Relentless fleas

[snailpig]

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My 3yo pup has had fleas for what feels like the longest time! We have exhausted all methods, I’ve spent hundreds and hundreds of pounds on all sorts of solutions and I just don’t know what to do anymore. Every time I think they’re gone I see another crawling on him. At this point I feel like he deserves a better owner who can get rid of the fleas and keep them gone.
Methods I’ve tried include:
-vet visits (who’ve given us the same info each time and just directed us to use the over the counter medication)
-groomers visits
-baths at home
-flea sprays (about a million of them)
-flea sprays for the home
-flea bombs
-flea powder
-apple cider vinegar
-white vinegar
-many many types of tablet courses
-topical treatment
-flea shampoo
-probably even more I can’t remember

Aside from this I’ve meticulously kept up with the hoovering, washing, treating the house, bathing the dog and repeating the cycle over and over. My hoover and washing machine have never seen so much action, I’ve even taken time off work to try and get on top of the problem. Luckily, the fleas don’t seem to be jumping around the carpets or anything like that but obviously I can’t see everything that goes on. And even more luckily, my poor dog doesn’t seem to be in too much distress, he doesn’t have any visible bites or flea dirt and doesn’t seem to be in pain.

I really just need advice on what to do next to get rid and keep rid!

 

[JoanneF]

Sorry if I'm preaching to the choir here, you may be doing all this but I just wanted to cover all bases.

Are the products you have been using really good ones? Fleas have built resistance to some, so you really need top quality stuff. Like Indorex to treat the house, and there are various things to treat the dog but I'd steer clear of Bob Martin type things, this needs the heavy guns of Frontline Plus .

And the life cycle of the flea means that when they are in the pupa phase, they are immune so you have to make sure you are vacuuming daily to not miss any of them at that stage.

You can also cut up a flea collar and put a piece in your vacuum cylinder to kill off any live ones you hoover up.

Is it at all possible another animal is accessing your house or even garden and your dog is being re-infected by that?

 

[snailpig]

To be honest I have used a mixture of both cheap and high end products. For the last month or two I have exclusively switched to the most expensive, well rated stuff when I realised that everything else wasn’t cutting it. Honestly cannot express how much I have spent on literally every type of treatment.

Definitely not picking it up from other dogs, being a very nervous rescue dog who cannot say hello to other dogs yet- he is a bit of a Lone Ranger (he is booked in for a dog socialisation boot camp after Xmas for this!). But he may be picking them up from our back garden, I’m not too sure how to treat this though so any suggestions are welcome.

I’ll definitely try the flea collar trick, thank you!

 

[JoanneF]

dog socialisation boot camp

Sorry, I realise you weren't asking about this but that sounds like a contradiction in terms - with nervous dogs, the key to gaining confidence is slow and steady, a boot camp sounds like it could flood him, overwhelm him and make things worse.

Maybe it's just been badly named, but it sounds like making someone who is afraid of snakes jump into a snake pit.

 

[Hemlock]

Agree with that. I don't know what is scheduled to happen there, but it is no way to socialise any dog. How about you go without your dog to suss out what happens before you commit?

Re: fleas - depending on the coat your dog has, a battery-fitted flea comb used daily is useful when used in conjunction with your other methods. It can be very satisfying to hear the 'click' as it zaps fleas! But no use on a heavy-coated dog.

 

[snailpig]

Definitely badly named the boot camp there! It’s a week long course where we go with our dog to a behaviourist, learn about his cues, how to gain more trust on walks, build up the use of commands etc. and then they support afterwards when we feel ready to be around other dogs on walks. it’s definitely more a boot camp for me than him. I’ve done my research on this and have been advised by my current behaviourist that it would be beneficial. He’s come on leaps and bounds in the past few months.

I’ll look into the battery flea comb, thank you!

 

[JoanneF]

Thank you for explaining, that sounds a lot more reassuring.

Unfortunately dog training and behaviour is an unregulated industry and because we participate in forums like these, we often see the consequences of very poor practice. So we understandably get a little twitchy when someone says something that raises red flags for us.

Good luck, and do let us know how you get on.

 

[Flobo]

vet visits (who’ve given us the same info each time and just directed us to use the over the counter medication)

I just wanted to get clarity on this, does this mean the vets haven't offered you their prescription flea treatments? Most over the counter stuff you can just buy, is pretty useless(imo!)

My ferret kept picking fleas up from the garden, we have cats and foxes hanging out and passing through regularly. Unfortunately he loves carpet sharking through the grass which I imagine is fantastic for the the fleas to have a long, warm body to jump on! As well as using Advocate, I was combing him twice a day and doing all the usual obsessive hoovering, bedding washing etc. I did have the luxury though of banning him from the garden for a while, being a spoilt indoor ferret. So managed to get on top of it, I have tentatively let him back out there a couple of times recently and so far no more fleas! Good luck!

 

[snailpig]

I just wanted to get clarity on this, does this mean the vets haven't offered you their prescription flea treatments? Most over the counter stuff you can just buy, is pretty useless(imo!)

My ferret kept picking fleas up from the garden, we have cats and foxes hanging out and passing through regularly. Unfortunately he loves carpet sharking through the grass which I imagine is fantastic for the the fleas to have a long, warm body to jump on! As well as using Advocate, I was combing him twice a day and doing all the usual obsessive hoovering, bedding washing etc. I did have the luxury though of banning him from the garden for a while, being a spoilt indoor ferret. So managed to get on top of it, I have tentatively let him back out there a couple of times recently and so far no more fleas! Good luck!

