My dog supposedly has a flea problem. I took him for his annual shots and check-up last week and the vet said he has a flea problem and I should get him Advantage. First off, it's hard to imagine having a flea problem at this time of year. He goes outside to do his business and snoops around the yard. With the extreme cold weather we've had here, I can't see any fleas surviving when he's outside. If they're inside the house, where did they come from? He has very tiny black spots on his skin all over his body, and the vet said it's flea dirt-translation: flea shit.
I bought Advantage before and I recall it was quite pricey. Is there any other product that's just as good but cheaper? I've heard that other products similar to Advantage-Advantage knock offs-don't work. Does anyone use flea powder? I know it's not the vogue or chic treatment nowadays, but if it works just as well, I don't care and my dog doesn't care if it isn't fashionable. Are there any home remedies that are used? Thanks for ideas and suggestions.
I have a few ideas you can try. Firstly, give your dog a flea bath in the bath tub. Dog shampoos for flea control work pretty good and are not as pricey as the flea meds you can get. I would think that a bath once a month with flea shampoo would at least control the problem if not eliminate it.
Second, how big is your dog? If you have a small or medium sized dog there is a trick you can use to get Frontline for cheaper. Ebay has a lot of people selling individual packs of Frontline for Extra Large Dogs. (Like St. Bernards) If you have a dog (or cat) smaller than an extra large dog, you can buy one pack of the Frontline for a bigger dog and divide it into smaller portions for several months worth of doses. All the Ebay sellers provide you with instructions and the supplies you need to do it. I did this for my three cats and it worked great. One pack of XL Dog Frontline gives me like 8 months worth of cat frontline. One pack of the XL Dog stuff is like $40 verses $30 each for my cats. BIG SAVINGS!
If you don't feel comfortable doing that, regular baths is the way to go. Make sure you get shampoo that kills the flea eggs and larva also. Fleas can survive on your animal if they are outside in the cold. They are next to the dog's skin so they stay warm. And even if the adults were to die, the eggs last and hatch when the dog is back inside. The fleas can come from inside if they are infesting your carpets and furniture. If you think you have a flea infestation in your home, there are carpet powders that you can buy that you spinkle onto your soft surfaces, brush in, then vacuum up. Works great.
I would suggest you google flea powder or flea carpet powder. And search ebay for Frontline if you are interested in that.
Thanks for the ideas, Arkved, jmk. I've got a miniature poodle, 17 lbs. I'll give the garlic spray/liquid a try. Not only will it keep away fleas (if it truly works), but it will also keep away vampires. lol. I didn't see anything in the links saying how often to put the garlic in the food. Have either of you done this, and how often do you do it?
I'll also get some dog shampoo and try that. The only problem is if there's fleas throughout the house, which is very likely, the shampoo seems to be a temporary fix. If I get the flea powder to spread on the carpets and such, I would need a truck full, which I can't afford. I have a small house, but every inch of the house would have to covered. The reason being is I also have cats, and they climb on everything and have been on top of every stick of furniture and appliances. I always chase them off, but they keep doing it, probably just to aggravate me. They think it's a game.
When the vet mentioned that the black spots were little piles of flea shit, I mentioned that I should start bathing the dog with dog shampoo. I thought the spots were freckles. The vet said that bathing the dog wouldn't do anything, which I find hard to believe. If I had shit on me, I most certainly would wash it off. I think they just make more profit selling Advantage than dog shampoo, plus I can get dog shampoo at Walmart or any store that sells pet products at a cheaper cost than the vet clinic, and they know that. I'll soon find out if the spots are freckles or flea shit.
Bathing the dog will get rid of the fleas that are on the dog, but if you have an infestation in your house, the ones in the carpet/furniture will just jump on the dog. The eggs (the ones either outside, or hanging out in your carpet/furniture) will hatch and new fleas will jump on her. It's a vicious cycle.
You basically need a triple-threat -- at the exact same time, you need to attack the dog (bathe her, I mean), the carpet and furniture (with a bomb), and the yard (with a professional service -- come to think of it, they can do the furniture, too). But to be honest, if you have not noticed an infestation that bad -- and you would have, if you walk around barefoot or in white socks, because they will jump on you and bite you, before they figure out you're not their type -- then you must not have a bad infestation. I'd try the regular shampooing first, and see what comes of it.
Once you have it under control, then you can continue with any ongoing treatment you like -- Advantage, powder, flea collar, whatever.
We add Brewer's Yeast tablets with garlic in them to Niki's food. It takes time to absorb into the skin, but it is quite effective on some dogs. It was more effective on Riki than on Niki, but it works. We dose Niki in the summer with Advantage.
We have fleas year round here, and they don't necessarily die off anywhere.
My dogs (and cats) get baths monthly and they all get flea treatments.
I believe Advantage (or Advantix, I'm not sure) are NOT safe for cats, so if you use that on your dog your cat (if you have one) can't touch the dog for several days and it's just best to use something else.
