very alive, very fat flea was on her. Grrrrrr.

Anyone have advice on what to do - obviously being a fairly hairy breed, it is quite hard to see fleas on her. She gets a bath once every couple of weeks as well.

[suki's mum]

What else are doing other than treating her? Are you treating the surrounding areas?

Also too, Sentinel Spectrum does not kill fleas, it makes them infertile.

[PooMother]

Hi Ausgirl, Welcome

Alot of Dolers use Apple Cider Vinegar in their dogs water (or if they wont drink it in their food) I use it in both water and food, not as many fleas as normally on them I must admit. I also use Advantix and for a quick knockdown I use Capstar tabs. For the itchy (PF border collie has severe rashes etc ) we got a shampoo called Evening Primrose Oil Shampoo (vet grade) it was amazing how quickly the itch and redness stopped, redness subsided greatly after first wash. Anyway we only wash the dogs in this now. Flea issue well trial and error I guess, some products work well on one dog but not on others. Forntline does nothing for my dogs which is why I use Advantix during tick season and Advantage in winter. You will also need to treat her bedding and garden areas. There are alot of good threads on here about fleas and what others have usesd done, just do a search and you should be fine. Good luck I know how frustrating it can be

[puggy_puggy]

Have you tried Capstar? You use this as well as the Frontline/Revolution/SS

Have you flea bombed your house/garden/under your house? Treated your car? Washed all washable human and dog bedding?

You could also try some antihistamine, like Claratyne, for the irritation.

Edited December 26, 2008 by puggy_puggy

[Dogsfevr]

If you have a bad flea issue once a month wont work .

You need to treat your house,spray the yard & basically figure out hwere the offending area is or what the offending issue is.

[sandgrubber]

If you cannot get rid of the fleas -- eg, they are dispersed across an acre of land -- and they come on as occasional outbreaks it may be helpful to manage the allergic reaction as well as the fleas. Your vet should be able to provide Prednisolone tablets. . . or an antihistimine injection in the case of an extreme reaction.

[puggy_puggy]

Your vet should be able to provide Prednisolone tablets. . . or an antihistimine injection in the case of an extreme reaction.

I would be trying the anthistamines before dosing with steroids (prednisolone).

[ausgirl]

Hi Ausgirl, Welcome

Alot of Dolers use Apple Cider Vinegar in their dogs water (or if they wont drink it in their food) I use it in both water and food, not as many fleas as normally on them I must admit. I also use Advantix and for a quick knockdown I use Capstar tabs. For the itchy (PF border collie has severe rashes etc ) we got a shampoo called Evening Primrose Oil Shampoo (vet grade) it was amazing how quickly the itch and redness stopped, redness subsided greatly after first wash. Anyway we only wash the dogs in this now. Flea issue well trial and error I guess, some products work well on one dog but not on others. Forntline does nothing for my dogs which is why I use Advantix during tick season and Advantage in winter. You will also need to treat her bedding and garden areas. There are alot of good threads on here about fleas and what others have usesd done, just do a search and you should be fine. Good luck I know how frustrating it can be

Hmm, is the vinegar okay for cats too - as they share their water dishes. She only has usually one or two fleas on her - which is enough to cause the red spots and itchiness. I think it is most likely that she picks them up when we go for a walk, I don't think they are in my yard, or else she would have a lot more I would think. How long do fleas live without being on a food source?

Is capstar the tablet that you have to give daily? I will look into the evening primrose oil shampoo too.

On the subject of the sentinal spectrum, I am really annoyed that it doesn't clearly state on the box that it doesn't kill adult fleas! The info leaflet inside does if you read the whole thing to find it - but the box says controls and prevents fleas. False advertising if I've ever seen it!

I do have prednisone from the vet when she had hot spots last summer - I try not to use it too often though as I know it's not particularly good for long term use. I also have neotopic cream to put on, which she immediately licks off!

What would be the dosage of claratyne for a small dog? She is 5kg.

Thanks everyone.

