Fleas bothering my puppy and me! =(
I have had my puppy Lilo on frontline since last month, 5 days before her next application, I spotted a flea on her face. I decided to put the next application a few days earlier, but she still has fleas. I know frontline claims that the fleas should die after 12 hours, but it's been a week. I have bathed her, but she still has some. I cleaned the areas where she lays, sleeps and rest. She usually sleeps in my room, I cleaned all the bedsheets, mopped the floor, and wiped the wooden bed. I woke up the next morning with 8 flea bites. I'm not sure if I got them during cleaning or sleeping, but probably when I was sleeping. What should I do for my puppy? What should I use on my house? Do I have to bomb my house or are there other choices before I have to do that?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sam on
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I have not found frontline to be as effective as some of the other preventatives. You may consider advantage or comfortis. Make sure enough time has elapsed before application. You may also consider flea combing her daily until you get them under control. Keep in mind the places you bring her. Are they infested with fleas? Do you bring her to places where many other dogs frequent? She is picking them up somewhere. Finding the source will be most helpful. If it is in your yard you may consider having it sprayed. Make sure you keep your pup off the surface for the recommended time. Chemicals are dreadful but so are fleas. Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Cam on
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We have comfortis for leon, and it's awesome. Need to use a lot of peanut butter and follow him around until he finally swallows, but it works fantastic. The first time I ever used it, he had a really bad infestation, and when I gave it to him and you could see it working. Fleas were jumping ship and dying like there was no tomorrow. And I suppose for them, there wasn't. :) I give it bonus points for it being environmentally and pet friendly too.
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Permalink Reply by Bay in TN on
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I agree with Sam; Frontline is nearly worthless in my house. My vet wanted Doris on the Frontline Plus in order to keep the ticks off, and it seems to work as far as ticks are concerned. But for fleas? Oh, no. We're on the third tube of Frontline Plus, and the flea battle continues to be just epic. Next month I'll ask for Advantage for fleas and something else entirely for ticks, because this much flea activity really cannot be borne.
In the meantime, I got the Frontline *spray* which is available on Drs. Foster & Smith's website. The spray is very effective for a few days at a time. It's expensive, but it kills fleas. And that's what's important.
My cat is on Advantage, and he hasn't had a flea in months. There's just a huge difference between the products.
--Bay
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Permalink Reply by Amanda on
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I third Frontline, or any other topical treatment, to be useless. I use Sentinel, haven't had a flea since I put Dax on it. He had fleas, I bought some Capstar, which kills the adult fleas, gave him that, and sprayed all the carpet. I used Raid flea killer and it actually worked very well, just make sure you plan a long walk or a trip for right after you spray it, you don't want to be in the house for a little while. The Capstar will kill the fleas that are already on her, and the Sentinel will keep them off. It's also a heartworm preventative, all in one little chewable, monthly dose. Extremely convenient. I tried Comfortis, and while many people have had great results with it, it didn't seem to work so great for me. What worked best for me was the Capstar-Sentinel combination. Good luck getting rid of them!
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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We use K9 Advantix and have never had a flea problem. The last time we picked Jack up from boarding, there was one flea on his ear, but it hopped off. I saw no bites and he did not bring them into the house (though we washed his bedding in hot water and dried on high heat, just to make sure).
In addition, Advantix is meant to be better for ticks. My aunt's Jack Russell was on Frontline. They live in the country, and here in PA it's a hot zone for Lyme disease. Well, they had the dog tested and she tested positive, despite the Frontline. My parents' Chessie is on Advantix and is a hunting dog who runs in the woods a few days a week. They had her tested and she was negative. My parents' vet said that of all the dogs she's tested, none of the Advantix dogs have tested positive for Lyme, but several Frontline dogs have. Of course that's just anecdotal.
If you use Advantix, just be very careful if you have cats. The formula is toxic to them. My vet said it should not be a problem unless the cat actively grooms the dog (unlikely with my dog-hating cat), but we always wash our hands thoroughly after touching the dog for two days after application, just to be safe.
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Permalink Reply by Geri & Sidney on
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Ditto that Frontline is useless. We were plagued with fleas last summer; the dogs were on Frontline and were miserable. The cats were on Advantage and did not have a single flea. We switched the dogs to Advantage and the fleas were history!
