What I found out about fleas today. YIKES!

[sammiz]

I know that fleas are awful and that they bite. Makes for a miserable little Yorkie.

Today while we were at the vet, we had a discussion about fleas. These rescue kitties I have brought fleas in with them and now my baby is just miserable. AND...Frontline did nothing to help.

So I got a lesson today. I did not know that a flea 'feeds' between four and six times a day. And if my baby has only four of them, that doesn't really sound like a lot until you figure that will give her 16 to 24 bites every day!!

She has been miserable and I have been frustrated because I have used everything I can think of without harming her. We did the Frontline. No better. We bathed in Dawn dish soap and only found one or two dead ones on her but none in the water.

So today...my vet recommended Advantage. The action of Advantage is very different from Frontline. It only covers the 'top' of the skin surface as opposed to absorbing into the deeper tissues like Frontline does. Sassy got sick for a day the last time I used Frontline.

She also told me I was bathing her too much (once a week). I am now going to do it this way...bath before application. Rinse only and apply conditioner until two weeks have passed. Then I can bathe her regularly. Then in two weeks another regular bath and reapplication.

I am desparately hoping it works better. Darn fleas!! Her sweet little body is covered in bites. And every night I go over her with a 'fine tooth comb'...literally. Making minuet parts and still can't find the stinking things.

Aaaarrrggghhh!!

__________________________________________________ ___

[Lexi Rae]

my opinion only,, i would shave her down... i would never let her go
through that.. never... .. 1 flea would do it for me....

[TatumsMom]

Oh, no..... I would never shave her down just because of fleas. How does shorter hair keep her from getting fleas? You need to get tough with the situation in the house - treating carpets and couches and such and concentrate on keeping them out of the house. You can get Capstar pills also that will kill any fleas on her and can be given for a few days in a row. My vet recently told me about a new pill and I can't for the life of me remember what it's called but he said this season the fleas are just horrible in our area and that I could use my flea/heartworm pill and topical flea stuff (sorry, not at home right now so I can't look at which ones we use) like on the 1st of the month and then also give this other pill on the 15th.... so stagger them basically. We haven't decided to do that yet but it may come to that if we continue to have problems - luckily we've been doing okay lately. But sorry, I just don't see how shaving down the dog would prevent her from getting fleas.

Also, you mentioned putting the topical on and then giving a bath. I know with the one I use, you aren't supposed to bathe the dog until about 3 days after (or before) an application. The oils on the skin is what spreads the topical stuff. But you may be talking about a different one that what I use.

[Patti]

Poor baby. When I had them years ago, I bombed the house with flea smoke bombs, washed all bedding, vacuumed thoroughly and then threw out the bag, and while I bombed the house I had Gracie professionally flea dipped. Now adays theyprobably have better ways but back then thta's how I got rid of them. They are a nightmare. Good luck

[chattiesmom]

Have you tried CapStar? Here is a link to their homepage. CAPSTAR® for Dogs Product Information - Novartis Animal Health US, Inc.

[Lexi Rae]

i would think shaving her down would be easier in finding the fleas.
like i said, just my own opinion.

[TatumsMom]

Originally Posted by chattiesmom

Have you tried CapStar? Here is a link to their homepage. CAPSTAR® for Dogs Product Information - Novartis Animal Health US, Inc.

Capstar is definitely a great starter but at $5 a pill (at least at MY vet), it can get costly. I have had to use them and would recommend using them now WHILE taking care of the house though. It's so important to get them out of the house and if your animals spend time outside, do the yard too.

Don't forget about those kitties too - if you still have them!

[sammiz]

Originally Posted by TatumsMom

Capstar is definitely a great starter but at $5 a pill (at least at MY vet), it can get costly. I have had to use them and would recommend using them now WHILE taking care of the house though. It's so important to get them out of the house and if your animals spend time outside, do the yard too.

Don't forget about those kitties too - if you still have them!

I do still have those kitties. **SIGH** The vet and I thoroughly discussed using the same Advantage treatment on them as I am using on Sassy. She told me that Advantage is the exact same ingredients in the exact same dosage for cats and dogs. She got a box of both and we went over it thoroughly. She told me this is the only one I can use that on both the kitties and Sassy. She says that it has been tested on new-borns even, with no adverse effects. BUT THEN....