Yes which is really annoying! He’s been twice now and I’ve asked if there’s anything stronger they can give him or some kind of miracle injection and I’ve been told both times that the expensive shelf at pets at home is just as good, keep up with the hoovering etc etc.

My dog sounds just like your ferret, he’s such a land shark! I think my next step is to do something with the garden. Thank you for your help!

 

[JudyN]

I'd be tempted to try a new vet... I'd take a list of all the brands you've tried.

Do you get a lot of wildlife in your garden?

 

[Tinytom]

Have you wormed your dog ...

 

[excuseme]

When we get outbreaks that can't be solved by our favourite "Frontline" or "Effipro" (which are the same product) I always ask our vet for "Advocate" or a prescription to purchase the product online.
Over the counter products often result with outbreaks that can not be effectively controlled.
I wonder why your vet does not supply you with vet strength products ! If it was me I would want to know why they have not helped solve the problem.

 

[JessH]

My 3yo pup has had fleas for what feels like the longest time! We have exhausted all methods, I’ve spent hundreds and hundreds of pounds on all sorts of solutions and I just don’t know what to do anymore. Every time I think they’re gone I see another crawling on him. At this point I feel like he deserves a better owner who can get rid of the fleas and keep them gone.
Methods I’ve tried include:
-vet visits (who’ve given us the same info each time and just directed us to use the over the counter medication)
-groomers visits
-baths at home
-flea sprays (about a million of them)
-flea sprays for the home
-flea bombs
-flea powder
-apple cider vinegar
-white vinegar
-many many types of tablet courses
-topical treatment
-flea shampoo
-probably even more I can’t remember

Aside from this I’ve meticulously kept up with the hoovering, washing, treating the house, bathing the dog and repeating the cycle over and over. My hoover and washing machine have never seen so much action, I’ve even taken time off work to try and get on top of the problem. Luckily, the fleas don’t seem to be jumping around the carpets or anything like that but obviously I can’t see everything that goes on. And even more luckily, my poor dog doesn’t seem to be in too much distress, he doesn’t have any visible bites or flea dirt and doesn’t seem to be in pain.

I really just need advice on what to do next to get rid and keep rid!

I really feel for you, it's a nightmare. I eventually found a solution to the fleas/eggs in the house, which kept reinfesting my animals regardless of endless hoovering/spraying etc. I found for the animals (cats and dog) that flea shampoo worked better than anything else, not that the cats appreciated it. All the chemicals were useless as was vet given Frontline at great expense, and flea collars. But for the house; at bedtime, get a roasting tin/low wide dish and put it in the middle of the floor half filled with water, with a tealight on an upturned egg cup or similar set in the middle. Light it as you are turning all the lights out and going to bed. I put one in each room, even rooms the animals were not allowed in (bedrooms). In the morning you'll find drowned fleas in the water. They're attracted to the warmth and light but they can't swim, so they drown. It will attract the eggs to hatch, then jump into the water towards the light/warmth. You have to keep it up every night until they're all gone, the first morning I found 42 in the sitting room tin, and a couple in my bedroom even though I never saw the animals in there. It took a few weeks and I ended up with an enormous basket of used tealights, but it worked!!! It put me off getting another dog for several years. I now have an 8 month old puppy, and so far, fingers crossed, there are still no fleas here! Safer if you can put dog into a crate overnight so they can't reach the candle? Wishing you lots of luck.

 

[JoanneF]

I think I've read Frontline is one of the products that fleas are resistant to. You need Frontline Plus now.

 

[excuseme]

I find that the "Frontline" spray kills fleas on direct contact but it does not seem to have any further effect.
The "Advocate" spot on, by prescription or vet administered, always works well and breaks the flea cycle. Sometimes a second treatment is required one month after the first.
We do not use monthly chemicals on our dogs skin we only treat the problem when it arises.

 

[Flobo]

@JessH I'd actually remembered the shallow dish of water trick recently. I seem to remember my mum used to keep a dish under all the radiators to catch rogue fleas. We didn't use tealights, myself I'd be too paranoid to leave them on over night unattended!
As mentioned above I would also specifically ask your vet or use another vet practice, for prescription flea treatments(and wormers!). I don't understand why your vet hasn't suggested this...

 

[JessH]

@JessH I'd actually remembered the shallow dish of water trick recently. I seem to remember my mum used to keep a dish under all the radiators to catch rogue fleas. We didn't use tealights, myself I'd be too paranoid to leave them on over night unattended!
As mentioned above I would also specifically ask your vet or use another vet practice, for prescription flea treatments(and wormers!). I don't understand why your vet hasn't suggested this...

Hi Flobo, It was another poster who had vet issues, I just answered her. Nowadays I don't bother using any vet for flea control. I use flea shampoo and flea attraction baths, cheaper and easier, and dislike using chemicals on my animals (and myself and the house) if it can possibly be avoided. All chemicals can cause build up of resistance, whereas mechanical means will always work as there's nothing to resist. The issue with Frontline (plus too) is that it used to be an organophosphate I believe, hence the removal of the part that worked? I'd never thought of putting a bath under the radiators, clever idea of your Mum's, though I think the fleas like the light too, so how about under the radiator with one of those fake LED candles perched in the middle?

 

[Flobo]

Apologies, doesn't take much for me to get confused sometimes!