My Staffordshire Terrior just had a litter of 7 two weeks ago and I just don't know what to do about the fleas... I don't want to hurt them by using just anything but it's so painful to see all thoughs fleas on them... so what do I do?

Head and shoulders shampoo wash them gently let it sit a miniute and you can put mothballs in a old sock tie it and put it in the bedding

Did the mother have fleas before the puppies were born??

You need to get rid of them very quickly as fleas can actually quite easily kill puppies if the infestation is bad enough.

Take each puppy (and the mother) and give them a warm bath in dishwashing detergent. The dishwashing detergent coats the fleas and drowns them whereas plain water does not.

Make sure you wash every inch of the puppies and afterwards dry them thoroughly!
It would help if you could do this in a tub by the whelping box so the mother does not lose sight of the pups.

You will need to do this regularly until they are 6 weeks old as there are no flea treatments that you can until they are that age.

Take out all bedding as wash regularly, until you can properly flea treat the pups .

Once they are old enough to be flea treated and weaned then give them all a dose of spot on flea treatment (pups and mother) and wash all bedding thoroughly... you will also need to copletely treat your house for fleas.

Get the mother and puppies out of the flea infested bedding. Launder it or toss it. Treat the bed itself with a flea dust, let the dust sit for at least an hour, then vacuum it thoroughly. Give the mother a very thorough bath starting at her head. Use LOTS of soap. Flea shampoo is fine for mom. Rinse ALL the dead fleas off. Wipe the puppies down with a soapy cloth then a rinse cloth, giving them to mom immediately for her to lick them dry. Treat the area as well, be that house or yard or both. Flea life cycles run about 3 weeks, so do it again in 2.

Great advice Cats,
One thing though, would it be safe to treat the mother with a flea bath while the puppies are still feeding?
I would be worried about it transferring to the pups, but maybe I'm just a worry wart.

That's why I said rinse ALL the dead fleas off. Most flea shampoos, despite their marketing, have nearly no residual activity.

Cool beans, thanks Cats.

I have only ever had fleas once so honestly, I am not very savvy when it comes to info on them other than what I have read or you have told me.

This is the one subject where my profession and my avocation coincide. I love my puppies. I love killing their parasites. Can you say Job Satisfaction?

I am getting killed with reddies,it was my wife's answer,however she has had three litters and never a proublem so,I don't recommend it but it worked for her,I thought the head and shoulders was interesting

Sorry, but that was Dangerous. Had she told you to say cedar shavings we could discuss it but puppies' little growing livers cannot handle the toxicity.