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puppyboo2323 · Sep 29, 2013, 07:32 PM

I was told by a friend to use Dawn Ultra to get rid of fleas on a dog. I used frontline plus a few days before this, but she was still scratching. So I tried this but the intructions online said use it GENEROUSLY. So I used a LOT and now I'm being told to only use like a tablespoon.. I used like 20 times that and she's only like 7 pounds and one year old. She's what we think is a maltipoo, but now I'm seeing things that say Dawn is too harsh! Ahhhh!! Will she be OK? D:

Fr_Chuck · Sep 30, 2013, 03:40 AM

She may get some skin irritation, just watch for that, make sure she was rinsed very very well.

How often do you normally bath the dog and what do you norallly use ?

And often there is itching as the fleas die and are gotten rid of. Also it can depend on how bad and how many fleas there are.

mogrann · Sep 30, 2013, 07:01 AM

Trim her nails so she can not scratch as bad. Frontline is very good but it takes awhile to work. The fleas bite the dog and then die. Please keep her on a schedule if fleas are bad in your area. I would talk to your vet about that on your next visit(no need to make an appointment for just that). Watch the skin for irritation from the fleas/Dawn. If she gets any bad looking skin irritation I would take her in to get checked out. She may have scratched so much she has a skin infection. The vet will look at it and if needed take a skin scraping by putting tape on the skin and taking it off. They will look at it under the microscope and be able to see what is there.
Bathing a dog should not be done too often unless told by a vet. I would for now just watch your dog. Battling fleas can be hard but you can win.
Please remember to treat your carpeting, bedding as well.

LadySam · Sep 30, 2013, 05:55 PM

Original blue Dawn is fine, I wouldn't suggest using the Ultra.
You only need enough to get a good lather and leave it on for about 10 minutes before rinsing, you are effectively smothering the fleas.
Dawn does strip the oils from the skin so if you are bathing to frequently then her skin may be dry and irritated and like Mogrann said could scratch herself into a bacterial infection.
I've had my own battle with fleas this year, so I certainly understand your pain.