please tell me I am not mad - fleas

Bosworth

Bosworth

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10 February 2006
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devon
www.ballhillequestrian.co.uk
I use frontline Combo on my dogs, but recently I have noticed them getting fleas within a week of being treated. i have sprayed the house, washed beds, sprayed etc. And I have realised it always happens after they have spent time with another dog. I was chatting about it with the owner and they said oh they have never had a problem with fleas and never use chemicals on their dog, they just give it a garlic tablet every week and that sorts the problem out. AAAAAAAAARGH how can that possibly work. So I am spending a bloody fortune getting rid of fleas and their dog is probably riddled with them and passing it on to mine. Ok if they get on to mine and bite them they will die,. but in the mean time they are transferred to my dogs beds etc. May have to ban the dog from playing with mine!
 
The other dog may not be sensitive to flea bites so the owner doesn't realise it has fleas.

Garlic may discourage fleas but it certainly doesn't kill them nor stop a hungry flea hopping on for a meal.
Fleas tend not to live on dogs but in the surroundings and garlic in the dog's food won't address the resident flea population.

Frontline takes several hours to kill fleas so it is quite possible the fleas are getting a ride home.
 
Garlic does have some proven repellent properties but it won't work if fleas are hungry.

I have had dogs turn up for grooming crawling with fleas - owner's usual comment is along the lines of "I haven't noticed him scratching" when the dog has so many fleas it looks like a Garibaldi biscuit.

I had huge fun with a raw feeding "expert" who insisted that dogs fed a raw diet didn't get fleas. She had no answer when I asked how recently fleas had evolved. :) That was a total myth.
 
i dont use frontline anymore. Completely useless. I use stronghold. Mine has had fox mange and frontline doesnt do fox mange. i will only use stronghold now.
 
s4sugar said:
Garlic does have some proven repellent properties but it won't work if fleas are hungry.

I have had dogs turn up for grooming crawling with fleas - owner's usual comment is along the lines of "I haven't noticed him scratching" when the dog has so many fleas it looks like a Garibaldi biscuit.

I had huge fun with a raw feeding "expert" who insisted that dogs fed a raw diet didn't get fleas. She had no answer when I asked how recently fleas had evolved. :) That was a total myth.
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Don`t you just love it when you wet the coat ..and there they all are playing football,or whatever fleas do ? And how they scuttle when the flea shampoo goes on,I used Dermoline Insecticidal ..very effective. I once had a client who insisted her dog only had fleas "on the bridge of his nose" as with all it`s hair that baldy bit was the only place she actually saw them..bit like a flea dual carriageway as they went about their business. I did once send a fleabag home unclipped,it was a poodle ..so I usually do the face before bathing.I found that there were at least 10 fleas doing an Irish tap dance on my size 15 blades ..so did`nt care to find out about how many relatives there were elsewhere!:D:D:D:D
 
I feed small amounts of garlic. Dunno how effective it is scientifically but it doesn't do them any harm.
If my dogs had fleas, I would have them too, trust me, anything that can bite me, does :o plus they both get the once-over a few times a week from paranoid mammy.
There have been no fleas in this house since I insisted the cat stopped coming in....
 
The only time we've had fleas was when I brought my spaniel pup home and OMG he was covered in fleas and full of worms ( I kid you not, he was sick the next day and it looked like a pile of spaghetti).

It took what seemed like forever, to really, completely get rid of the fleas, we frontlined, combed, washed continuously and you have to vacuum and spray every inch of every surface for weeks - they live in the carpets - Eugh!! The first day I bathed him his chest was red raw in bites :( And just when I thought I had finally fought them - they came back again, it took weeks!

So if your dogs get fleas from their pal, believe me they are probably not being reinfested by visiting him again because there is a damned good chance you haven't completely got rid of them in your own home.

Its an absolute nightmare!
 
I was told that there is massive resistance to the basic frontline that can be bought over the counter in the pet shops/ aldi etc because it is a weak forumla. The frontline Combo you get from the vets is much stronger and is allegedly effective. Part of the problem is that people are buying the cheap versions and the fleas are becoming resistant.
 
I have to be very careful with what I use on the dogs as one elderly terrier will fit if he gets it on him

What I have found brilliant and works really well is Neem Oil, I am using it for anything and everything!
I mix 5 ml of Neem 2 ml of liquid soap and make up to 1 litre with warm water and wash the dogs with it.

I have fond a couple of ticks on the dogs but only on their heads where I didn't wash them.

The only thing ageist it is the smell but it wears off fairly quickly and being natural and safe I would far rather use it than any chemical product.

I have to play it careful as if the dogs see the tub they disappear! I mix up 20 litres at a time in a medium sized skip and dunk the little dogs and just wash the big ones. The residue - of which there is quite a bit, I spray in the hen houses to keep the red mite at bay or over the veggie garden as it repels slugs, snails and the dreaded Cabbage White butterfly so none goes to waste.
 
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