Can dog get fleas in spite of preventive treatment?

We live at 7200 feet and don't need flea prevention, however I treat the dogs if we travel or leave them with the pet sitter, who lives at lower elevation, is also a groomer and gets a lot of dogs there who all mingle. . We were recently gone for two weeks, one dog came with me, the other two, my corgi Mowgli and a blue healer/border collie mix named Pixie, went to the pet sitter. I treated all three the day before we left. I used Advantage. I split the 55 Lbs dose between two of the dogs, it comes to 1 drop per Lbs of body weight ( dogs weigh 21 Lbs and 35 Lbs respectively) and my 8 Lbs min-doxie got a separate dose for dogs under 10 Lbs, she got 8 drops. The day before I picked them back up, Pixie was groomed, but not Mowgli.

When I brought them back home I noticed both were scratching, especially Mowgli. As the days went by, Pixie just did it occasionally and I never hear her at night, but Mowgli increased, often jumping suddenly and biting his hind quatrers. I found a couple of bums and some small sores/scabbing in that area, I can hear him go on and on at night. Eventually he calms down. We've been back now 10 days. I was leery to reapply the Advantage before the 4 weeks were up. Could he have gotten bitten and harbor fleas in spite of the preventive treatment? No problem with the mini-doxie who traveled with us to Virginia. Any feedback appreciated, not just for now, but for the future since this didn't work very well..... Should I be using another brand? What dosage? I hate to overdose with chemicals.... Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on September 20, 2011 at 10:40pm

I forgot to add rinse the dog also....

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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on September 20, 2011 at 11:20pm

You read my mind... was wondering about that :-)

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Permalink Reply by Christine and Meeko on September 20, 2011 at 11:56pm

My 6 month old is on prevention but he still get them i think that prevention just helps to keep them from staying on. Im still having problems with him scratching ive been giving him baths and putting some anti itch stuff on him but idk.. Good Luck

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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on September 23, 2011 at 10:55pm

UPDATE: the day I posted, I did nothing, waiting for the various posts to come in and then decide what to try first. Well, that night no biting or scratching, first night in over a week... go figure! I've decided it's not fleas, as that does not improve on its own. He still scratches or bites himself occasionally, but the small sores and scabs are going away. I've now added fish oil to his food once a day, can't hurt. Will update when back to normal, thanks everyone for the advice and moral support.

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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on September 24, 2011 at 8:04am

Great news!

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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on September 29, 2011 at 6:19pm

MYSTERY SOLVED! The scratching and biting comes from small grass seeds that work their way into the coat. I've had this before in the Fall with long coated dogs, but it's my first Fall with Mowgli and, with his short summer coat, it never crossed my mind. I m now runnung my fingers through his coat regularly and, if I see him scratch or bite, I look for a seed. The stay at the petsitter must have coincided with the grasses starting to go to seed. The small sores he probably made by scratching, as the prickly seeds made him itch.