Guest Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Please help me, I am at my wits end! I have had dogs all my life, some with the most allergic skin you can imagine, but have never had this much trouble. I recently rescued a pooch from the pound, he is a Lhasa Apso Cross and about 15 months old, so very much in the puppy stage. When we brought him home from the pound, as you can imagine he was crawling with fleas. I took him to the vets the next day and he had a hydro bath, but when I got him home he was still scratching. I rolled him over and could'nt believe the fleas crawling on him. So I decided to bathe him myself; I bought some flea control shampoo and put him in the shower (I have a hand shower so it made things very easy) I made sure I started from the head (being careful not to get water in his ears) and couldn't believe the amount of fleas that came out of him. I left the shampoo on for some minutes to allow it to kill the fleas, then rinsed him thoroughly, amazed as the fleas flowed down the drain. After drying him I placed some Frontline on the back of his neck. The next day he was scratching again, I roll him over and see four or five fleas running over his stomach. I again bathed him and again saw fleas flow down the drain. In a time frame of one week he has had 4 baths, the last one being with a vet bought flea control shampoo and repeating the process of lathering and rinsing while in the shower. He has also had another treatment of Frontline. His last bath was yesterday and today he is still crawling with the little black critters. I spoke to the vet nurse and she said that it could take a while to get him flea free as he was so badly infested after being at the pound. He is starting REVOLUTION tomorrow, after yet another bath and am hoping that will help. I feel so sorry for him scratching all the time, it must drive him mad. The carpet is clean and clear of fleas as is his bedding. We don't have much of a yard, so that's not the problem either (he gets a walk twice a day), has anyone any suggestions??? PLEASE!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okami Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Hey Rocky, When you put on a product like frontline I'm pretty sure your not to bathe them for a week or so... to give all the little critters their chance to die. When you apply the next lot... lay of bathing him again straight away.... As distasteful as it may sound... When my young girl came to me absolutely riddled with fleas, I gave her a Capstar tablet, and combed out her medium length wire coat with a lice comb and squished all the little monsters I could find between my fingernails and I mean every single inch of her! I also use sentinal as my wormer which also keeps the fleas at bay... Since that first week I have had no problems.... so far..... Good luck x o x o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 sounds like new eggs are hatching? Personally, I wouldn't be putting more chemicals on him. I'd rinse him with water and use a nit comb to comb out the fleas. I'd do this every day for a while. I'd wash all bedding on a hot cycle. Then give it time.... Did the vet say that it's okay to combine Frontline and Revolution? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danois Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Capstar every day you see live fleas Frontline spray Treat the house fully to break the cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 I wouldn't bath him any more. Spot on products need the dog to have some skin oil to help distribute the product to work properly. Grab some Capstar and give it every day untill the fleas are gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyra20007 Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 It is important to wash the bedding out as well as spraying the areas the dog is in carpet or hardfloor daily. Perhaps change the bedding for something that isn't fabric (like a shadecloth type material dog bed that you can hose. Also spraying the yard with the dame surface type spray (you can get low irritant ones) daily for about 2 weeks will also kill any fleas and eggs. I believe it is important to make sure the areas the dog is in (and other areas as you may transfer eggs on your shoes) are treated even more than you treat your dog. I have only had a flea plague once when we had a friends dog sleep over & I also found spraying my girl with repelX daily was great as it is a deterant to new fleas trying to get on the dog and to any eggs that hatch, it is citronella based so a bit more pleasant than some of the flea treatments. Talk to your vet about doing the frontline fortnightly for about 3 applications as it is the standard treatment for an infestation. Good luck with it all - update us on how you go with all the treatments - it isn't fun but the reward of a flea free dog is a joy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodle3081 Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Try a new product called Comfortis. It is administered orally and according to reports is effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisovar Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Any new animal coming onto our property from a pound situation is given Capstar before they get to the car. One night in your home with an infestation is enough to allow eggs to be present in your home and yard. I would be using Capstar twice weekly and treating your home. Whilst keeping up with a product that controls the breeding cycle of the Flea. Flea Shampoos have no residual effect on fleas, they will only at best kill what is one the dog at the time, they will not stop reinfestation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starkehre Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Fleas are a bugger aren't they. I think you need to be a bit more patient. Once fleas are in plague proportions like this it can take several days to a week to really get on top of them. Eggs are hatching also. What you need to watch with flea products is that some of the shampoos and similar and a flea repellant, not actually a killer or can even be both. do not use anything that repels fleas, as then they will just live in and around your hime until the product becomes less affective, then they will jump back on the dog again. also, if you are using a spot on type, these need to fleas to jump on the dog to become affective, so this is a why you do not use repellants in conjunction. So, just give it a chance. The fleas will jump on your dog over the next few days and die off. Revolution desexes fleas, does not kill them. Revolution IMHO only works if everyone in the country uses it on all their pets and never comes into contact with wild dog/cats etc. Interesting concept, but to desex all the fleas in the country is a big ask. This is what I would do, stop bathing. Treat with Advantage, Advocate or Frontline and any other pets as well. Spray the entire house and any/all dog bedding or bomb everything. The scratching will subside within the next few days. The scratching will also be owing to little lesions pup is causing from the scratching. Don't put anything on pup that will keep the fleas away. They need to jump on for the spot on to work. Keep in mind, fleas do not tend to live on dogs. They jump on, bite, lay eggs then jump off. So, when you see them in these proportions you know there are plenty more around your home that you may not have seen as yet. So, definitely treat in and around your home also. Best of luck with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-time Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 As others have suggested - Capstar. My dogs are regularly treated with Advantix but if I ever notice a flea (like if they've picked one or two up after a show or similar) - they get a capstar and I haven't had a single problem with fleas in 5 years. Also as others have suggested - you have washed off your Frontline!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Ditch the Frontline. Capstar daily with ADVANTAGE as the top spot. Be careful what shampoo you use as some strip out the top spots Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First Time Puppy Owner Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 K O Tablets from the vet to spray the environment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rysup Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Absolutely DITCH the Frontline and use Advantage or Advantix. It is the ONLY thing that works around here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 K O Tablets from the vet to spray the environment! Ok I'll ask. How do you spray the environment with tablets? Are these tablets mean to be disolved in water to turn them into a solution that can be sprayed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Thanx for all your advice. I bathed him for the last time this morning, let him dry for the rest of the day and used Revolution (it's what the Vet gave him, as he has a one year Wellness Coverage, so they send it out to me monthly). He seems to be scratching less and I have not seen a flea yet. I have sprayed thoroughly all the outside and rewashed all his bedding again. I've flea bombed the rest of the house, now I'm just crossing my fingers. I did ring the vet about over dosing on spot on flea stuff, as long as I leave at least two weeks between applications they said he'd be right. I'll keep you informed. Thanx Again Zoe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted March 6, 2010 Share Posted March 6, 2010 The thing is not to stress just because you see a few fleas. There is probably a whole lifecycle happening on your dog and keeping on with a flea treatment monthly will be the most important thing. If you can CATCH the fleas they are in the process of DYING, if they'd had no poison you wouldn't be able to catch them, so just let it be for a while and keep washing the bedding in hot hot water and tumble drying, vacuuming floors etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGirl83 Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Comfortis is the way to go for me! Loving it right now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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