Fleas. . . What else can I do.

[princesshannahsmom]

I am so frustrated with this issue. I have two dogs (a Pekingese and a Yorkie) and a cat. The Pekingese and cat have NO fleas, not a single one. The Yorkie, I simply CANNOT get rid of the fleas.

I will start by saying that we use Frontline on the dogs and Advantix on the cat. Again, the Peke hasn't a single flea. We tried K-9 Advantix on the Yorkie, STILL NO luck. We have tried flea dips, flea collars, flea shampoos (which we still use with each bath). NOTHING is working.

We have NO carpet in our home (tile and hardwood only) and we have leather furniture. Our yard is sprayed bi-monthly (both front and back) and we don't take incredibly long walks (they get tired too easy!).

I am just at my wits end, I don't know what else to do, but I know it has to be driving the little guy crazy, aside from the fact that it is unhealthy.

So, do any of you have any "home remedies" that I might try. At this point I will try anything to get rid of this nuisance!

 

[happily single]

I read very recently that an equal mixture of baking soda and salt will dhydrate and therefore kill fills. You should ask the vet why the flea meds aren't working.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Your vet can give you capstar pills. You feed this itsy little pill to the dog, and in about 30-45 minutes all the fleas on the dog will be dead. Now this doesn't kill the eggs, and it's not long lasting, but it works like a miracle on the LIVE fleas.

Then you follow up with something like Sentinel - your vet can reccomend what works best.

But I LOVE Capstar. It works like magic and gives animals instant relief from the biting critters!

 

[AlleyKat]

The Yorkie, I simply CANNOT get rid of the fleas.

I will start by saying that we use Frontline on the dogs and Advantix on the cat.

Use Advantage or Advantix (for dogs) on the dog(s).

IMO, and my vets', Frontline (and Hartz) is like putting water on animals...it doesn't work (been there, tried that!). My vets office states Advantage(tix) is even better than the high money product they recommend to those not in the know.

Edited to state; Fleas easily live in the cracks of hardwood floors, waiting for a host to jump on to.

 

[princesshannahsmom]

Capstar, hmmm, never heard of that, but I am DEFINATELY going to be calling the vet tomorrow for ANOTHER appointment!! Makes me wonder why this hasn't been suggested by the vet before?! We have been to the vet more for this little critter in the last 4 months than we have for our Peke in 11 years, well, not really, but it seems that way!

 

[bcvprincesses]

When we brought our puppy home he was covered in fleas. We gave him a bath in Dawn dish soap and left it on for five min. We rinsed off dead fleas. It was amazing. We did give him another bath with Dawn a few days later just to make sure they were all gone.

 

[doxdogy]

Spray the yard with good old Ivory dish detergent. We sprayed our back yard and it killed the fleas. We even had a company come out to price spraying our yard for fleas. The guy told us that if our neighbors had fleas and didn't spray, the fleas would escape to their yard and then come right back to our yard. Out of desperation, we tried Ivory detergent and it seemed to work.

 

[RadioNate]

Have you treated the house at all? Just because you don't have carpet doesn't mean they aren't living somewhere.

Food grade diatomaceous earth can be used on the pets and throughout the house.

 

[tinkerrn]

I put a small amount of apple cider vinegar in their water and mix some garlic into their food. I did discuss this with my vet before I tried it though.

 

[danalee]

doxdogy...Do you just spray the Ivory Dish soap straight or was it watered-down, like 50/50?
thanks

 

[mickeysgal]

Spray the yard with good old Ivory dish detergent. We sprayed our back yard and it killed the fleas. We even had a company come out to price spraying our yard for fleas. The guy told us that if our neighbors had fleas and didn't spray, the fleas would escape to their yard and then come right back to our yard. Out of desperation, we tried Ivory detergent and it seemed to work.

Never hear of this. How much Ivory did it take and how did you spray the lawn? Did you mix it with water first? Just squirt the bottles everywhere?

 

[*BTMRR*]

I wonder if some medications just work better on particular animals than on others. I'd ask the vet about trying Capstar, and then follow up with a different medicine (Advantage?) on the Yorkie. Poor doggie.
Maybe he just doesn't metabolize the Frontline properly or something.
Frontline has worked miracles for us but I know there are pets for whom it just doesn't seem to work.

 

[bballmom56]

We are another family who used Capstar and then Advantage. OTC treatments worked for the dog, but not for the cats. So we got the Advantage for the cats. Our vet said Frontline had not been working well in our region - the fleas may be becoming resistant to it. So I went to Advantage and it worked perfectly.

 

[doxdogy]

Just add the Ivory (we bought a large bottle) to the sprayers that attach to the garden hose. Added benefit is that it will also kill any fungus in your yard. I know it sounds crazy, but it really did work. Since the dogs go in the yard, we were leery of using any pesticides in the yard.

 

[hedgehog2owl]

Capstar/Program cocktail

you don't have to go back to the vet you can order it online

 

[NonScents]

I am so frustrated with this issue. I have two dogs (a Pekingese and a Yorkie) and a cat. The Pekingese and cat have NO fleas, not a single one. The Yorkie, I simply CANNOT get rid of the fleas.

I will start by saying that we use Frontline on the dogs and Advantix on the cat. Again, the Peke hasn't a single flea. We tried K-9 Advantix on the Yorkie, STILL NO luck. We have tried flea dips, flea collars, flea shampoos (which we still use with each bath). NOTHING is working.

We have NO carpet in our home (tile and hardwood only) and we have leather furniture. Our yard is sprayed bi-monthly (both front and back) and we don't take incredibly long walks (they get tired too easy!).

I am just at my wits end, I don't know what else to do, but I know it has to be driving the little guy crazy, aside from the fact that it is unhealthy.

So, do any of you have any "home remedies" that I might try. At this point I will try anything to get rid of this nuisance!

If you are using Advantix on the cat, stop immediately and consult your vet. This product is toxic to cats, and can (and does) cause death.
(Could be a typo, if it is Advantage that is great for cats. Easy to confuse, the names sound so similar.)

 

[Disneycrazy!!]

We use Comfortis pills and they work AMAZING!!!!!
it is a pill you give once a month and my dogs have not had ANY fleas in months!! My shih tzu's skin cleared up and because she doesnt scratch all the time we can grow her hair long again.

 

[LovetheMouse12302]

We only use dawn dish soap on our schnauzer. She never has had a single flea. We use the scent that is gentle on your skin. She smells wonderful and it never irritates her skin. For what it's worth I groom dogs and I always recommend that to my customers and they rave on how it kills fleas.

 

[312.Duck]

princesshannahsmom- any updates?

 

[N&B'smom]

Mule Team Borax, you can find it in the laundry detergent section of your grocery store. It's a powder. Sprinkle it all over your carpet, spread it around with a broom to get it in there really well and let it sit for a couple of hours. (don't have the pet in that area obviously) Vacuum it up and throw out the vacuum bag.

This stuff smothers them!

My dog got fleas from stray cats that would come into our yard. They were everywhere and nothing worked UNTIL I tried this stuff. That put an end to it and we haven't had a problem since.