[PooMother]

Hi Ausgirl, Welcome

Alot of Dolers use Apple Cider Vinegar in their dogs water (or if they wont drink it in their food) I use it in both water and food, not as many fleas as normally on them I must admit. I also use Advantix and for a quick knockdown I use Capstar tabs. For the itchy (PF border collie has severe rashes etc ) we got a shampoo called Evening Primrose Oil Shampoo (vet grade) it was amazing how quickly the itch and redness stopped, redness subsided greatly after first wash. Anyway we only wash the dogs in this now. Flea issue well trial and error I guess, some products work well on one dog but not on others. Forntline does nothing for my dogs which is why I use Advantix during tick season and Advantage in winter. You will also need to treat her bedding and garden areas. There are alot of good threads on here about fleas and what others have usesd done, just do a search and you should be fine. Good luck I know how frustrating it can be

Hmm, is the vinegar okay for cats too - as they share their water dishes. She only has usually one or two fleas on her - which is enough to cause the red spots and itchiness. I think it is most likely that she picks them up when we go for a walk, I don't think they are in my yard, or else she would have a lot more I would think. How long do fleas live without being on a food source?

Is capstar the tablet that you have to give daily? I will look into the evening primrose oil shampoo too.

On the subject of the sentinal spectrum, I am really annoyed that it doesn't clearly state on the box that it doesn't kill adult fleas! The info leaflet inside does if you read the whole thing to find it - but the box says controls and prevents fleas. False advertising if I've ever seen it!

I do have prednisone from the vet when she had hot spots last summer - I try not to use it too often though as I know it's not particularly good for long term use. I also have neotopic cream to put on, which she immediately licks off!

What would be the dosage of claratyne for a small dog? She is 5kg.

Thanks everyone.

Yes my cats have Apple Cider aswell. Capstar is about 15.00 and you can get it from Big W etc, they come in a pack of 6. It is a fast knockdown so to speak but you can not use it as your only treatment. If he only has one or two felas this should help within I think it says 30mins but you will need to get soem other form of treatment also.

The thing is although you may think there is nothing in your garden fleas live in sandy areas also and lay eggs etc just becasue you cant see/feel them on you doesnt mean theya rent there so I would treat the garden aswell. I dont get fleas jumpoing on me so to speak when I walk out but I know my guys still get the odd flea or few. My biggest eye opener was when I had the carpets steam cleaned......my cats and dogs had been treated as normal and I didnt notice any scratching etc and couldnt see fleas but within a day of my carpets being steam cleaned we had fleas jumping on us!!!!!!! The heat and vibration had apparently set off eggs or something, well so we were told so we then flea bombed the whole house tiled areas included and now do so every 6 months I was mortified to say the least

[ausgirl]

Hi Ausgirl, Welcome

Alot of Dolers use Apple Cider Vinegar in their dogs water (or if they wont drink it in their food) I use it in both water and food, not as many fleas as normally on them I must admit. I also use Advantix and for a quick knockdown I use Capstar tabs. For the itchy (PF border collie has severe rashes etc ) we got a shampoo called Evening Primrose Oil Shampoo (vet grade) it was amazing how quickly the itch and redness stopped, redness subsided greatly after first wash. Anyway we only wash the dogs in this now. Flea issue well trial and error I guess, some products work well on one dog but not on others. Forntline does nothing for my dogs which is why I use Advantix during tick season and Advantage in winter. You will also need to treat her bedding and garden areas. There are alot of good threads on here about fleas and what others have usesd done, just do a search and you should be fine. Good luck I know how frustrating it can be

Hmm, is the vinegar okay for cats too - as they share their water dishes. She only has usually one or two fleas on her - which is enough to cause the red spots and itchiness. I think it is most likely that she picks them up when we go for a walk, I don't think they are in my yard, or else she would have a lot more I would think. How long do fleas live without being on a food source?

Is capstar the tablet that you have to give daily? I will look into the evening primrose oil shampoo too.

On the subject of the sentinal spectrum, I am really annoyed that it doesn't clearly state on the box that it doesn't kill adult fleas! The info leaflet inside does if you read the whole thing to find it - but the box says controls and prevents fleas. False advertising if I've ever seen it!

I do have prednisone from the vet when she had hot spots last summer - I try not to use it too often though as I know it's not particularly good for long term use. I also have neotopic cream to put on, which she immediately licks off!

What would be the dosage of claratyne for a small dog? She is 5kg.

Thanks everyone.

Yes my cats have Apple Cider aswell. Capstar is about 15.00 and you can get it from Big W etc, they come in a pack of 6. It is a fast knockdown so to speak but you can not use it as your only treatment. If he only has one or two felas this should help within I think it says 30mins but you will need to get soem other form of treatment also.