Anyway, my 2 dogs and 2 cats are on flea/tick preventatives and heartworm pills that I order from Australia, it's cheaper than any other place I've tried:
http://www.pets-megastore.com.au/
FWIW I do NOT use flea shampoos or anything either, I didn't see the point. I've been using flea treatments every 4-6 weeks (4 weeks in Spring & Summer, 6 in winter) and haven't ever seen a flea in my house. Ever.
Good luck!
I use something called Revolution which is like Advantage PLUS earmites. It's available through the vet, and yes, it's pricey, but it works. I think I bought some off eBay one time for quite a bit cheaper.
http://home.shop.ebay.ca/items/?_nkw=adv...acat=20749
Yeah, depending on how big the dog is, the price varies, but it's WAY WAY WAY cheaper on eBay. I couldn't find Revolution, just Advantage. And that's the Canadian page (ebay.ca) so you might want to check your own country's page if you are not Canadian.
I wanted to try the garlic juice mixed in the dog's food. I searched everywhere, and it's nowhere to be found and the store clerks don't know of any product like that. I found a lot of stuff with garlic in it, but no g-juice. I ended up getting garlic powder and mixing that in the food. My dog is not thrilled with it. He usually wolfs down the food within seconds, but now he just picks at it, taking a little bit at a time and not finishing it all. The other problem is the whole house wreaks with the smell of garlic. I only put a small amount in his food. How can such a small amount stink up the entire house? If fleas and bugs hate the smell of garlic, the house will be bug free in no time.
I bought dog shampoo that kills fleas and ticks and gave him a bath tonight-waste of money because I found a full bottle afterwards I had in the house; oh well, I now have two bottles. I made sure I scrubbed it well onto his skin. The black dots that the vet said are little piles of flea shit are still there, even after a good scrubbing. This leaves two possibilities: (a) the flea shit is really crusted on because it's been there for a long time, or (b) it's freckles. The dog has had those spots for as long as I can remeber and he's been mostly flea free, so I think it's freckles. After his bath, I sprayed the whole house-everywhere the dog goes- with Fabreeze with the hope that the Fabreeze will kill any lingering fleas in the house. I usually vaccuum and spray Fabreeze once a week on weekends, but since my dog just finished having a bath, I wanted to reduce the risk of fleas jumping back on him right afterwards. The things we do for our furry kids!
Thanks for the other tips about cheaper places to get Advantage-like products and other tips. I'll check into that later.
When my clan had fleas we used frontline I think for like 4 months and then haven't needed anything since. Make sure you follow the instructions...we accidentally made our kitty go bald in the spot we put the drops on. Should have spread it out more. We'd use a flea comb several times a day (the cat didn't like that at all) and kill the fleas in a paper towel. I think I counted 40 or so at one time at the height of the infestation. They were hard to kill. I'd basically fold them into a paper towel and use the back of the comb to squish them. At the same time we also sprayed something on the furniture and their bedding.
You don't need to hire somebody to take care of the fleas and eggs in the lawn. Spray some watered down dawn dishwashing liquid all around. It removes the protective oil coating on the eggs and kills them.
mark1030 Wrote:When my clan had fleas we used frontline I think for like 4 months and then haven't needed anything since.
I agree. We moved into a flea-infested condo and used Frontline for a couple of months. It worked so well, we never had a flea problem afterwards. I know it is expensive, but it is so worth it to me. You can buy it at PetCo.
The idea is that when the flea bites into the animal's skin, it dies and cannot lay eggs again. If you use something that simply repels the fleas, they will still live in your carpet and outside and eventually they will jump back on the dog because the repellent will have lost its effect.
As a kid, we had always had fleas in and around our house. We used the dips and shampoos and still always had fleas. Gross. As an adult when Frontline and Advantage came along I was so happy. It works so well that I only have to use it maybe once then maybe one dose in the summer, just to be sure they don't come back. I always seem to have half-empty applications in the plastic bin where I keep their stuff.
I might want to get a second opinion on the flea shit diagnosis. That stuff should go away by simply picking it out of the dog hair. You said the spots were still there after a bath which means it would hardly be possible to be flea dirt. Plus, usually there is big fat flea living in the that flea dirt and you would see it crawling when you shampooed the dog.
I used to work as a dog bather for a dog groomer and believe me, you will definitely see all the fleas appear when the dog is wet and lathered with flea shampoo.
It's relatively easy to tell if it is flea dirt, although I have never had a pet on which to try this so I'm not completely sure.
Take some of the flea dirt and put it on a white piece of paper. Take a drop or two of water and put it on the dirt. Smear your finger (or something less icky) over the dirt, although I can't remember if that part is necessary. Essentially flea dirt is dried blood, so when mixed with water it should have a red look to it (as the blood gets wet again).
I'm sure you can find better directions online, but I have heard this from many sources so it should work.
Advantix/Frontline (drops on the back) seem to be the easiest and least messy of all the options. They really work well. The only thing you have to worry about is if you have cats and dogs in the same house: the stuff can be fatal to them. Make sure your dog dries off outside for a couple hours and don't let the cat near the dog's bedding for about a day.