Fleas, Mites, Lice, Ticks?? A question related to puppies

Hi Everyone,

I got an emergency situation going on here. I just finished giving my puppy a bath and cleaned out his crate. After a nap, I took my puppy out to the restroom and some play, while scratching his stomach, I found a little tiny black critter crawling on his stomach and into his black hair where it is almost impossible for me to detect. I have a tri-color pembroke and its really difficult to check the black areas.

I tried brushing him with his comb to see if any more of those critters, or blood crust, would fall onto the white tile floors, but so far no more of those critters.

The easiest areas to check is his stomach. He is about 3 months old so I know I cannot use any parasite medication on him. Is this something that should really be a concern? Any suggestions??

Thanks for your advice and help in advance!

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Permalink Reply by Gary, Jackson, and Ollie on August 19, 2009 at 2:28am

Hey!

The Banfield Vet at Petsmart recommended I use First Shield Trio. So far so good I hope, been doing the belly check every time I take him out of the crate and found 0 live fleas, 1 dead flea.

What flea medicine do you use?

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Permalink Reply by Geri & Sidney on August 19, 2009 at 2:36am

this summer we have switched to K-9 Advantix. So far so good over here too!

A local vet did a segment on out san diego news station and said that he recommends that pet owners switch off their flea meds each season in order to help keep the fleas from becoming immune. Two years ago we were on Frontline, but it did not work last summer. We switched to Advantage and it worked great (last year) but it didn't work this year, so we switched to K9Advantix.

I have never heard of First Shield Trio. I may have to check it out for next year!

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Permalink Reply by Gary, Jackson, and Ollie on August 19, 2009 at 10:14am

I heard First Shield Trio is the new name of another flea medication. So far so good on my side!

Well, after the vet told me not to let jackson on grass (to avoid fleas) until he gets all his shots, he has been eating way less.... Normally he cleans his bowl up but now he can only finish 1/2-3/4 of the bowl, and I feed him 3/4 cup per meal. I wonder why he has been eating less, I was worried that the flea medicine was making him sick but then he is still active and wild so I don't think he is feeling sick, maybe he just has so much pent up energy from not being able to go outside anymore, making him less hungry because he is less tired... What do you think?

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Permalink Reply by Lilo Bandit & Koda's mom Shannon on August 19, 2009 at 1:57pm

With my pets, I do use Advantage if needed, but the best (and least expensive) instant solution I have come across for puppies and kittens is Dawn dishwashing soap.
You give them a warm bath, lather them up, (start around the neck to keep the fleas from running into their ears and nose to hide) and keep them lathered for about 5 minutes before rinsing. It works miraculously.
The soap is gentle on their skin, and the oils in the soap suffocate the fleas. You should follow up with another bath or two to completely get rid of any remaining stragglers several days later, but this is the easiest and most economical solution and I have used it numerous times with success.

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Permalink Reply by Gary, Jackson, and Ollie on August 22, 2009 at 10:56pm

Thank you Shannon for that Dawn Dishwashing soap advice!!

I tried it last night, I purchased Dawn Dishwashing Soap at a local Target last night, the brand is Dawn: Pure Essentials: Hypoallergenic and it contains no phosphate. I gave him a really warm bath with the dishwashing soap and so far so good. I won't be doing this often, only in emergency cases because I am afraid it will dry out his skin, but I have read around numerous sites about the Dawn Dishwashing technique and have seen that even some Animal Clinic uses this method.

Awesome Tip!