[JessCG]

I recently got myself a new addition to my family.
She is a small chiuaua and her name is Katie.
I've been having problems recently with her scratching
Herself.
At first I checked her for fleas, but didn't find any.
After a couple of weeks I noticed she was still scratching
And had a few nasty sores.
I bathed her in dawn to get rid of any fleas that I thought
Might be in her fur.
She still scratched.
I looked up a few options online and found one remedy
That involved diluted Apple Cider Vinegar.
I dropped this on the sores and it seemed to help for
A few days.
I noticed that she continued to itch and the sores didn't
Seem to be getting any better.
I bathed her again and noticed that she had very thick
Fat fleas inbedded in her coat.
For some reason when I checked her I couldn't see them!
So after bathing her in Dawn again I killed most of them.
Is there anything else that I can do to help relieve
Her of this itching and help with these sores.

I feel so horrible for her!
Please help

[shazamataz]

Once you have fleas unfortunately they are very hard to get rid of. Just washing the dog in dawn won't help much.
The method of washing in dawn detergent is for puppies under 6 weeks of age that are too young to have a chemical flea treatment used on them.

Your best bet would be to go with a spot on treatment like Advantage. You just squeeze the liquid on the back of the dogs neck and they are covered for a whole month.
Avoid flea collars, I personally think they are worth less than the packaging they come in.

You will also need to treat your house for fleas and eggs. You can use a flea bomb or do what I do... Just use a surface spray around the skirting boards and let the rest of the fleas jump onto the dog and be killed by the flea treatment.

As for the sores, it sounds like she may have an allergy to the fleas. Quite a few dogs have a bad reaction to the fleas saliva and get nasty sores.
You can bathe in a medicated shampoo or an oatmeal based shampoo to help relieve the itching... Just make sure you wait at least 24 hours after applying the spot on treatment before bathing.

[Aurora_Bell]

You need to go to the vet for a flea/worm treatment and you need to treat your home as well. I really like Revolution it's cheap and effective. There is a great link in our pests section about treating the home for fleas.

Apple cider does work great at deterring them, but once you have them they need to be treated properly or re-infestation will occur.

[Goozama]

Take her to the vet my dog had the same problem the vet had
No diagnoses but gave her medicine and she does not do that
Anymore!