Penny is on Sentinal and we suddenly noticed the fleas FLEAS last week. We have the cat on Advantage (indoor cat) and we have all wood floors that we have been cleaning like mad. Penny must have picked them up outside - but shouldn't the Sentinel work on those? She has been on it for 5 months. I went to the vet and got her some Frontline and the first dose yesterday did nothing - the fleas didn't even look ill. I thought maybe I had gotten it on her fur rather than her skin so I gave her another late last night. She is still itching like crazy. It is making me so sad to watch her. Any advice? What else can I do?

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I have not dealt with fleas before but maybe try giving her a flea bath with doggie flea shampoo? Sorry I am not more helpful......good luck!
Does it matter what "scent" of Dawn to use? We're having a REALLY hard time with fleas here, despite Frontline every 2 weeks. I just can't afford that anymore with 3 dogs/2 cats!
that is good advice - we got the atomic flea pill at the vet (capstar I think?) and she is doing much better. I would like to do the Dawn wash just to be sure though
Muffin had the same problem. She was on Frontline.....did not help one bit. She started losing weight, losing hair and was miserable and constantly biting and scratching. She had a rash on her tummy from scratching and flea bites all around her tail and bottom. I bathed her, gave her Brewers yeast with Garlic, searched the internet for help but she still suffered. Finally her vet put her on Comfortis. Within 4 hours she had no fleas!! She still has no fleas two weeks later. But....her appetite is off the charts which corgis are known to like to eat anyway. She gobbles her food as if she's never eaten and her begging is getting worse. This happened when she started the Comfortis. Small price to pay for no fleas.
That's the only side effect I have found. Ask your vet to help Penny. Muffin is so much more comfortable now. Good luck!
Better news over here. After wasting lots of money on Frontline, we went back to Advantage. For good measure, we also gave the dogs one of those CAPSTAR tablets. It looks like the fleas are gone! No more scratching, and my formerly miserable dogs are happy again!
My vet explained to me that sentinel keeps the flea cycle from continuing. So, your puppy can pick up fleas at the park, and the fleas won't lay eggs and multiply, but you still have to get rid of the ones that make it inside the house and onto the puppy. When this happens you can use capstar or a topical flea preventative to get rid of the adult fleas.

Just today my roommate informed me that she found a flea on her cat, and that it must be from Caleb since her cat is an indoor only kitty. One nose to nub search later I couldn't find a single flea, and he hasn't been itching or scratching, so I suggested I keep an eye on Caleb for any signs of fleas, while she flea dip her kitty and we vacuum more. I'll be sure to bust out the camera and the first aid kit should the kitty flea dip happen. Hahahahaha.
My vet told me the same thing as Julie's--the Sentinel works by sterilizing the fleas, not actually killing them. So the pup may still have some actual living ones it may pick up from somewhere else, but as long as you have a flea-controlled home and other animals are flea-free then you won't have an infestation or anything and the few stragglers that come home on your little angel will just die without the flea cycle continuing. I use a sponge-on anti-flea treatment to help in the summer months when Lola tends to pick up more "friends" because of the weather.
Hey!
I get flea questions all the time at my work place. Yes Sentinel works by sterilizing the fleas, so if you are in an environment with a heavy flea infestation you will need to use something that kills the flea/egg/larva in every cycle of its life. What sells the best at the animal hospital I work at is a topical product called Revolution and the Capstar pill (these products work great together because revolution takes 24 hours to absorb into the bloodstream and the capstar takes effect right away but only for 24 hours where 1 treatment of revolution works for a month). Revolution also protects against parasites including roundworms, hookworms, ticks, ear mites, mange and lice. The company Bayer (makers of advantage) has a product out called advantage multi that protects against everything that I listed for revolution. Regular advantage is just as good but advantage multi just protects your pet more. I use revolution on my corgi and have NEVER! Seen a flea and I live in a heavy flea environment….=)
Rebecca, I've just gone back to Advantage after a miserable summer on Frontline (uh, my dogs..not me personally).

Can you tell me if it is safe to bathe my dog without losing the effectiveness?
Its fine to bath your dog 24 hours after it has been applied. I think the company says your dog can go swimming within 4 hours after its been applied, but I always wait 24 hours because that’s how long it takes to absorb into the bloodstream.(just in case..lol) The only time Advantage would lose effectiveness would be at the end of the 30 day treatment.
Thanks! I thought the stuff stayed on the skin, not in the bloodstream. That's good to know. My dogs are so much happier now that the fleas are gone!
Thank you ALL for your good advice! Penny is doing much better now - we settled on Comfortis and she will continue her Sentinel. By the way - though it is probably not great to use regularly on sensitive pup skin, the Dawn trick helped her get some immediate relief for an evening which gave her and I some valuable rest before the trek to the vet the next AM. Plus it made her super soft and fluffy :)

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