Dayle in Guatemala Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 While we were in the US for a visit, the people who were watching our dogs let them play with the other dogs in the area and now they are loaded with fleas! UGH:glare: We have flea bathed them twice, taken them to the groomers to be bathed and given them Frontline. They are still dealing with them--poor things. What else can we do? I just feel so bad for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 While we were in the US for a visit, the people who were watching our dogs let them play with the other dogs in the area and now they are loaded with fleas! UGH:glare: We have flea bathed them twice, taken them to the groomers to be bathed and given them Frontline. They are still dealing with them--poor things. What else can we do? I just feel so bad for them. The Frontline will eventually work. It may take more than one application. Are they inside dogs? You can catch fleas naturally without pesticides by putting out a white plate with water and a little dish soap in it, on the floor, next to a light at night. They are attracted by the light and jump in the water and drown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nata Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Vacuum...every.single.day...at least once and dispose of the bags quickly. Also, try shaking borax onto the carpets and letting it sit for a while before vacuuming. The borax treatment can be repeated in 2 weeks if fleas are still an issue. Sound like the dogs themselves have gotten all the right measures, but now the house needs to be treated top to bottom...everything fabric washed in hot water or dusted with borax and then vacuumed. Then just keep up the vacuuming for 2-3 weeks until all the eggs have hatched. It will work. We had an infestation so bad that the fleas were jumping all over our legs when we walked on the carpet. This did it and we've never had a problem again. Just keep the dogs away from the borax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dayle in Guatemala Posted September 29, 2009 Author Share Posted September 29, 2009 Thanks so much! We aren't having an infestation in our house yet. I think we've avoided that! We don't have carpet, only ceramic tiles throughout because of where we live, carpet would be moldy real fast! I'm just more concerned about the dogs. They just seem so miserable! I'm a little frustrated because we made it abundantly clear that we didn't want them playing with the other dogs, but, it happened anyway. What can you do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katiebug_1976 Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Sprinkle garlic powder (preferable organic) on their food regularly and it will chase the fleas away. My mom does this w/ her dog, and she never has fleas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BridgeTea Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 My son's dog just had fleas, and he was able to get a natural ingredient shampoo from a dog groomer that cleared them right out. I want to say it was an orange oil shampoo, but not for certain and it's too late to call him tonight. Anyone else know if that sounds right? Amazingly we've never dealt with fleas on our dog, but I sure always hear about the borax. That was very interesting on the garlic; makes sense to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dayle in Guatemala Posted September 29, 2009 Author Share Posted September 29, 2009 I've heard that about garlic. In fact, on all recipes site I found a homemade doggie treat that has garlic in it for that reason. Maybe I should try and make some and see if that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Our cat picked up some fleas (I hear the neighbours are fighting with fleas). I did the same thing I did with cousin's cat. Bathe with shampoo. Then melt coconut oil with just a few drops of tea tree oil (I was going to use lavender oil, but didn't have it). I rubbed that onto their coat right after their bath and towel patting, but not fully dry. Then I wrapped my cat in a towel for 40min (he was shivering and up on my lap). The fleas literally just dropped dead into the towel. I don't rebathe them for 24hrs. No problems since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Our vet said fleas have been terrible this year, lots of people complaining and almost impossible to be rid of. Anyway, Frontline didn't seem to be working as well as it normally did for us, so I added Brewers Yeast tablets to our dog's food. I just drop 4-6 tablets in their food, they eat along with the rest of the food, and that really seems to help. You can buy Brewers Yeast tablets at most Pet food stores, relatively cheap. Apparently something in Brewers Yeast that fleas don't like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 (edited) In addition to the frontline the vet can give a one time pill that kills any living fleas. It won't kill the eggs (hence you need the frontline) but it will take care of the initial discomfort the dogs are experiencing. I think ours was called Capstar. The fleas literally fell off dead. You will want to clean the floors and dog beds and the like because the eggs may have fallen off and will mature. However, frontline will eventually take care of that problem too in my experience. But if you clean you are less likely to see many live ones in the future. Fleas carry worms too... Edited September 29, 2009 by sbgrace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Frontline quit working for us. We switched to Advocate and all is well again. I think rotation may be in order... Frontline used to work just fine. When Advocate quits working we'll consider switching back just to rotate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soph the vet Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Careful with garlic, can cause anemia in some dogs, mostly cats, but some dogs. Brewer's yeast, great idea. Capstar only works for 24 hours. Frontline needs to be given for at least 3 months. Don't be surprised if you see fleas in your house in 3 weeks, takes that long to hatch new fleas. So bomb again in 3 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nata Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Our cat picked up some fleas (I hear the neighbours are fighting with fleas). I did the same thing I did with cousin's cat. Bathe with shampoo. Then melt coconut oil with just a few drops of tea tree oil (I was going to use lavender oil, but didn't have it). Just a head's up...I'd be very careful with Essential Oils on cats, especially Tea Tree---they can be toxic. The best defense against fleas is a strong immune system...might want to supplement with an omega 3 source like Salmon Oil. This was a bad year for fleas...:ack2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommy2be Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 We brought home our puppy who was covered in fleas... A bath with some good ol Dawn dishsoap... The sink was full of dead fleas and I never had a problem with them after that... Just be sure to rinse really really well. Hey, they use it to help clean oil off of wildlife, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Just a head's up...I'd be very careful with Essential Oils on cats, especially Tea Tree---they can be toxic. The best defense against fleas is a strong immune system...might want to supplement with an omega 3 source like Salmon Oil. This was a bad year for fleas...:ack2: Yes, too much can make a cat sick. VERY LITTLE (as in 2 or 3 drops) mixed in with a lot of coconut oil. Just as the chemicals can make a cat sick if too much is used...this is why it's portioned ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamnkats Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 From what I remember when researching this, Dawn dish detergent was the most recommended. the flea shampoos are really toxic and work as well (nor not even as well) as Dawn. Bathe daily and make sure to immerse the dogs (the fleas will drown and crawl to their heads (dry land) so make sure you get good immersion). Frontline only works on fleas that bite the dog. I really think daily baths are the best way to go and put the kids to work on picking the fleas off the dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 I don't know how you feel about giving a pill but Comfortis worked amazingly well for us. Nothing else was working but this did the trick and our puppy had no ill effects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dayle in Guatemala Posted October 9, 2009 Author Share Posted October 9, 2009 Thanks!!!! The Dawn worked wonders--we couldn't believe it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I don't know how you feel about giving a pill but Comfortis worked amazingly well for us. Nothing else was working but this did the trick and our puppy had no ill effects. My dog threw it both times I gave it to him.... ick Carrie:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.