Fleas!...My Dog Has Them...Help...Any Advice On How To Get Rid Of Them?

[masmdu]

I should say that we are a family with a 1 year old boy who is all over the house and so chemical sprays, bombs, dust, etc are not the answer we are looking for.

Our dog is an inside dog and we would like to keep it that way (at least until it warms up).

Any remedies out there? Especially, non-chemical....although all advice and experience and warnings would be appreciated.

A neighbor has recomended Frontline Flea Spray...

Thanks!

[ohio_liberal]

1. Frontline, Advantage Topical Solution

work the best, IMO.

P.S. Make sure the dog isn't wormy because of the fleas.

[HeeBGBz]

3. Frontline kicks flea butt

24 hours and they start disappearing

[ohio_liberal]

8. I've tried both

3 cats, no fleas. Go for whichever is on sale, that's what I say.

http://www.petmeds.com

[Robbien]

4. Advantage is the one without pesticides

and probably much safer with small children around.

[IndianaGreen]

11. I use that too!

It is excellent.

It won't get rid of the fleas already in the house. I fear that the poster will have to call an exterminator to get the job done by using something that will kill the fleas and the eggs.

All the bedding will have to be washed as well!

[nytemare]

2. I think Hertz has a dropper thing you can put just under the collar

I used it on my cat and it worked great. I have no idea how the cat got fleas, because I kept her indoors. I just got the dropper thing at walmart, and you could see the fleas leaving.

I have tile, so there wasn't much space for the fleas to hide, after a week they were pretty much gone.

[DoNotRefill]

18. do not, DO NOT, use a Hertz flea control product...

at least if you love your pet. They use substances which can cause serious adverse reactions and neurological damage to your pet.

[LisaL]

5. Go to a vet and ask for a good flea product.

[Botany]

6. Reality

Go to the vet.
Their are wonderful long lasting flea collars
You have to get the life cycle
If your house is invested ..... you might have to bomb the house .... sorry

Borax soap powder in the carpet sucks the water out of the fleas.

Brush the dog outside
take the dog to a groomer and have them give him/her a good anti flea bath ....
go back in 1 week ..... 1 week later

[whistle]

7. Take your dog to a vet and have it checked and the vet will...

...advise on what is best. I give my dog Frontline and Heart worm biscuit once a month because here in Florida the ticks as well as fleas and larva are a real nuisance to pets and owners alike.

[RhodaGrits]

9. Capstar oral tablet to kill the live adults and Sentinel tab monthly to

prevent infestation (birth control for fleas). No risky chemicals that child will come in contact with and safe for dog.

[Robbien]

10. by the way, this thread is a much welcome diversion in GD

nice change

[Kingshakabobo]

12. Put a SCUBA mask on him and hold the dog

underwater for a couple hours and drown the little buggers.

I saw this method used in a cartoon and it worked.

[seabeyond]

14. method used in a cartoon and it worked.

bah hahahahah

[radwriter0555]

13. frontline or advantage. best thing EVER for fleas. You should also spray

your house with Zodiac flea spray for the home. You'll have to do it 2 - 3 times in 1.5 years, and the fleas will be gone forever, with the use of the drops.

[mykpart]

15. My sister swears that fleas

don't like the smell of pine. She uses Pine-sol both to clean her house and to bathe the dog.

[signmike]

16. Advantage/Frontline AND vacuuming the carpets if you have them,

fleas don't like the noise. Also salt or Borax in the carpets willl dry them out.

BTW, the fleas are about the least of the problem = if you don't get rid of them and your pet swallows them, they mutate into tape worms! They lie dormant for years -- the battle will never be over. Keep up the good fight.

[ima_sinnic]

19. as an entomologist, I must point out this is an old wives tale

fleas are fleas and tapeworms are an entirely different "beast."

Advantage is your best anti-flea treatment. It affects the life cycle of the flea and is not really a "pesticide," it is a growth regulator, specific to fleas only. It would be comparable to messing around with hormones in human children to prevent them from developing into adults. I assume the application on a dog is the same as on a cat: a few drops on the back of the neck, and it lasts a month. There is absolutely no danger to children, other pets, or the dog himself, only FLEAS.

And a vacuum cleaner is your friend. Flea eggs have no "stick-um." The fleas drop them hither and yon and they wind up in the carpet. So vacuum diligently.

[InvisibleTouch]

23. Fleas do, however, carry tapeworm eggs.

So if the dog swallows one, they can indeed contract tapeworms. That's where the old wive's tale came from, I imagine....

[BrklynLiberal]

17. Bio-spot once a month, Brewers Yeast and Garllic tablets every day.

You may have to "bomb" the house. You will have to get everyone out of the house for a few hours that day. That is to kill all the fleas and eggs in the house. Vacuum and MAKE SURE TO THROW AWAY THE VACUUM BAG IMMEDIATELY.

Do not use a flea collar. It can irritate the dog's skin and it has chemicals that can harm your child.

LOTS OF INFO HERE:
http://www.petsynergy.com/fleaskin.html

HOLISTIC ANIMAL CARE

WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT FLEA CONTROL IN DOGS AND CATS?

If you cannot bomb,use Diatomaceous earth will also help control fleas and ticks in the environment, but can be messy to use, however, it does help. The best and most natural thing to use in your yard is a relatively new concept based on biological control. A small worm or nematode that is a natural predator for the flea eggs and larvae is freeze dried and then reconstituted and sprayed on the yard to combat the flea population. The brand I have used is called Interrupt and is available from many veterinarians.

The same day that you do that, drop the dog at the vet,or you can do it outside, give the dog a good flea bath.

The brewer's yeast and garlic tabs are excellent. It is good for their skin and coat, and the smell-which we don't smell- helps repel mosquitoes and fleas. I would tell you how long my dogs have been flea free, but I do not want to tempt fate.

EDIT: The Bio-Spot is a flea and tick treatment that interferes with the growth cycle of the fleas, and you apply it to the back of the dog's neck and at the base of their tail once a month.

[ChoralScholar]

20. If you feed your dog table scraps...

odiferous food such as garlic or onions, will put a natural smell on their coat that repels fleas.

I have never bought commercial flea treatments. Feeding them smelly things seems to work.

[Floogeldy]

21. Chemical spray bombs are the answer

Just get the family out of the house first. Then, follow the instructions and air the house out. Otherwise, your baby might get flea-bitten again, and that is bad.

Now you're thinking!

B-)

[Peter1x9]

22. Try this (1 year old safe)

http://www.1800petmeds.com/pgroup.asp?PG=Program%20Tabs&SP=&LV=51&WT=&MG=&PT=

With a 1 year old in the house even the back-of-the-neck treatments are a bad idea. Program is a pill (or a flavored chewable) that the dog takes once a month to stops the flea life cycle.

They also make it for cats. We had 2 cats and a dog in California (year round flea season) and this was the only thing that completely eliminated our flea problem.

Even better, you don't need a prescription for this one (no vet trip/bills). Just give it to the dog and make sure he/she doesn't have a reaction to it (out of 1 dog and several cats over the years nobody ever reacted to it).