What Flea treatment do YOU use on your dog?

[bekah1001]

this is first year ever ever ever that i did anything for flea/tick. He's never had fleas, never had a dog with fleas, but, we are in woods A LOT and they are chockful of ticks.
This year, the ticks are supposed to be even worse, and it seems true enough, too....YUCK!!

I put a flea/tick collar on him. It was....Hartz Ultra dog collar, cost $5....he's worn it for a few months now, swimming and everything, still seems to be working. (box said it's good for 7 months)
HIs fur covers in entirely, and i've observed no adverse effects. He had about 6 ticks in the weeks prior, and zero ticks since i put collar on him. (i have a revulsion for ticks which there is almost no word strong enough for).

I'm really fussy about not drugging up dogs, (or humans) and i'm against over-vaccinating, avoid almost all drugs for dogs, etc etc.
sooooooooo
I never thought i'd be putting poison collars on my dog, but, Lymes is real common in my area. And i figured the treatments for ticks infestation and/or fleas infestation would be even more toxic than the collar would be...

Brody got really sick from the flea baths and drops. It lowers their immune system. He got really lethargic, threw up, had diarrhae , and would not eat!!

 

[Evie]

Frontline. Evie got fleas within the first month we owned her, she went on frontline plus (as recommended by my vet) for a few months but I haven't put it on her for the last couple of months. Pretty sure it's too cold right now for the fleas to come out anyway. They thrive in warm environments and for the record, the do NOT live on your dog. They live in the soil, in your carpets, maybe even in your bed depending on how bad the infestation is. They only go on the dog to feed.

It's also best to ask your vet what product is best in your area because yes, fleas in certain areas do build up a resistance to certain products when all the vets in the area are recommending the same flea killer. I was warned that in some of the towns near where I live, that Frontline doesnt work anymore because the fleas have built up a resistance to the product. Luckily for me, i'm not in that area and it seems to be working just fine for me.

I've also lived in a flea infested house once. Not a fun experience. It was a rental property that my mum was renting. We moved into it with 1 flea free cat, and one flea free dog. By the time we left my ankles were covered in flea bites (yeah that's right, the fleas got sick of eating canine and feline and started on me) and we just could not kill them! We tried absolutely everything, but the little ******* refused to die (spent well over $300 on any chemical we could find to kill the evil creatures). When you kill fleas you need to keep treating for a period afterwards to ensure you kill all of the fleas due to the nature of the flea's life cycle. These little buggers had made themselves a home below the raised wooden floor in the sand......... the landlord refused to do anything about the fleas claiming that they must have come to the house on our pets... PFFT!

In saying that, I've never seen a tick on any of my animals; cats, dogs, horses.. oh wait, i do remember seeing a few on our cows before they got drenched.

Anyway, that's the end of my rant, but I'd recommend asking your vets opinion for what works best in your area. Frontline works well for me

 

[Pawbla]

My favorite is Promeris Duo (I don't know if it's sold where you live, but here it's really hard to find). It doesn't have fipronil, but, instead, a different drug with a similar action mechanism. It's more effective than fipronil because fleas don't have resistance to it.
It also has amitraz which is used to combat mange (top choice for collies who can't have ivermectin) especially when it gets really out of hand (also top choice for dogs with demodectic mange). Since amitraz is toxic in high quantities, get the right weight for your dog. If you buy a big dog product for a small dog, it will cause adverse effects (like if you dilute the product wrong when treating a dog with mange). Amitraz is also the product most used in flea shampoos.

Everything else I've tried doesn't work as good as this one (and believe me, I've tried a wide range of products!). Advantix (the Bayer one?) didn't last for long, Frontilne and fipronil products are no longer what they used to be, etc. The only other thing that seemed moderately good where products with pyrethroids such as permethrin but they don't last for long. But out of all these, I think I'd go for Advantix if you don't need something that lasts for more than a month.

Anti-flea collars are also very good, but I've never used them. I've seen people use it on stray (communitary) dogs because apparently it lasts for a long time.