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Permalink Reply by Ein Danger on
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if you have any carpet in your home i'd suggest vacuuming everyday until you get this under control. we just moved into a house but lived in an apartment for 2 years and the fleas were horrible. since where we'd walk ein was a communal area, fleas were unavoidable. even before we had ein, we'd still track them in from the grass outdoors. i put ein on the Program tables and would vacuum religiously as to not allow them a fighting chance to reproduce. since we couldn't spray outdoors i'd try to keep ein off the grass as much as possible. if you live in a home i'd suggest spraying your yards :) although fleas are annoying (once they bite you those bites don't stop itching!!!) fleas can also be dangerous. about a month after getting ein, he got worms from eating an infected flea!!! you're doing a great job by sterilizing your home but you might need a little more muscle (i.e. a spraying) to really get those suckers to die. i hate fleas!!!
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Permalink Reply by Lilo and her owner Lily on
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Thank you everyone for all your advice! I am definitely going to stop using frontline. I went to Petco the other day to get flea shampoo, home spray, and puppy flea and tick spray. I told the worker about frontline and he look at me as if I was crazy! I asked if they carried other brands, but he kept doubting my opinion about Frontline not being effective saying Frontline is the best and the other brands are cheaper and less effective.
I used all those products and still no good. The fleas have been trying to hide out on my Lilo's ears, I take them out, but 20 minutes later I hear her ears flip flopping around in the other room. I keep her off the grass when we go on walks which sucks cause she loves it so much. I've been using Sentry homespray and it doesn't seem to working. Do I really have to resort to bombing the house?
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Permalink Reply by Susan and Merlin on
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Be careful piling all those pesticides on your pooch - you could make her very sick.
First thing first, go out and buy a thing of Capstar to give your pooch some relief.
Second, try Advantage instead of Frontline. It's really the best for fleas. Make sure you do not bathe your dog for three days before or three days after applying a topical flea medication. Topical flea treatments travel through the oils on the dog's fur/skin, and if the dog is freshly bathed, there really isn't anything for it to travel on, so it sort of sits there and does nothing.
Wash all your dog's bedding, and while it's washing, vacuum your home - put a flea collar in the vacuum bag/cannister, and immediately throw out what you've sucked up when you're finished. Spray the dog's bedding once it is dry with either a natural product (like Dirty Dogs natural flea spray - Petco carries it) or a chemical spray - but I try not to use a lot of chemicals.
If you have a yard, you may want to sprinkle sevin dust all over.
I have five dogs, from corgi to giant breed, and this is what works for us. I haven't even applied a topical pesticide yet this year.
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Would you consider trying Comfortis? It's given in pill form, and the members here who have used it all seem to think it's great. I have not used it on my dogs yet, because so far it seems the Advantage is working this summer. But if Advantage ends up failing us, I might swithch to Comfortis as well! I think it is about the same price as Frontline, etc. Ask your vet
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Just wanted to come back and revisit this issue since it has been much on my mind. My husband took Doris to the vet without me and came back with Comfortis. We gave it to her, and she felt a little lethargic and her tummy was slightly disturbed for a day. Then she pooped and felt better. And best of all, there are no fleas on her! We're vacuuming every day to get rid of the flea eggs, but fortunately, Doris lives in only two rooms, neither of which has carpet. So it shouldn't be a big deal to get all the fleas out of the house really quickly. Yay, Comfortis! Yay, MyCorgi people!!! Thanks for the commiseration and advice for all!
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I would not use petstore flea products.
If it were me, I would switch to a different vet-offered product (after the Frontline had worn off, about a month from last application). And I would use manual methods to control them until I could switch. Use a fine-toothed flea comb (outside!). Give a good bath. Wash all bedding, towels, etc in the hottest water the fabric allows, and dry on highest heat setting. Vacuum everything that is not washable regularly, and dispose of the vacuum bags.
When you use the next product, follow label instructions carefully. No baths/swimming for 48 hours before and after treatment, and apply as instructed (one type has you apply the entire container in one spot, another has you dot it down the dog's back). Make sure you are applying to skin and not fur.
Good luck!
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