Hi,me again!Ive been away for a week and my puppy(11 weeks)is scratching and on combing,I discovered about 7 fleas.The breeder said she had been treated for fleas and wouldnt need another treatment till 6 months.I really don t like using chemicals on my dogs,but dont know what to do,now!I have treated the house with indorex.Whats suitable for such a young pup?Thanks in advance!

You can use frontline on puppies.  I have not heard of any treatment that would last for six months

no,i hadnt either,but whatever she used hadnt worked anyway.Although when i did a search on flea treatments,one poster said something about frontline not killing  fleas on contact,so fleas could still be on the dog(or similar,might have got that wrong),and someone else said frontline doesnt work anymore as fleas have got used to it,add to the mix my reluctance to put more chemicals on the pup(ive had her 3 weeks now,so i presume she was last treated before then)and you can see why im mixed up!Il have a look whats available on line.Thankyou for your help!

frontline did not work on my dogs and it cost a fortune

it's Frontline (Fipronil) spray (Prescription only) that is licensed for puppies under 3 months.

I have never used the Spot on's except for Pet scheme travel.

I have used the 'Fipronil' Spray on puppies and it certainly works for ticks, which is the problem I have had over the last year or two, with pups picking them up once they were going in the garden, so with most recent litters I have frontline sprayed them the day before they first went outside and every 4 weeks (so in practise twice before homing).

No sign of ticks on the pups, so I was happy.  It's very strange as have never had them on the adults (assume these are hedgehog ticks as it's a suburban city garden).

I stopped using Frontline routinely in 2006, and even before then have never had a flea issue in the time I have owned dogs (over 20 years).  My girl that died in Nov 2005 was flea allergic and used to get hot spots in the summer.  Vet and I never found any fleas, but after using Frontline regularly the issue ceased, so she must have come across the odd flea at shows ans on walks.  I used it every 3 months preventively for years.

I know that for an actual infestation the dosing frequency is more often, and it can take 24 hours to kill, and of course new fleas in the environment will get onto the dog unless an environmental spray with growth regulator is used, as 90% of the problem is not on the dog, as fleas don't live on the dog just feed there and hop off.

We discovered a flea on Rigsby, my Oh's dog, last night and a few more this morning, I really hope frontline does work because I spent a small fortune getting enough for two doses each for 5 dogs at the vet this morning, got a can of spray for all the rugs and furniture too. Thrown out all their duvets and boiled all their bed covers, they have charity shop blankets that can be thrown or boil washed at the mo and are confine to the tiled areas of the house till I'm certain all Rigsby's fleas are gone and the others havn't got them either :[
I hate fleas, havn't had them for years on mine (as far as I know!), when I was younger my parents delayed sorting out some fleas they saw on the dog and it took ages to get rid of them when they did try to get it sorted because it kept going back and forth between the dogs and I guess there must have been eggs in the carpet and beds.
If the frontline doesn't kill the fleas how soon can I bathe them with flea shampoo?

According to this data sheet, in the main heading paragraph Frontline Spot-On can be used in pups over 8 weeks/2kgs.

http://www.petvetcare.co.uk/acatalog/Frontline_Data_Sheet_For_Dogs.html

.The breeder said she had been treated for fleas and wouldnt need another treatment till 6 months

Sounds to me like the breeder had a problem with fleas -I don't know any breeders who would treat puppies for fleas unless they had them.

We have just had a nightmare couple of weeks with fleas.  The dogs have never had fleas before.  We spent a week in a holiday cottage, and while there they started to be itchy.  On returning home, my OH found one (first of many) on one.  By that time the house was infected.  So sprayed the house, flea shampooed and frontlined next day.  Few days later found some more.  Repeated operation, minus the frontline.  Both OK now, thank goodness, but it was awful and dogs couldn't relax with them.  Wish you luck.

thanks!have sprayed the house with indorex after hoovering well,moving furniture,etc,combed all dogs,still scratching,going to look at flea treatments on line now,may have to go against preference and use chemicals as they arent going to disapear on their own,cursed things!

Colliepam, if Indorex doesn't work try Acclaim which can be bought from Boots at about £13. lasts for 6 months or more and really does do what it says on the tin!

