Fleas

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Schnauzer Sam
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Fleas

Post by Schnauzer Sam »

Last weekend I was grooming Rosie and found a live flea on her. There was no sign of any other but on Monday I saw another and so I picked up some Frontline from the vets and treated Rosie and Edie.

Today when grooming the dogs I noticed that Edie had some fleas on her - I found 3 of them and another couple later on this afternoon.

Can anyone tell me why, if she was treated last week, there are fleas on her?

Obviously there's not a lot I can do about it now other than use a fine tooth comb as she can't be treated again for 3 weeks.
Country Girl at Heart (Molly) 8 April 2003 - 22 December 2018

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Dawnspell
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Re: Fleas

Post by Dawnspell »

Strange it was my vet that told me fleas were becoming resistant to frontline so no point using it.
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Oscar 12345
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Re: Fleas

Post by Oscar 12345 »

I also heard that Frontline plus was not as effective as it has been. I still use it and have not as yet had a problem although I did remove a tick a couple of weeks ago. I do find the odd flea occasionally and I never know whether it is in the process of being killed because the parasite has to feed before it is killed. I have heard from several people that they have had fleas this year and have never seen them before on their dogs perhaps due to the weather we have had this year. I do combine the flea treatment with a flea and tick shampoo and a few added drops of tea tree or neem oil when I wash Otto's furnishings/belly etc. I also hope the garlic pills work on keeping the blighters off him.
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zeta1454
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Re: Fleas

Post by zeta1454 »

This year does seem to have been a particularly bad year for fleas as I know many people whose dogs have not had fleas for years finding a few on their pets after the hot summer.

One of the problems with Frontline and all the flea treatments that are sold to be applied on a monthly or regular basis is that it leads to resistance in exactly the same way as has been happening with inappropriate and unnecessary use of antibiotics. These products may have a use in extreme and acute circumstances where a dog is infested with parasites but, because they are being used as "preventatives" instead of as a treatment in so many cases, when someone really does need to deal with a flea problem, the product is no longer effective. This is just a general point - not getting at anyone on the Forum re this issue - but it really is quite a serious one and very frustrating for anyone who is suddenly faced with dealing with fleas on their dog/s.

You do need to make sure that your house is treated as well as the dog/s unless you think that you have dealt with individual fleas very quickly after they appeared. Fleas can lay their eggs in furnishings, dog bedding etc. and the new fleas will re-infest even after the others have been killed. Although there are some natural anti-flea house treatments, we have found (on two occasions over the past ten years, when we did get a flea problem) that it was most effective to just use a chemical spray treatment such as Indorex. I really do not like using any chemicals of this kind at all and would definitely not use chemical treatments on the dogs unless in a real emergency but, rather than struggle with a flea issue that is persistent, it can be better to deal with it swiftly. The spray should provide protection for a year and may not need repeating at all unless there us a further issue.

For natural treatments on your dogs, Diatomaceous Earth, rubbed into the coat should kill any fleas on the dog at the time but this should be done outside preferably as the dust is very fine and can be messy to clear up. It will also kill fleas in the house if applied to carpets etc but there is a risk of it damaging a vacuum cleaner when you clear it up!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Diatomaceous-E ... B0083H1B3W

We have also recently purchased a new product which has been getting good reviews but, as we no longer have a flea problem, I can't say from experience. The use of cedar to kill and repel all kinds of insects is centuries old so I can believe it would work and, having tried the brush on our dogs, they were quite content to be treated - much more so than being sprayed! - and did not seem to mind the scent of cedar. It actually made their coats look quite glossy:

https://www.naturalenzymes.co.uk/pets-f ... -pet-brush

The other suggestions re tea tree or neem oil are also good ones and the use of garlic tablets.

One way to also clear a few fleas from a dog's coat is to use a shampoo (even a non specific one) massage into the coat and leave for at least 10 minutes before washing off. It is important not to wash it off before that or it will not necessarily kill any fleas in the hair. You can use a particular shampoo for treating / repelling parasites too:
https://www.myitchydog.co.uk/csj-skinny ... -more.html

Good luck :-)
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Schnauzer Sam
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Posts: 743
Joined: 28 Sep 2017, 20:40
First Name: Sam
Dog #1: Rosie
is a: P/S Mini Bitch
Born: 06 Jul 2017
Dog #2: Edie
is a: P/S Mini Bitch
Born: 11 Jun 2018
Location: Guernsey

Re: Fleas

Post by Schnauzer Sam »

Thanks for the advice - I went with the shampoo idea. I got some neem oil pet shampoo on my way home from work and both girls were given a bath. I got 4 fleas off Edie and 3 off Rosie. Hardly an infestation I know but when the dogs sleep in your bedroom it's an unwelcome addition!

