Fleas-At my wits end!

[HayleyUK]

After various treatments with Bob Martin treatments I took my 17 month old very itchy cross breed to the vets and was told he had fleas.

Fantastic I thought.

I was sold Frontline treatment and a spray for the house, which I did as directed. Vaccumed, sprayed upholstery and carpets, Vaccumed, treated the dog.

To no avail.

I did the same again 2 weeks later and although the itching is reduced its still going on. I've invested in a flea comb and hes 100% got them!
Tonight will be the 3rd time in 8 weeks hes had the treatment and nothing seems to be getting rid of them!!!

I thought Frontline was the best on the market?

Any advice please!

 

[star]

i would try something other than frontline now. i have had a few clients this year where frontline just doesn't seem to have done the trick. there are numerous others on the market, so i think i would give one of them a go now - stronghold, advocate etc. perhaps fleas are getting resistant to frontline? i dont know, but i have had a few people come back to me saying the same as you. i do assure you that usually frontline etc are a millions times better than Bob Martin's rubbish though!

 

[jackie36]

have you been treating the house everytime you've treated the dog. are you sure you've been using the right amount for his weight. i use it and it works.

 

[clipertyplop]

I have had the same problem with a new pup, treated with a flea preperation from shirleys also with a front line from the vets, washed bedding weekly and bathed the pup twice in a teatree shampoo,gone over her with a combe but i am starting to think its harvest mite as she is now scratching around her ears and her paws but not as bad as when we first had her so i think its a case of breaking the cycle and perservering good luck with yours

 

[milor]

try feeding garlic capsules - it helps as a flea deterrant - mind you this is one of the optimum times for flea infestation as everyone has switched on the central heating and all the eggs are hatching out - YUK ! - most fleas on dogs are probably cat fleas so don't forget to treat any pet moggys too !

 

[wondernoggin]

we had a really bad bout of fleas during the summer, we saved 2 cats, called the rscpa out, and they bought them through the house where they jumped onto our house cat. Needless to say we tried Bob martin foggers spray etc to no avail and was told it was useless stuff anyway. In the end we called the local council who for FREE will come and spray your house (well our council it was free). We treated the cat with frontline and a flea collar aswell. It worked, no more fleas. You just cant hoover, sweep etc for about 10days but beleive me its worth it.

 

[ann-jen]

Just wanted to double check if you have any other pets, including any cats. Dog and cat fleas are happy to live on either pet so if you have any cats, even if they are not scratching you need to treat them too.
Is it frontline spray or spot on? If its the spray read the directions carefully as you have to count the number of pumps you put on for the animals weight and double it if they are long haired. If its the spot on check its the right size for your dog. I've found estimating weight a little unreliable at times. eg if your dog weighs 21kg its going to need the 20-40kg treatment not the 10-20kg treatment - I know that sounds obvious but if you've guesstimated the dog at 20kg then you might be underdosing. Also I would reapply the frontline spot on every 4 weeks until they are gone rather than every 8 weeks. Make sure you don't shampoo your dog for at least 48h after you've put it on too or it'll stop it working. I've always found frontline to be totally reliable for flea control but not 100% for tick control.
Also I wouldn't vacuum immediately after applying the household spray despite what it may say. I can't understand how you wouldn't just immediately suck it all back up! Check which brand you have and make sure it says it stops the eggs from hatching too otherwise you get rid of one batch and then a new lot hatch out.
Hope this helps, AJ

 

[piaffe]

Frontline is no plonger the best, or so i have been told. The new one is Advocate (was told this by the retired greyhound trust when i picked up my dog.

However, i still use frontline with no probs.

 

[TGM]

I got a treatment called Advantage from my vets - cleared up Gercha's fleas in no time!

 

[foraday]

unfortunately it will take you weeks to get rid of the flea infestation in your house so they will continue to jump on your dog!

The flea eggs can live in the carpets, upholstery, bedding etc for months and then when the right conditions happen warmth etc then they hatch into flea lavae and live off the carpet dust and then become fleas and then live off pets and humans.