It's very important you remove all fleas from your home when you treat your dog. Usually you can do this by using cipermethrin OR amitraz (both diluted, of course!) on your floors, especially wood ones, rugs and that kind of stuff.

 

[Sameeee]

for fleas in my home I spray my dogs with lemon juice. 1/2 lemon juice 1/2 water, repels the fleas, for the house I use 1/2 pine sol 1/2 water and spray everything. kills fleas on contact.
found a dumped puppy on a busy road, poor thing had fleas on every inch of his body.so bad his belly was black with them, I gave the pup a bath with pine sol, and it killed every flea, I do not recommend useing pine sol for bathing unless it's a extreme case like this pup, it usta say on the label it can be used on pets,

 

[MaryK]

Well in the past I was using Frontline but it seemed to stop working So am trialing a new one and would you believe I can recall what the packaging looks like but not the name
It's Spot....something?. So far so good!

 

[MaryK]

I don't flea treat my dogs because they don't have fleas to treat. Fleas are parasites, attracted to unhealthy animals, and my dogs are healthy!

We had fleas, briefly, when we had the new foster dog appear, but only she was affected. I fed her small amounts of garlic for a couple of days but she soon stopped itching with a good diet.

Sorry I am afraid I don't quite agree. Both my dogs are healthy and despite everything where I live there are at times massive flea plagues, plus rodents around the place carry fleas. So even though I have healthy dogs, who eat ALL natural food, I still have to take precautions against fleas. Climate and local conditions do make a difference. I have lived in places where fleas were not a problem but now, different country, different climate result, fleas.

 

[MaryK]

Best thing in the world is VINEGAR! Just one spoonful of white vinegar in food for every 30 lbs of your dog's weight, will REPEL the fleas. They don't even wanna get near your dog, and it's safe and natural!

Is that just plain ordinary White Vinegar? Don't worry about brand names, they'll probably be different from here. Am very interested as I don't like using chemicals but there is a major problem with fleas where I live, so have to use something otherwise UGH!

 

[jackienmutts]

Not sure if you have to subscribe to be able to read the article or not ... but thought I'd try the link to WDJ anyway, here's an article on Apple Cider Vinegar and uses in dogs (hopefully you don't have to subscribe to read this one, seems sometimes you do, sometimes you don't):
http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/2_6/features/5220-1.html

 

[Adrianna & Calvin]

I gave the pup a bath with pine sol, and it killed every flea, I do not recommend useing pine sol for bathing unless it's a extreme case like this pup, it usta say on the label it can be used on pets,

Please be careful, folks. Pine oil is toxic to dogs and especially to cats. Just because something is 'natural' (like arsenic, hemlock, or poison ivy) doesn't mean it's safer than a synthetic chemical formula. I highly doubt the average dog washed in Pine Sol would ingest enough pine oil to cause toxicity, but you never know.

 

[Sameeee]

thats why I said only in a extreme case.

 

[MaryK]

Not sure if you have to subscribe to be able to read the article or not ... but thought I'd try the link to WDJ anyway, here's an article on Apple Cider Vinegar and uses in dogs (hopefully you don't have to subscribe to read this one, seems sometimes you do, sometimes you don't):
http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/2_6/features/5220-1.html

Thank you Jackie, didn't have to describe, very interesting article. Though now I am confused a little and unsure whether to use it for flea prevention or not. I don't like using the chemical flea control products but as we do have a major problem with fleas in this area I have to use something!
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MaryK]

Frontline. Evie got fleas within the first month we owned her, she went on frontline plus (as recommended by my vet) for a few months but I haven't put it on her for the last couple of months. Pretty sure it's too cold right now for the fleas to come out anyway. They thrive in warm environments and for the record, the do NOT live on your dog. They live in the soil, in your carpets, maybe even in your bed depending on how bad the infestation is. They only go on the dog to feed.

