Hope this is the right board to ask this!!!!

Anyways - went to vets tonight and Ebony is pregnant, however - she is allergic to flea bites and although she hasn't got fleas, she may have been bitten, she has viacutan regularly to counteract the dryness and itchiness caused. She also has program plus, however the vet tonight has given me the spot on treatment because the viacutan just isn't working at the moment ( i do have 3 cats and although they are all collared, spotted on etc they still bring the little devils in - they just can't breed in my house) and maluseb shampoo - which i have used before and does really really help.

My question is - and i hope someone has some answers - are the spot ons and maluseb shampoo safe during pregnancy - i have always trusted my vet, but when i asked him - he seemed a bit vague!!!

Nikki and Ebony xxxxx

dont know about spot ons, but my vet told me i could bath the bitch even while feeding pups as long as the malaseb was rinsed off and her coat was dry before they fed

thanx dizzy,

will at least be able to give her bath and ease some of her scratching

Nikki xxx

The shampoo is fine when my bitch Cyan was in whelp she developed something similer to atheletes foot and was pescribed Malaseb.I don't know which spot-on treatment your talking about and am not sure about them.Best Wishes Gillian

Hi Gillian - ooo same spelling as my mum,

it's the advantage spot on treatment

Nikki xxx

if your cats are bringing fleas in and its an ongoing problem, -wouldnt it be an idea to build a cat house and run --the dogs must be demented with the itching and the poor puppies are going to get infested as theyre not going to be moving around that quickly, :(

I don't think i made it clear - it only takes one bite to bring ebbie out with dry flaky skin - all the animals are treated with advantage spot on and program injections because of this - doubly safe - but they do still sometimes manage to get in - god knows how, and yes i have treated the whole house - several times a year to make sure - i don't have a flea problem as such, Ebbie just reacts badly to the bites - i couldn't have the cats in a run - they are my babies as well as ebbie and they are all house cats. The problem is the viacutan isn't as effective now she is pregnant - i've got to up the doseof that as well

Nikki xxxx

Sorry to be a prophet of doom, so to speak, but I wouldn't give any medication of this kind to an in whelp bitch. Very difficult if she needs the medication for comfort, and she's already in whelp.

Anyhow, just so you don't get a guilt complex (unintended) - why don't you try garlic flakes in her food every day? You can get a biggish tub from a horse supplies stores for a reasonable price, and it really does seem to keep fleas at bay . I think it's made by Gold Label.

Jo and the Casblaidd Flatcoats

Thanx Jo,

I'm not happy anyways about giving the spot on treatment, viacutan is only evening primrose oil with a posh name, so will continue to give her this as she has been having it anyways, and I will bath her with maluseb - one of the others (sorry should have noted name) has given during whelp, it will ease her scratching and i think i will try the garlic flakes - doesn't it make the dogs smell though????

Nikki xxx

Hi
I thought it would have given contraindications on the packaging.Personally I would never use `spot on `
treatments as they are systemic particularly on a pregnant bitch(but thats just me)Don`t like the sound of your vet though,being vague about giving medication to a pregnant bitch,alarm bells would be ringing.
Regards Carole

Exactly Carole - that's why i asked on here - from what i have seen and read on here over the past few weeks - you are all more educated and knowledgeable then most vets about things like this.

I've decided not to use the spot on treatment - to be on the safe side - but i will continue with the viacutan - it was already in her system when she was mated and since, and someone else used the maluseb on a pregnant bitch - so will do that as well - it will ease her scratching if nothing else.

Thanx everyone for their help

Nikki and Ebbie xxxxxxxx