You dog may need the other treatment that is oral and when fleas feed off them they become sterile and cannot lay eggs.

You need to hoover everyday preferably with a dyson or similar and just keep treating the carpets and upholstery.

It is worth it although hard work!

 

[filly190]

Poor you, its a nasty one.

For your house, try the white socks test. Walk round in white socks and you then look to see if you have picked up any fleas from the carpets. If you have, dont bother with sprays, get the council in, its cheap, quick and works!!!

Secondly, have you any cats?

Thirdly, have you a dead animal somewhere around, that he is going back to and rolling on.

I would take him to a professional dog groomer and get him sorted, meanwhile tackle your house at the same time.

I say this from my friends experience, she has a little dog and become overrun with fleas. It turned out the previous owners had cats and she got the council in and they sorted it a treat.

Good luck

 

[oliviacharley]

Fleas are a nightmare arent they. Unfortunately they can quite happily live in your carpet and once the heating comes on they spring to life. Dogs dont actually have fleas they normally catch them off of another animals - cats for example carry them.
Might be worth treating the dog and then treating the carpets for a week, hovering every day once you have sprayed the house and bathing the dog in flea shampoo does help too.
My mum used to have 11 cats at one point. It is very hard to get rid of fleas but as long as you keep treating the dog and other animals, hover once you have treated the house you should be able to get rid of them.
good luck :0)

 

[k9h]

A chap who has kennels use to have a problem with creepy crawlies in is spaniels. He started to feed them Apple Cider Vinegar with aged garlic next time he went to clip their coats he couldnt find any creepie crawlies & their coats were much silkier & softer. He started feeding it 3 yrs ago & hasn't had a single problem since. The ACV changes the chemistry of the animal slightly more acidic which the fleas dont like & so wont bite therfore dont become a problem. I have all mine on it to & I never seem to have a problem, even when we got a pup which had them the problem soon vanished we used the spot on & I bought a can of spray for the house but never used that. Problem was gone in a fortnight

 

[monkey100]

My Jack Russell has had problems really chewing himself raw, the vet has said its fox lice not fleas, we have used a shampoo called malaseb which we got from the vet and stronghold, seems to be working. We had the same problem with him last year and the local vet couldnt find out what was wrong, asked my horse vet and he seems to of sorted it out, we have had months of him this year chewing himself, but now after three days he is so much better, also the livery yards jacks next door to us had the same problem.

 

[carmenlucy123]

I'v just had the same thing... our ridgeback had fleas for what seemed like an eternity even i was covered in bites.
we washed him in loads of stuff and squeezed upteen bottles on his neck!!
the vet DID NOT sell us frontline we were given something else ill find out what it is....but also he arranged for a professional to come and spray the house for us at about £30
it seems steep but its worked. ill get back to you on what it was.
I would complain about beingsold that our vet said nothing else works... he's wasted your money on another useless product!

 

[pomme]

Bob Martin products will really never do the job I'm afraid, along with other 'supermarket brands'. A preparation from your vet such as Frontline (the dropper ones are best imo) is the way to go.

However, I was interested in this thread because this year I have found Frontline to have got less and less effective on both our dog and cats. I asked the vet and she said that the fleas cannot develop immunity and that the veterinary preparations are always currently tested to be working. I am starting to doubt this information.

A word of warning, if you have cats AND dogs, advantage is apparently lethal to cats and it is advised that this product is not used in a dog and cat household. Fine for just dogs alone. If you do have to use it then cats must be kept WELL away.

 

[Llwyncwn]

I used to work for a mortgage valuer who told me that flea eggs can live dormant in carpets for up to 2 years. As soon as they feel the vibration of footsteps - its dinner time. Yeahaa

 

[mrgoop]

I have always found frontline effective, but always as a preventative and an extra deterrent try added raw crushed garlic to your doggies dinner. Good luck with the little bast**ds

 

[HayleyUK]

Thanks everyone for your advice!

I think I'm going to call out a pest control company and have them fumigate the whole house and get some super strength stuff from the vets. Frontline does nothing!

Hopefully that might work!!

Hayley.