Best flea treatment

[pipersgrip]

My dog has fleas, and I need to get some flea treatment . Any suggestions or experience what or what not to buy? Thanks.

[Innocent Bystander]

That Frontline stuff is only effective in the Galactic scheme of things. It doesn't get rid of the fleas NOW. Three generations off is not quick enough - not for me, not for most people, and not for most dogs. Anything else. Anything!

[emmline]

OTOH, stuff like Frontline, with which you treat the dog directly is, in my experience, the only thing which will help you in the long term.
You may need to combine on-the-pet treatment with something like dusting the rug and upholstery where the fleas hang out in your house.

[jsluder]

For a mild infestation, our vet had us use Frontline on the critter, and a spray for the carpet and upholstery. For a major infestation, you may need to give the dog a bath with a flea-killing shampoo and treat it with Frontline afterward, as well as fumigating your abode with one of those set-it-off-and-leave-the-house-for-a-day treatments.

Good luck. Fleas can live dormant in your walls for months...

[pipersgrip]

Thanks for all the advice guys.

[jsluder]

Best advice: ask your veterinarian. They'll have sprays, shampoos, etc., that work better than anything you can buy at a pet supply store.

[dwest]

Frontline Plus is effective at killing fleas within hours of use use. If that turns out not to be the case I would suggest there was a problem with proper application. It is also extremely effective in killing ticks. My dogs have a substantial amount of time outside in rural habitats nationally known for high density tick populations. In all the years we have used Frontline we have yet to have a single tick attachment.

[anniemcu]

Frontline Plus is effective at killing fleas within hours of use use. If that turns out not to be the case I would suggest there was a problem with proper application. It is also extremely effective in killing ticks. My dogs have a substantial amount of time outside in rural habitats nationally known for high density tick populations. In all the years we have used Frontline we have yet to have a single tick attachment.

What dwest said. We usually start seeing the ticks in January (one cat has already shown up with them) and start treating them then. It works. We've only had fleas one time, and it took quick care of that.

Good luck!

[HDSarah]

I feel so lucky!

Although fleas can be imported and, if they got established indoors, would have to be eradicated, I think that's pretty rare here in Interior Alaska. The ticks we have don't bite people or dogs (though they do carry a nasty disease that affects snowshoe hares and I think the dogs can get ill if they eat the sick hares). Our mosquitoes may drain all your blood, but they don't carry heartworm or any of the nasty mosquito-borne illnesses that affect humans in more southerly parts of the world.

In all, the subarctic is a really nice place to live. Life in a frozen desert has its benefits.

[pipersgrip]

I will ask my vet tomorrow. Thanks for the tips and headsup.

[mutepointe]

If fleas are a big problem for you, you need to deal with the problem comprehensively. My best friend is not a big reader. Some booklet about eradicating fleas is the only book I have known him to read. He preaches it like the gospel. You got to treat the animal, the indoors, and the outdoors.

[Charlene]

This is the handout we give to customers where I work: http://www.nwseed.com/index.php?option= ... &Itemid=80

[cowtime]

The fleas only stay on the dog until they get full. That's why you have to treat the environment too. I too will get in place on the side of Frontline for a topical treatment that has always worked for me. Fleas and ticks no more. Farm dogs and house dogs, when I put that stuff on, there are no more ticks or fleas.

[Dale]

During the warm months of 2007, my dog got a pretty nasty infestation. She stays outside in the back yard fenced in, except on walks. I got a pill from the vet, the name of which I forgot, which knocked all the live fleas off her and then I treated her with Frontline Plus and also found that over the long haul I had to treat her every 2 weeks instead of every month. I somehow managed to avoid having to treat the whole backyard area. I do find Frontline a bit difficult to apply. Getting something down to the skin of a furred critter isn't that easy. I think there's a good oral treatment, but I haven't tried it.

[dwest]

Some granular pyrethroids, bifenthrin, in the yard wouldn't hurt but it is important to use the correct amount, don't undertreat.