My best friend is a cat person through and through. She is adamantly against me using this on the kitties. She says it will kill them...and it doesn't matter what the vet says. I am so torn, now. On the one hand, I want to believe that my vet knows more than my friend and gives me correct advise. On the other, what if something happens to the kitties if I use it? Gosh. Trying to do the right thing has become a nightmare for me and Sassy. I just don't know what to do.

I tried to get Capstar there but they don't carry it because it is so expensive they don't think folks here will buy it as it must be used every day. I only wanted it for a few days. So if I use it I will have to find it elsewhere.

I am having someone come and treat the yard. It's the darn stray cats that bring all the fleas. I guess I will just have to put the kitties in a carrier so I can take them out and then bomb the house? Mercy, this is killing me!

__________________________________________________

[cococalypso]

If the vet gave you Advantage for your kittens it should not kill them. I have used Advantage on my cats and kittens before and they were fine and flea free. Get rid of those suckers!! Good luck!

[may]

There's also stuff that you can spray inside the house regularly would help kill all sorts of insects including fleas. You should be able to purchase it at the vets or pet store. The best part about the spray is that it's not harmful to the doggies.

[dsf3]

I was having a flea problem for the first time with my 3 yr old Yorkie, Kodi. I always use Advantage every month, but I live in Florida and it was a very mild winter, so the fleas were extra bad. I tried everything, including the Avantage (which my vet said I could use every 2 weeks even tho the directions say 1X per month), Biospot and flea shampoo. I went to the vet and they gave me a new flea medicine called 'COMFORTIS" that is a monthly pill. I gave that to Kodi and the fleas stopped biting in just a few hours. You can use Comfortis AND a topical like Advantage if you want.

[sammiz]

Originally Posted by may

There's also stuff that you can spray inside the house regularly would help kill all sorts of insects including fleas. You should be able to purchase it at the vets or pet store. The best part about the spray is that it's not harmful to the doggies.

Thank you! Do you know the name of it?

[TatumsMom]

I agree that if the vet told you it was okay, then it should be. I know there's one that says DO NOT use on cats and I think it's the Frontline. I would have to look at my box at home. Sorry about the Capstar situation. Maybe if he would give you a script for it, then you could order some from PetMeds or somewhere.

Okay, found this for you.....
Capstar - 1800PetMeds.com
The price is quite reasonable compared to the 5 bucks I pay for each at my vet. I don't know how petmeds.com works though. I think you have to have a prescription for some things. I'm sure someone else can help you out on that. There's some reviews to read too regarding the Capstar. There's Capstar for kitties too.

[grandmatoall]

Originally Posted by TatumsMom

I agree that if the vet told you it was okay, then it should be. I know there's one that says DO NOT use on cats and I think it's the Frontline. I would have to look at my box at home. Sorry about the Capstar situation. Maybe if he would give you a script for it, then you could order some from PetMeds or somewhere.

Okay, found this for you.....
Capstar - 1800PetMeds.com
The price is quite reasonable compared to the 5 bucks I pay for each at my vet. I don't know how petmeds.com works though. I think you have to have a prescription for some things. I'm sure someone else can help you out on that. There's some reviews to read too regarding the Capstar. There's Capstar for kitties too.

I looked up the site. It does not ask for a prescription. At least anywhere I could find. The Capstar says it starts working in 30 minutes.. one of the ladies there said it worked on her dog in 20 minutes.. With adult fleas dropping dead. But it needs to be used along with another flea killer. It only works for 24 hours per pill.

[maxmom]

Originally Posted by sammiz

Thank you! Do you know the name of it?

Beside the collars, and the pills, and the shampoos, I've had great results with ADAM'S home protection,(at Petsmart) you can spray on the furniture and on the animal's quarters.Also what I did, and please don't ask me for the explanation, but if you sprinkle baking soda on your carpet, upholstered furniture, your bed, the fleas dries out and die, then you can vacuum, it takes just a few minutes,this really works, I just can't explain the reason why.It does not matter what procedure you do, remember fleas do have a cycle, you can kill the ones already born, but their eggs will hatch,(that's not the word)in a few days, so you have to repeat the whole process,and vacuum every single day. It's a tedious process, but if you don't address the situation inside the house your babies will get re infected.