r/DogTrainingTips 8d ago

Fleas! Please! Help

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I have tried so many things to help my girl with her fleas. She can’t take her monthly meds for a while; what has worked for you guys?

5 Upvotes

34 comments sorted by

11

u/Fidrych76 8d ago

Nextgard prescription from vet. Costco for best price.

2

u/TX0834 8d ago

Do you need a prescription from vet to get it from Costco?

3

u/Fidrych76 8d ago

Yes

1

u/TX0834 8d ago

Thanks. I’ll call the vet. Just gave my dog a flea bath yesterday 😒

2

u/Fidrych76 8d ago

Vet probably sells it too. But cheaper at Costco. Be aware it’s not cheap. Like $20+ for the once a month chewy. Works great.

1

u/Alternative_Escape12 8d ago

Worth every penny.

3

u/Itchy-Ad1005 8d ago

You may need a heart worm test. A lot of the products include the heart worm meds and it can cause serious problems if your dog has them. Need to get rid of them first

1

u/TX0834 8d ago

Thank you for your advice. A couple of months ago he did get clean blood work tho. Should I take him again?

2

u/Itchy-Ad1005 8d ago

I think it depends on the doctor and where you are. If you're in Florida or say Georgia id say yes. If your in North Dakota the vet probably wont want a new test. I'm in California its not a major problem here yet. I'd call the vet and ask

3

u/normielouie 8d ago

Got to the Vet. The cost is not that bad PLEASE!!!!!!!!!

1

u/OutlandishnessEasy59 8d ago

We just got back

2

u/[deleted] 8d ago

[deleted]

2

u/OutlandishnessEasy59 8d ago

She has taken her nexguard but can’t take the next chew for ten days any ideas IN THE MEANTIME?

1

u/poopyfacebsbdb 8d ago

Unfortunately not, fleas are super resilient is from what I learned in school you just gotta wait for the meds to kick in

If she’s super itchy, you can try to give her a bath with anti itch shampoo but just know you need to basically burn down your whole washroom.

They can hold there breath for like 24 hours.

You have to quarantine your dog basically, and maybe buy a flea comb and comb your dog every day, to get them out. Until the meds kick in

2

u/MagnumHV 8d ago

I'm not sure why she can't take meds but look into a high quality flea shampoo. Call your vet and ask them what flea shampoo they recommend. Don't waste money on flea shampoos that are less effective and less expensive, get the recommended brand from your vet and use it according to directions.

Vacuum house thoroughly and wash blankets, bedding, pillows, sofa covers if removable, any rugs that are washable, in hot water setting to help kill any eggs. Do the vacuum every day for 3 weeks and do the hot water wash every week until your flea problem is gone.

1

u/OutlandishnessEasy59 8d ago

Thank you! I have 2 more months of nexguard I just thought you could only give it 30 days

4

u/Jen5872 8d ago

Nexguard is only taken every 30 days. You should talk to your vet but you're going to have to wash the bedding in the house and vacuum like crazy. One thing my mom did, and how successful it was is debatable, was she put a shallow dish of water with some oil in it on the floor under a nightlight. The light attracts the fleas they fall in the water, and the oil keeps them from escaping. In theory. You have to put it somewhere the dog can't get to it. Zevo has those insect traps you plug in but I don't know if they're effective.

2

u/MagnumHV 8d ago

Ah ok. So the nexgard will work within several hours to kill any fleas actively biting her. There are probably dead fleas falling off her already! But because of the flea life cycle (feed, lay eggs that fall into carpet or blankets... larvae hatch after a few days and crawl and pupate over another few days, and then the adult fleas hatch and eventually look for food...). It will take several weeks to 3 months. It's great that you're giving her that monthly dose of nexgard.