It's also best to ask your vet what product is best in your area because yes, fleas in certain areas do build up a resistance to certain products when all the vets in the area are recommending the same flea killer. I was warned that in some of the towns near where I live, that Frontline doesnt work anymore because the fleas have built up a resistance to the product. Luckily for me, i'm not in that area and it seems to be working just fine for me.

I've also lived in a flea infested house once. Not a fun experience. It was a rental property that my mum was renting. We moved into it with 1 flea free cat, and one flea free dog. By the time we left my ankles were covered in flea bites (yeah that's right, the fleas got sick of eating canine and feline and started on me) and we just could not kill them! We tried absolutely everything, but the little ******* refused to die (spent well over $300 on any chemical we could find to kill the evil creatures). When you kill fleas you need to keep treating for a period afterwards to ensure you kill all of the fleas due to the nature of the flea's life cycle. These little buggers had made themselves a home below the raised wooden floor in the sand......... the landlord refused to do anything about the fleas claiming that they must have come to the house on our pets... PFFT!

In saying that, I've never seen a tick on any of my animals; cats, dogs, horses.. oh wait, i do remember seeing a few on our cows before they got drenched.

Anyway, that's the end of my rant, but I'd recommend asking your vets opinion for what works best in your area. Frontline works well for me

Evie, we must be in a 'flea zone'. There are rats galore in this area and they carry fleas! I thought with winter I could leave off using Frontline but the little blighters are still around. And yes, have found Frontline isn't working so have changed to another product.
Poor you, have never had that happen - flea ridden house - must have been GHASTLY!

 

[Evie]

I've been lucky this winter, haven't treated Evie with anything since about April and haven't had any flea problems Will start treating her again soon though as with the warm weather comes the fleas. See, it was good us having no heating in our house over winter... means the conditions weren't flea friendly!!

 

[MaryK]

I rarely turn on the heating, it's just not cold enough for me but my partner does at times, and suffocates me but apparently not the fleas with the hot weather now, will have to treat all the time, seems air conditioning doesn't kill fleas

 

[Sameeee]

try spraying your furbabies with 1/2 lemon juice and 1/2 water fleas hate lemon so it repells them, I get a bottle of true lemon and use it

 

[MaryK]

try spraying your furbabies with 1/2 lemon juice and 1/2 water fleas hate lemon so it repells them, I get a bottle of true lemon and use it

Thank you Sameee. I have a lemon tree in the garden, so I guess that would be fine to use the fresh lemons. Much better than the chemicals!

 

[rouen]

I'm going to second the Diatomaceous Earth(mentioned on pg 2). I use it on Tuna(cat) as she goes in the woods and plays with all sorts of wild/feral animals.
Food grade DE is nontoxic, because of this if Tuna licks it off the most that will happen is she'll have a mineral boost. DE is made of fossilized diatoms. It works to kill parasites by embedding under the folds of their exoskeletons causing the insects to dehydrate and die. The diatoms are also sharp, however because they are microscopic they will not harm you or your furry friend. The sharp edges will cut soft bodied mites though. Some people use it as a wormer, but there isn't much to support this. Because when wet DE tends to clump it likely would not have the same cutting ability in the intestines as it does when sprinkled on the animals body.
The only way DE could possibly harm you would be if you inhaled a bunch.

 

[jacobite]

We use frontline regularly because it protects against ticks as well and Charlie loes the rough to go to the toilet in, so would collect ticks if he wasn't treated. BTW, owners watch out for ticks too. Friend of mine got bitten and his leg got infected. He was extremely sore.

 

[southerngirl]

I use comfortis, it works great for Missy. We've always had problem with fleas in the house and on the dogs. To keep them away the dogs get bathed than treated once a month, and we vacuum the whole house everyday.

 

[katzand]

Here's an article on

5 Home Remedies To Protect Your dog From Fleas
http://petslady.com/articles/5_home_remedies_protect_your_dog_fleas_summer_58064

I personally like apple cider vinegar, but I like apple cider vinegar for almost everything.

You know that movie about my Big Fat Greek Wedding, where the dad loves windex. I'm the same with apple cider vinegar. Broken leg, try apple cider viengar. LOL