The thing is although you may think there is nothing in your garden fleas live in sandy areas also and lay eggs etc just becasue you cant see/feel them on you doesnt mean theya rent there so I would treat the garden aswell. I dont get fleas jumpoing on me so to speak when I walk out but I know my guys still get the odd flea or few. My biggest eye opener was when I had the carpets steam cleaned......my cats and dogs had been treated as normal and I didnt notice any scratching etc and couldnt see fleas but within a day of my carpets being steam cleaned we had fleas jumping on us!!!!!!! The heat and vibration had apparently set off eggs or something, well so we were told so we then flea bombed the whole house tiled areas included and now do so every 6 months I was mortified to say the least

Okay, my IGA had capstar and I also got a furniture and carpet spray that says it stops eggs hatching for 12 months and kills adult fleas for 3 weeks. So that should be long enough to break any cycle if there is one going on in my carpets - I only carpet cleaned them last weekend and didn't see any flea evidence - but that's not to say they aren't down in there somewhere!

Also Holly's bed and blankets are in a hot wash - I'll spray them with the stuff when they are dry too.

Holly and Button (cat) both have had the capstar and are now having cider water - Holly drank it as soon as I put it in there - so that looks okay.

So now that they are dosed with the capstar, and if I give their normal monthly stuff today as well, hopefully I will knock any problem on the head.

Thanks again.

[puglvr]

I have 12 dogs and don't have a flea problem. When we moved to our farm

it was riddled with fleas. we had a very big flea problem. Our vet rtecommended using

Frontline and so we did. It took time but we eventually broke the flea lifecycle.

yes you will find the occasional flea on your dog but it will be dying.

With Frontline and probably some of the other products, when the flea gets on the dog the product starts working and the flea doesn't actually get to bite/feed and therefore you don't gte the reaction.

Now we only ever use the Frontline in summer and still don't have a problem. Never had pups with fleas either.

Even my husbands working dogs have had pups that have been flea free because we treated mum with Frontline.

[Clyde]

ADVANTAGE fortnightly will do the trick!!!

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Remember not to treat the dog within 24 hours BEFORE or AFTER a bath. I actually wait 48 hours personally.

I use Advocate once a month. In the height of summer they get the odd flea esp when we've been to parks etc. I wash all their bedding every week and immediately if I find a flea.

[Clyde]

yes you will find the occasional flea on your dog but it will be dying.

This is no good to those whose dogs are allergic to flea saliva though.

My pets are all covered for fleas, but the Shihtzu will pick up the odd dying one and then it sends her in to a chewing frenzy.

[Just Midol]

Advantage is the only spot on that works for me.

But honestly, in your case, I'd go with permoxin and advantage.

I'd do advantage every month, then permoxin weekly. This is why I do when we get an outbreak here.

[persephone]

PERMOXIN is NOT recommended if your dog is in close contact with cats...cats cannot metabolise permoxin properly it is a poison to them

[Just Midol]

Only for 4 hrs. We just separate the cats and dogs for 4hrs.

[PooMother]

Only for 4 hrs. We just separate the cats and dogs for 4hrs.

Sorry to hijack but as you are up sunny coast way what do you use for ticks? I am asking as we are coming back up to visit kids and grandkids and Im bringing my pup who will be 13 weeks and as they live bush (Carters Ridge) am trying to work out what is best for her whilst up there. Strangley enough when we lived out at Lake MacDonald our old girl got tick poisoning and was treated successfully and then never ever got another tick or flea, bizarre

[Just Midol]

Only for 4 hrs. We just separate the cats and dogs for 4hrs.

Sorry to hijack but as you are up sunny coast way what do you use for ticks? I am asking as we are coming back up to visit kids and grandkids and Im bringing my pup who will be 13 weeks and as they live bush (Carters Ridge) am trying to work out what is best for her whilst up there. Strangley enough when we lived out at Lake MacDonald our old girl got tick poisoning and was treated successfully and then never ever got another tick or flea, bizarre

I use Permoxin.

I did use frontline, was crap. Doesn't even handle fleas up here. For just fleas, I use advantage but when ticks appear I do weekly sprays of permoxin (with water, not metho).

[persephone]

Permoxin is great here we have stickfast/rabbit fleas the normal spot on things don't work as well as a weekly/5day spray of permoxin, and a capstar tab. if bad.