[peggyhill]

I have a 2 year old dog. He never had fleas up until a month ago. My friend brought her dog over, and wouldn't you know it, he had fleas. I have tried flea baths, the stuff you put on the back of their neck, nothing works! Anyone have any ideas? I'm taking him to the vet next week anyway, but I hate to see him suffering! He is an inside dog. We have sprayed everything inside, and don't notice any fleas anywhere, but I wonder if there are some and that's why he keeps getting them.
Is it dangerous to keep giving him flea baths? Should I call an exterminator?

[labman]

Haven't you heard all you have to do is run the vacuum cleaner? Maybe you have already done it, and you still have fleas. I don't know that any of the OTC stuff is very good. I certainly didn't have much luck about 6 years ago when I took my unprotected dog to visit my sister's flea bitten cats. It may be too late to move up you dog's vet appointment. For the time being, try to find the best OTC stuff you can. Look for something that kill eggs as well as fleas. Spray the dog and everything else. Yes vacuum everything you can. I have very little faith in flea baths.

I think that even if it works, the back of the neck stuff takes a while. And once the house is full of fleas, new ones infest the dog as fast as the stuff kills what is on the dog. If you are not comfortable setting off a flea bomb in your house, you might call a professional. Unless it is down at least into the 30's outside, you will have treat your yard too. If the dog rides much in it, don't forget the car. To get rid of fleas, you have to not only kill off all of them, dog, carpet, furniture, etc. but all the eggs too.

When you do get to the vet's, ask the vet for help. Since I had gotten along great for years doing nothing before taking my dog to my sister's, I can't swear the Revolution I use now works. I can say the old dog with the flea allergy I got 4 years ago, hasn''t had a bit of a problem.

[peggyhill]

Thanks labman. It's won't let me rate your answer yet. I'm going to call the vet and see if I can get him in there sooner. I've tried vacuuming, no luck yet. I think they must still be on him or in the car or something. I didn't even think about the car, isn't that dumb, lol! I do take him for rides now and then. I'll bet that is what it is. I think I'm going to have someone spray the house once I leave for the vet appointment. Maybe I can keep him in the (heated) garage until the fleas die after the vet appointment. One thing I know for sure, no one is bringing their dog over again until I check them for fleas!

[J_9]

When running the vacuum, remember that immediately after you vacuum you have to take the vacuum cleaner bag out, dump it in the trash and use a new one. The fleas will live in the bag for up to 10 days, where they can multiply.

The bag should be discarded, outside, after each attempt at vacuuming.

[labman]

That is the conventional wisdom along with putting a flea collar in the bag. If you look at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/cats/n...ol-164342.html you will see I am not quite ready to accept the new. While I strongly support scientific testing, I will wait for other researchers to confirm those findings.

[carmenjames]

Peggy, I have 3 dogs that are inside dogs, but play outside all day. They have never had a flea that I am aware of. We use Frontline from the vet, goes on the back of the lower part of their neck. The cats get it too because 1 out of my 4 cats goes outside, so every cat gets a treatment. You have to give it to them on schedule because it wears off over time! I confess, I have not worried with it in the winter because we get enough ice and snow to kill anything, but we are moving south again and my dogs will be treated in the winter... warmer humid climate there. $49 dollars for a 3 month supply, but don't quote me on that... I didn't pick it up last visit. Maybe there is a dog out there that it wouldn't work for, but it works on my 3, all different breeds and different sizes. Has worked on the dog I had for 10 years before these 3, before that I don't think it was available. If you haven't tried frontline you need to. It's worth every penny and is an investment into a healthly pet. Forget the store bought stuff, you are wasting money that will pay for Frontline.

20+ years ago I had a dog that became flea infested. I used flea collars with no luck as well as the flea powder. I finally bought a bag of Sevin Dust (used on tomato vines for insects)and dusted her down a couple of days in a row. I also sprinkled the dust all over my room, I was living at home and my dog and I stayed mostly in my room. Used a broom to sweep the sevin dust down into the carpet, let it sit a few hours and vacuuumed, vacuuumed, vacuumed. I might have done that twice, but it took care of the fleas for good. Not a flea left standing in my room or on my dog! None of the flea treatments then that are available today.

Lastly, a few years ago I tied my puppy to a tree in the front yard while I washed the car. Later that evening I spotted tiny little tick like things all over her stomach and legs... like 200 of them! Immediately got on the phone, told the vet what happened and he saw her right away. They gave her Advantix and all of the tiny ticks were gone within a few hours. I couldn't imagine that I had ticks in my yard... thick grass, well manicured. I think it kills fleas too. AND, a friend was an assistant at a vet and she said her vet gave her dogs a shot that controlled fleas and ticks.

Hope something here helps. Good luck!

[peggyhill]

Thanks, that does help! I'll have to ask the vet about the shot and the frontline stuff. I've heard it works really well!