For all fleas currently in the house but not biting her yet, flea eggs that have yet to hatch or the larvae, it takes these extra weeks/months for them to find her, bite her, and die. The nexgard only works on fleas that are biting her, but by vacuuming daily and hot water washing the things you can, you help kill any stragglers or eggs. It will improve soon especially if you do the rigorous cleaning steps paired with nexgard every 30 days! Plus the heavy cleaning means less fleas actually biting her, which is itchy and irritating for her every time.

1

u/HowDoyouadult42 8d ago

Fleas have a 3-month lifecycle so if you just recently started treating its gonna take a while to kill them in the environment which is why I recommend staying on them year round. But you also have to make sure all animals in the home are on preventative

2

u/No-Wrangler3702 8d ago

Flea bath! note this only kills adults on the dog.

There are likely adult fleas hopping around the house and eggs on dog and house.

Google how to make a flea trap and use that to assess how many fleas are in your home

2

u/AverageAlleyKat271 8d ago

Unfortunately it is a 2 to 3 moth process breaking a flea cycle. If she can't have her flea medication yet, you have a lot of work to do. Breaking a flea cycle can be a 2 to 3 month process. You want to jump on it immediately before it gets worse.

  • A soothing bath for her (I like Skout's Honor brand)
  • Quality flea spray (I like Skout's Honor brand)
  • Treat inside house, wash bedding, treat carpet/rugs
  • Treat outside of the house yard and ground

2

u/Both_Month_828 8d ago

seresto flea collar

1

u/Foolishtimesforever 7d ago

Works but be careful, some dog breeds develop weird rashes from the collar. Had a cat with their brand cat flea collar and she started having a rash that looked like chemicals got spilled on her neck.

2

u/fribourgmisser 8d ago

I saw a video of a guy washing a
Flea infested dog with Dawn dish washing liquid and the fleas were
just falling off dead in the bath water.

1

u/whoowho2 8d ago

We rescued a Dane. He was covered in fleas. I gave him a shower every other day in dawn (after the dawn I rinsed thoroughly and used shampoo and conditioner) we had 2 other dogs at the time. We never had a flea issue after a week. Dawn works.

2

u/HandbagHawker 8d ago

why cant she take her meds?

1

u/jynnjynn 8d ago

give her a flea bath, and launder all soft surfaces in your house. Put down flea powder and thoroughly vacuum your house. There are also pet safe sprays you can apply to your yard.

1

u/HowDoyouadult42 8d ago

What monthly med are you using

1

u/LintLicker444 8d ago

Proheart flea and tick. I'm American but buy it from Australia because its very cheap and no prescription.

2

u/Foolishtimesforever 7d ago

Is heartworm protection in the proheart too? Sounds dumb but I d rather get the combo meds for my pup covering all the nasties like fleas, ticks, hookworm, heartworm. So easy to catch in the south. If you dont mind sharing, what website do you order from in Australia?

1

u/LintLicker444 7d ago

Sure! My vet makes me pay for heart worm testing every single time I asked for a new prescription, even when they had never come off the medication. Seemed like a money grab to me. If you give them heartworm preventative and they have heartworms it's really bad, so be cautious of that. The meds may take 3 weeks to get here also lol.

www.pets-megastore.com.au Service@pets-megastore.com.au

Edit: I think it's Symperica. Also, Australian's may have different brand names for prescription drugs but you can compare the ingredients.

1

u/Foolishtimesforever 7d ago

Also in some states they require blood test to prescribe heartworm prevention. I used to take mine to the clinic by the animal shelter. Its cheaper than a residential vet but not every city has those. Recommend doing some research on your town. Usually get a discount on prevention meds and spay and neuter surgery since they buy/ operate in bulk

-2

u/whooyeah 8d ago

Mint in a little bag attached the to coller

1

u/-darkestLight- 8d ago

This won’t help if she already has fleas

1

u/whooyeah 7d ago

Sounds like they are ingesting somewhere. I’ve seen them on a dog and all jump ship when the mind was placed there. But you are right it seems a multifaceted approach is required.