Friday, July 31, 2009

Fleas.. Fleas... FLEAS!!?

I have a 9 month old 6 pound yorkie. I've moved home with my parents for a few months while my husband finishes his tour in Germany. They have a huge German Shepard next door that has fleas bad!! Now my little dog has fleas and has brought them in the house. We have professionally sprayed our yard and the neighbor's yard and our house from top to bottom - repeatedly! My dog is on Frontline Plus and I have the Frontline spray to put on him. We are dusting the carpets everyday and washing the bedding like mad! I have a flea comb and are still pulling them off of my dog, probably 6-8 at a time.
I just bought some Paramite from my vet but havent used it yet. I am kinda afraid, the vet made it sound awful for the dog. Have any of you used it?
What else can i do?? My vet told me not to give my dog garlic powder. My vet where we used to live had these pills that worked like a charm, but this vet does not.
How do I get these little monsters out of my house!?!?!?!
Answers:
Be persistant! Hate to tell ya but the live adult fleas are only 5% of the problem. 95% of them rest are in the egg, pupa, and larvae stages. Sounds like you are doing the right things though. Treating the dog's environment (ie, the house) in one of the most important. Frontline Plus is one of the best out there. Be sure to apply the frontline 24-48 hours AFTER the bath. Frontline needs the oils in your dogs coat to travel over the dog and be effective. I am a vet tech and have used Frotline for years. The Merial rep that sells to us recommends tough cases like this to call their hotline and see what suggestions they (the manufactuer) has to offer you. Here's their website for some more info and their number.
PS - I would avoid Paramite in such a little guy.
Give your dog a bath
Frontline doesn't repel fleas. The flea has to actually bite the dog for it to kill it. I use Advantage and it really works. It repels the fleas as well as killing them. You can also use K-9 Advantix. It has a chemical in it that is fatal to cats. We don't use it for that reason (we have a cat). They are both made by the same company. Hope this works. I know how frustrating a flea problem can be.
try flea bombs. they worked for me.then soak the little dog with the front line spray.i mean soak him to the skin..you may need to give him a very short hair cut to help the penetration of the spray.i hope this helps.i have yorkies too..and my female just had 8 pups six weeks ago.they are so cute
A flea infestation is going to take time and diligence to get rid of. Don't give up your current efforts. I have found that bathing my dog with Epsom salt makes the fleas jump off. You do need to rinse with clear water afterward or the residue salt will dry their skin.
Use advantage, it repels before they bite. It will take up to 4 months for the fleas in the house. Giving them a flea bath will get the fleas that are on them off, but immediately after, the fleas will get back on. What I would do is a flea bomb and put advantage on the dogs and then sweep the floor which will pick up some of the eggs. Advantage is the best thing to use though because they won't get bitten. Just remember it could take as long as 4 months, but it will be working unless they bring in fleas from outside. It sounds like you don't have that problem though so just put advantage on the dogs and it will start to work within a half hour.
Frontline does repel fleas and the ones you are pulling off, are the moving or not moving? Because if you are seeing ones that are not moving that means they are dead and your hard work has paid off. but if there are more moving give it a bath in flea and tick shampoo and conditioner.
Neither Frontline or Advantage repel fleas..there is nO flea repellant. Also with Frontline the fleas do NOT have to bite the dog in order to be killed. Frontline kills, the adult fleas, eggs %26 larve.
When there is a heavy infestation it will take from 3-4 months to get it under control no matter waht you use.
I would stop using all other products and so many combinations of products since continued use will not only be toxic to your dog but to any humans in the house. Just continue to use the Frontline monthly as directed. Vacumn your house daily, throw away the bag in a sealed plastic bag and put in an outside trash container after every vacumning.
Don't worry about seeing fleas on the dog this is actually good as the Frontline will kill them and will greatly help reduce the numbers in the house.
Make sure to vacumn your vehicles out as well since you will just take fleas and eggs back and forth with you.
Do NOT use Paramite!! Listen to your vet he is right!

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