Flea Problems After Vactation In The South
So last Thursday I took Clutch with me down south to visit my parents. I put his flea meds (frontline) on him about two hours before our 5 hour drive. We usually only stay for the weekend when we go but we stayed for four days this time.
We went and played at the lake and I took him to a friends new house in the country. She had had bug problems prior to that but it had all been taken care of before we arrived. She has a dog that had bad flea problems but has been on meds for it for over a month and hand had any more flea problems after that. I thought it would be safe to take Clutch to the house and we didn't go into the yard at all except to walk from the car to the door.
Now that we have been back home for a few days I have noticed Clutch scratching like crazy at his pants. This is going from a dog that almost never has an kind of itch ever to uncontrollably biting at his pants. I have been finding little spots of black crusty flake things buildup behind an ear and just above his front legs and on his chest. I gave him a bath Wednesday evening and attempted to just submerge him in the water for a while before shampooing him. I didn't use flea shampoo because I was told that once a dog is on flea medicine then they should not be bathed with flea soap. Can anyone tell me if this is true or not?
Before bed yesterday Clutch stared to shake his head. It was clear that his left ear was bothering him because he kept shaking his head and hold his ear down. I looked into it for as long as he would let me and couldn't see anything but a clean ear. We have been up for a few hours today and the ear problem looks like it has went away (I hope) but he is still at it with his pants.
I am calling the vet today to see what he has to say about it. I was wondering if anyone had and suggestions or experience with fleas. It is killing me watching my friend spend all his time trying to pick little bugs out of his pants. I want my happy non-itchy dog back!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on
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How long was it between applying the frontline and swimming? If it was 24-48 hours then just apply a capstar to kill any adult fleas and let the frontline take care of the rest. Capstar will kill all adult fleas within 30 minutes and lasts I believe 12-24 hours. He may chew a bit after that from old bites but hopefully won't be getting any new ones
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Permalink Reply by Brittani on
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Thanks Melissa!
I didn't actually let Clutch get into the water (but oh how he wanted to) because I didn't bring anything to cover the car. I called the vet and he said the same thing. We are going in later today to pick up Capstar.
The vet also told us that Frontline has a guarantee that covers you where ever you go in the states. If we still have flea problems (which we really don't here in the north) we can contact the company and they will send someone out to help control the flea population around our home.
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Permalink Reply by Beth Walker on
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I agree with Melissa, I would give a capstar tablet, it will kill all the adult fleas right away. I would just double-check with the vet about using the capstar with the frontline. We don't use frontline on our Corgi's, it does not seem to work on them anymore, we always have fleas just a week or two after applying it so we had to switch to a diffirent product, now we have no flea problems. Good Luck, hope u can help Clutch get rid of his itchy friends.
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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on
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Hi Brittani, before you give him capstar, read my post on fleas.
To answer your question, the black stuff is flea dirt, when you submerge, fleas go to the head / neck, always wash from that area first, hind quarters is the next best spot for hiding.
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Permalink Reply by k g read on
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hey brittani--not sure where you went south. I live in ky and used frontline for a few months last spring/summer and it did not work at all. I might as well have put $50 worth of water on my merlin. Changed to revolution after a dose of capstar. Capstar is amazingly effective. Using trifexus now, revolution worked well too but frontline did not.
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Permalink Reply by Karen Dadisman on
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Before we go to GA for the winter, I call the vet down there to find out what is working for fleas and ticks. I then get that product from my local vet and apply it a coupl of days before we leave. Different products work better in different areas of the country in spite of what the manufacturers tell you. We use Frontline Plus here in Iowa and it's been fine for us. We used something else in GA and the dogs were fine while we were there.
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Permalink Reply by Mai on
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Well, to get rid of fleas from my puppy right away I found that pple say to use Dawn dish soap and mix it with water so it wouldn't be so thick when applying it on ur dog. I used Palmolive lavender scented soap because that was what I had on hand.
Don't wet ur dog. Apply it directly onto his dry coat hence the adding water to the soap so it would be easier to apply. Start at his neck, creating a border around his neck so the fleas can't flee up that way. Work it in down to the skin and keep on working it down his body. At first I would comb it onto his coat but, it took too long for Chuckie so, I just poured some into my hand and worked it onto his coat really well. After covering him from behind his ears down to his paws in my soap solution, I let him hang around in it for 5-10 minutes. He doesn't like it. He'll run around the living room trying to rub himself dry on the carpet but, it needs to be done.
After 5-10 minutes, I would rinse him in warm water REALLY well and then dry him off. It got rid of his fleas. He stopped scratching right after his bath and when he was dry.
But, fortunately we caught it right away when he came back inside the house while out sniffing at the gap in the cinderblock wall where our neighbor blocked off their dog so, we didn't have to treat the house or anything. It was his very first time getting fleas because we had just gotten him for a week from the breeders and they kept the puppies inside their house only.
We know it was his first time because he was SO frantic about the itching. He had no idea what was going on and scratching frantically and CRYING as if someone was physically hurting him.
They say that dish soap dries out the coat because it is a degreaser for dishes so, I just rinse really, really well and only use it when he's scratching like he has fleas. If you don't want to use the dish soap use the regular dog shampoo for getting rid of fleas but, just apply it in the method I use. I have done it using dog shampoo too and it works just as well as the dish detergent.
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Permalink Reply by Lindsey Corkern on
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Hi,
Several of my dog friends here in TX have had to switch to a prescription flea medicine this year from using Frontline. I use a different prescription product on my two corgis. Fleas are extremely bad this year. We have traveled to friends houses and camped in the woods and neither of my dogs got fleas, though my other friends' dogs did (they also used Frontline). I personally would not use a flea shampoo on my dogs. The ingredients and the effectiveness of such shampoos is questionable. As for the ear, maybe one was crawling around in it and it was really bothering him (omg!) He will be fine, keep your house extra clean, especially if you have carpet. When you mop, add a little vinegar to your water to kill/sanitize any larva that may be trying to make a home in your house. You may not need to go to this extreme where you live, but here in Texas, it is essential flea prevention. Hope that helps! Good luck :)
Lindsey
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