If you can stop the fleas breeding in the environment then you will have NO problems, and any intruders can be dealt with by a quick squirt of Frontline spray (safe for both cats & dogs if you have both - well worth investing in if you do).

yes i have both,and thankyou,i will try the spray.The only reason i havent used the spray before was because i was always worried about missing bits.I gave everywhere a really good hoover and spray yesterday,in all the corners and cracks too,but  i ll try acclaim next .Thanks again!

Just checked and the Indorex Spray has the growth inhibitor so should be just as efficacious as Acclaim, another of this type of Household spray is RIP.

All of these should initially kill adult fleas (not sure how long that part lasts) and stop them reprodusing from between 6 and 12 months.

ok,thankyou for checking!

I once had to use the Indorex on a severe flea infestation.  We had a small flea problem at my fathers home which we thought we had sorted out before leaving it empty for 7 weeks.  When we returned we walked in and within 5 minutes of sitting on the sofa you could see the cursed things jumping on your legs.  We emptied out and next door had some Indorex they let us use (replaced the can when the vets opened the next day) so whilst dad had a cuppa next door I emptied the entire can into his place (small two bed flat).  We left it to stand for about 45 minutes before opening all the windows and doors to air before we went back in.  There wasn't a single little blighter to be found and he's never had a problem since.  As a result I now keep a can in the house because you can guarantee the infestation will occur over a bank holiday or similar and I was really impressed with how well it worked. 

I must admit now I just keep a can of household stuff and use Vetzyme JDS insecticidal Shampoo (smells like the old Vosene) for their baths (they don't get bathed often).

I've managed to keep the dogs flea free,but found a couple on my cat this evening - loves the out doors so treated her with advantage.Boy did she go bonkers.First of all she went md running around the lounge,then salivating profusely.Tried to wash it off(though I know its absorbed really quickly) and she seems fine now.Even double checked that I gave her the cat not the dog version as I know this can be fatal - and I have never had the dog version from the vet any way.But she seems fine now.

poor cat,hope shes ok now,i remember my first collie doing something similar(about 40 years ag now)after an antibiotic injection at the vet-he ran round the house like a loony,he drooled and his face looked puffy,when i rang up the vet said it was quite a common reaction to that antibiotic,and not to worry!Of course i did,but he was fine,i just made sure i said,at any future vet visits that i told them.

She is fine today.But have never seen such a quick distressing reaction.Normally I frontline the cats - dogs are fine as long as the cats are clear and garlic keeps them in check anyway.Poor Molly :(

glad mollys ok!

Another person here who get's positively OCD at the thought of fleas in the house!!

I get the advocate flea treatment for my puppy,not cheap generally (although no more expensive for me than anything else as I belong to the puppy health plan and it's included,might be worth enquiring to see if your vets do anything similar??),but one of the best things available at the moment for fleas I *think*,kills them almost straight away AFAIK,also does worms and ear mites.

I have so far not had an issue with fleas,and have not noticed any scratching etc.

I use frontline on the cat,and he doesn't seem to get them despite spending a lot of time outside hunting so guess it must be still effective to some extent and for some animals??

thankyou,im hoping ive sorted it now,went to the vets yesterday and was given advantage,which i used to use on my dogs a few years ago,imean,id rather not use any chemicals,so i expect one type is as good as another in that respect,But fingers crossed here,i do so hate seeing and hearing dogs scratching!(which they still are-flea death throes?)Ive got to leave the 2 youngest with my daughter tomorrow as away for a week,so i bought her little dog some advantage too,luckily she d mentioned getting some so wasnt offended!
Advocate does sound good stuff,but i believe it shouldnt be given to collies,but thanks,anyway!

If the sprays or spot ons dont work you can get capstar tablets from your vet.  These worked really well ona puppy for me some years ago.

Hello, just wondered if anyone had noticed any adverse effects after using Frontline on their dog? Many thanks.

Jay

Capstar only kills the fleas that are currently on the dog at the time, it doesn't have a lasting effect, however there is a new tablet called Comfortis that lasts a month and starts to kill them within 30 minutes of giving the tablets.

well,pups still scratching,are the blasted things immune to advantage as well as frontline?going to give her a good combing to see if there are actually fleas on her,now.incidently,daughters little dog is also still scratching.