A few hours later and I've just groomed them and went through their coats with a fine tooth comb - nothing :)
Country Girl at Heart (Molly) 8 April 2003 - 22 December 2018

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Hil54
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Re: Fleas

Post by Hil54 »

I’m struggling to get rid of fleas on my mini. I bathed her yesterday and when dry, rubbed de into her coat. Washed everything in the house that would fit into the washing machine and hoovered. Today she still has fleas running around on her tummy. We have repeated bath, de and hoovering. What else should I do? We have ordered Indorex to spray house but it won’t arrive until Monday. At what point will I have to resort to chemicals on her.
Interestingly she is not scratching and has no bites or red patches. I presume they are fleas although look quite black?
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Re: Fleas

Post by Oscar 12345 »

Hilary, are you leaving the shampoo on for 10 mins and bathing all over then going over with a flea comb when dry? If so then the fleas are still in her environment and you need the Indorex. Keep using the flea comb on her until you can spray the house. The good news is that it sounds like your mini's skin is not sensitive to horrid things. If Otto had fleas (infestation rather than odd 1 or 2) then I would use a spot on treatment to eliminate them immediately and kill the cycle in the house. There could be a lot of fleas in the home in a couple of days of not acting. But that is just my choice.
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CharlieCharlie
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Re: Fleas

Post by CharlieCharlie »

"
Hil54 wrote: 09 Nov 2018, 22:58 I’m struggling to get rid of fleas on my mini. I bathed her yesterday and when dry, rubbed de into her coat. Washed everything in the house that would fit into the washing machine and hoovered. Today she still has fleas running around on her tummy. We have repeated bath, de and hoovering. What else should I do? We have ordered Indorex to spray house but it won’t arrive until Monday. At what point will I have to resort to chemicals on her.
Interestingly she is not scratching and has no bites or red patches. I presume they are fleas although look quite black?
Just a simple use of Frontline or whichever flea treatment product would be obviously not enough. I suggest checking this article and perform step by step measures"
:o3
poppadoodie
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First Name: Pauline

Re: Fleas

Post by poppadoodie »

My vet offers a monthly or quarterly tablet (to be swallowed) any ideas or thoughts on these? said to work well, but how, and any risks with these?
Oscar 12345
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Re: Fleas

Post by Oscar 12345 »

Hi Pauline, they are all horrid products unfortunately and it is personal choice of course but I do worry about flea treatments that give protection over a long period of time. They must be very strong. It is worth doing some research on the specific product that you are considering so you are aware of any issues that people may have had. There were some posts on some of these products not so long ago so you could input the name in the search box to see if they were discussed here.
Man cannot survive with wine alone...
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jacdales
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Re: Fleas

Post by jacdales »

I bought the brush (www.naturalenzymes.co.uk/pets-f ... -pet-brush) and a spray . The instructions for the brush could be better. I undid the cap and poured some stuff into a green tube. I ended up with more on me than the dogs. I don't know what the green tube is but you have to take it out and pour the liquid into the brush handle. I gave the dogs a brush over they smell great but then I love the smell of cedar wood. I have bought it more for prevention so can't say how well it works but the brush makes it very easy to put on the dogs. When we walk them in summer I will probably spray their feet before we start just to ensure they don't bring any ticks home with them
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Janer
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Re: Fleas

Post by Janer »

When we were on Exmoor last year Meg sniffed some bracken when we stopped at a viewpoint. One sniff and that evening we removed about 30 ticks from her. She was going crazy as they were latching on. In my naivety I thought that the flea and tick treatment she was on at the time (Nexguard) would protect her. Not quite.....the stuff can take up to 48 hours to work, in the meantime she was scratching like mad. Luckily my holiday kit always includes a tick remover so we managed to sort her out pretty much.....still found 4 dead ticks in her coat the next day though.
Anyway the point of this is to highlight that flea and tick treatments rely on the pest latching on and feeding so do not repel at all. So all those nasty chemicals and no repellent action.
I found on the internet that a 50:50 mix of raw apple cider vinegar (complete with the ‘mother’) and water sprayed on the coat was an effective repellent. We tried it on our next walk on the moors and she came away tick free! My husband didn’t, he had a tick latch on to his arm but Meg was fine.
So, if you are going to a known tick area, my recommendation is the raw apple cider vinegar.
I have recently taken the decision to not use flea and tick treatments on Meg anymore. I have bought some diatomaceous earth, pennyroyal shampoo and she is having garlic tablets each day but I think the cedar brush sounds a great idea. Will give that a go.
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Janer
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Re: Fleas

Post by Janer »

Update on the cedar brush. Used it once......I thought I liked the smell of cedar but I certainly didn’t like the smell of natural enzymes oil. That went in the bin. I tried using the brush to apply dilute apple cider vinegar but I assume the brush did not like the acid as after a day it had curled up and broken! So that went in the bin too.....
Now just spraying on the apple cider vinegar and have bought a ‘Tickless’ gadget that is supposed to repel ticks and fleas sonically. Meg also has garlic tablets and is bathed in pennyroyal shampoo. I’ll never know which works but hopefully one will.
I still panic whenever Meg has a good scratch though!
Oscar 12345
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Re: Fleas

Post by Oscar 12345 »

I'm not keen on the cedar smell. I have the apple cider vinegar spray for Otto's paws and will be using that at harvest mite time. I have found 2 ticks so far this year on Otto, I absolutely hate ticks but I love removing them, placing them in a plastic bag, counting their legs and checking the head is there and then squashing the life out of them.... :) Both have left really hard bumps which will hopefully go down eventually. I will try one of those tickless things. Otto has garlic tablets and not had any fleas yet..... All good tips appreciated as working hard on not having to put a spot on this year.
Man cannot survive with wine alone...
we also need a schnauzer.
Oscar 12345
Member
Posts: 1592
Joined: 02 May 2017, 11:28
First Name: Julie
Dog #1: Oscar RIP Sweety
is a: P/S Mini Dog
Born: 21 Dec 2002
Dog #2: Otto
is a: B/S Mini Dog
Born: 04 Jul 2017

Re: Fleas

Post by Oscar 12345 »

Jane, let us know how you get on with the tickless.... the research isn't positive.
Man cannot survive with wine alone...
we also need a schnauzer.
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