How do I get rid of dog fleas??

[scottie]

We have a pug who seems to have picked up her first case of fleas. Is there anything I might be able to get at the local Walmart/Meijers to help cure her of these (or at least start) over the weekend?

 

[LegoMom3]

You can get some flea shampoo and give her a bath with it - it'll kill the adult fleas already on her. But longer term she ought to be on something like Frontline or K9 Advantix. Those would be available from a place like Petco or a farm/agriculture/feed type store. The once-a-month application kills fleas, eggs, and sometimes larva, so the cycle is broken.

Good luck! Fleas are NO fun if they start getting in your house!!

.

 

[StacyMarie]

Our Meijer carries K9 Advantix and Advantage. I am not sure about Wal-Mart. I was actually looking at it today at Meijer and it is cheaper there than through the vet. My shih-tzus came down with their first case of fleas (I only found 1 flea) this summer and it seems to be working wonderfully! I also bought some spray to spray the furniture, etc. and washed their bedding in hot water. Make sure with the spray to read the directions though because with the kind I bought, the animals have to stay off the area for an hour. I sprayed the furniture down one night, tucked them into bed (they sleep with me), and by the next morning of course they could be on their dog beds, etc. Good luck. It is best to get it under control before it EXPLODES in your house!! By the way, I LOVE PUGS!! I want one, LOL but 3 little dogs is too many (according to my husband).

 

[Aimeedyan]

Whatever you do, don't buy Hartz. It's notorious for killing dogs (and it doesn't work anyways).

You should pick up some Frontline Plus or Advantix. Our local feed store sells them along with most pet stores. Oh - Costco has had them on and off, too. Probably one dose will solve the problem.

 

[belle&sebastiansmom]

Our dogs got bad fleas after a trip to the groomer. They have been religiously on Frontline for years. The vet said that a lot of dogs are building up tolerance to the topical flea products and they don't work as well. Besides, the topical products kill the fleas about 18 to 24 hours after they bite the dog, which leaves plenty of time for eggs to be laid, more fleas, etc. After being told this, our vet said we should try Comfortis. It's a pill but it kills the fleas within a couple of hours. It's expensive, but it worked. We also, for good measure, used a Raid flea spray on our carpeted areas, bought at a Wal-Mart. Good luck and hope your dog finds relief!

 

[scottie]

Thanks everyone, picked up some flea/tick shampoo at Meijer tonight and the wife gave her a good bath- could see them dying and dropping off right away. Also bought some natural flea tick treatment in a tiny tube and applied that (not sure how good the "natural" stuff will work, but figured we would give it a try for the next day or so till we get ahold of something better.

My sister also said she uses the Comfortis for her two dogs and highly suggested getting at least one pill from the vet area at Petsmart. She said give our dog the pill outside and stay out for about 30 mins and you will just see all the fleas dropping off!

Not sure if we need to do a whole doctor visit to purchase a pill(s) or not? I will call tomorrow and see what the deal is. I would love to just buy one pill for starters until we decide how we want to handle things going forward. This was our first flea incident in about 5 years.

Does Comfortis also take care of any eggs that may be on her now?
Some online reading also suggested giving dogs garlic tablets to control fleas-interesting.

 

[N&B'smom]

Our dog is 13 and he got fleas once a few years ago. It was a nightmare!!! We could NOT get rid of them. I searched and searched online and found a forum where the people mentioned using Mule Team Borax. (which I had never heard of before) You can find it in your super market in the laundry detergent section. It worked like a charm!!

You just sprinkle it on the carpet and use a broom to sort of push it around and get it down in there. Let it sit for an hour or two (keep the dog out of that room)....after time passes vacuum it up. It basically smothers the little suckers!

 

[itsheresomewhere]

Capstar is great and otc. It is a pill you give the dog and it kills fleas in a few hours. It is not pricey at all. Dawn dish soap kills fleas too.

 

[SandrA9810]

Don't forget the cleaning of all the areas the dog gets into. And if you must, and have the ability to, you can flea bomb your house. I had to do that a few times. It's a pain to do, but well worth it. Make sure you get the one labeled for fleas too. Adams is a good cheap brand for shampooing and for home cleaning.

If you read the directions, the topical flea stuff works for up to 3 months against fleas and 1 month against ticks. I only ever used it every 3 months as the fleas can build up a resistance to the stuff. You also might find that each one works differently. Advantix worked best for my dog, and frontline seemed to do nothing.
When we adopted her from the pound she was covered in fleas and ticks, even the size of my thumbs. It looked sooo painful. They said the dipped her before adoption, but I found that hard to believe. So it took a long time before we were rid of them all, because we could only do so much that first night. Of course, once one falls down, you can be doomed.

My vet sold the frontline and advantix individually for 15$ a tube. No appointment needed, I just told the lady at the desk and she would ring me up for it. It was a little more expensive than buy the 3 or 6 pack, but more affordable to buy it when I needed it.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

You could also get some lawn bug killer to treat your yard.

 

[TLuvsD]

Remember to change the vacum cleaner bag after you vacum up the borax (or any product). You don't want to take the chance of the eggs hatching in there.

We use Frontline and have the lawn sprayed 4 times a year. Our standard poodle is 10 and has never had fleas.

 

[scottie]

Remember to change the vacum cleaner bag after you vacum up the borax (or any product). You don't want to take the chance of the eggs hatching in there.

didn’t even think about eggs staying in the vac. We have a dyson and I vacuumed around the carpeted area she tends to hang out and around her crate, then dumped out the canister in the trash outside the best I could do.

 

[ilovejack02]

If going to use one of the flea treatments that you use on back of neck, which I think works best, don't use flea shampoo. Vet told me it strips the oils in the dog's skin and the flea treatment needs that to work. use a gentle dog shampoo and then use the flea treatment.

 

[scottie]

We scheduled an appt for Banfield at Petsmart for tomorrow evening. They said they require a quick free checkup before they will sell us the Comfortis pill. We decided doing the Comfortis along with the flea shampoo bath last night and getting some Borax for the carpet will hopefully do the trick- fingers crossed!

 

[donaldduck352]

If going to use one of the flea treatments that you use on back of neck, which I think works best, don't use flea shampoo. Vet told me it strips the oils in the dog's skin and the flea treatment needs that to work. use a gentle dog shampoo and then use the flea treatment.

Very true.Same goes for bathing your dog with Dawn.It works,but strips the oil also.

 

[SandrA9810]

You're supposed to wait three days between the two treatments. Even if you put the preventative on first, you have to wait the three days for it to work it's way in to the fur.

 

[312.Duck]

http://www.disboards.com/member.php?u=28914
scottie- any updates?