Dog Questions Fleas and Food

We had a problem. We gave the dog a treatment and then the next day, without thinking, the dog got tossed into the pool so that he could swim with the kids!!! Once given the treatment, the dog should not get wet or washed for around 2 weeks.

We have 2 kids, one with asthma so bombing wasn't an option. We talked to the vet, they gave us another treatment that was different so that there was no interaction.

The vet also told us, like MamaMay, to buy a weeks worth of cheap flea collars. Put one in the vacuum bag and vacuum the whole house every day for a week. Change the bag when you are done. This gets the eggs that are not effected by the flea bomb. Worked wonderfully.

D.,

Another thing you can try for the inside of the house is to put a small bowl of water ,sitting on the floor beneath a night light with a few drops of dish dtergent, especially works well at night. The live fleas jump towards the light above and fall into the bowl, because of the dish soap they can't jump back out and you'll be able to see in the morning all the fleas that went swimming ! I know it sounds weird, but, it does work especially for carpets or rugs that have fleas in them. You can also add some cooking oil /or mineral oil to dogs food and it makes their hair to slick for fleas to catch a ride. altho it may give them the poops ! C. S.

Comfortis works. It is expensive but it works and it is cheaper than soaps, sprays, treatiing the yard, etc, etc. It is a pill and that's it. Nothing else for a month. Totally worth it. I have used all the drop treatments that you put on their backs. Most didn't last the whole month and some only worked if the fleas bit the dog which is awful because 2 of our dogs had flea dermatitis. Vacuum often even the furniture. Bomb the place too like Victoria suggested. Good luck!

I didn't read all the answers so if I repeat sorry. We have many animals when one get's fleas so does everyone else! It can get WAY outta hand so I feel ya!
A dog breeder told my husband YEARS ago to wash your animal using Murphy's Oil Soap. It is 100% vegetable oil so it is safe. He wasn't kidding! The flea's just drop off dead in the bathtub! Vacuum daily get a flea collar and cut off 2 inches and drop it in your bag (canister) it last's for 30 days and kills all fleas you get from the carpet. I'm cheap so if the bag fills up before 30 days I get it from the canister and reuse it. If it is Really bad I may sprinkle some seven dust at the entrances of doors (my kids are older so this isn't a problem for us however make sure and read label before buying!) A couple of years ago a friend of mine was complaining about a flea infestation I told her about this and she was amazed. Good Luck!

Revolution. You need to ask your vet about it. It can't be used on Collies I think. It's a once-a-month squirt of solution between the shoulder blades. Works like a charm because it makes your dog repel fleas. Your cat needs to be treated too, because it has fleas as well.

My dog kept eating my cat food, so I started feeding the cats on the washer/dryer. My dog actually got very, very sick from eating the cat food. So be careful.

You should get the tick stuff from your vet (frontline, advantage, etc) it's the only thing that works it's cheaper through 1800 petmeds but my vet price matches. You are bathing them too much their natural oils helps keep fleas at bay.
As far as the cat food goes we always have kept it up and out of reach from the dogs.

Not sure about the cat food issue but I do know about fleas. Take the dog to a vet and have it professionally dipped. The one time we tried to "save money" and do it ourselves it was a fiasco with fleas ending up throughout the house. THEN we had to hire someone to get the fleas out of the house. Save yourself the headache and have it done projessionally. Good luck!

My dog was on flea meds and they stopped working and he had to switch to an oral med (comfortis) which worked immediately.

Comfortis is flea prevention in an edible pill form. It cost $13 and doesn't leave the messy residue the advantage and frontline do. If that doesn't do it, you will probably have to treat the cat a well.

As for the food, you are going to have to put it somewhere higher up. I keep mine on top of the dryer. He jumps up but the dog stays down. Also, watch where your litter box is. I haven't met a dog yet that could resist, as disgusting as it is.

I use comfortis for my dog, and it has worked wonders! Advantage and Frontline would only work for about 2-3 weeks, then the dogs/cats would be itching. I found a vet that sells you the next BIGGER size for the dogs, and tells you to cut it in half.... for example, I have a 50 lb dog, so he sells me the package for the 60-100 lb dog. That way, I get a year's worth of Comfortis for about $66, the cost of 6 months in a standard dose. I just wish they had one for the cats, also.

The vet has oral medication for fleas that is supposed to be the best, but you have to get it in the dog and it does not taste good. I use the drops Advantage is the brand I get from my vet. You have to treat the fleas in your carpet several times because they hatch back out. My husband put some kind of granular stuff around our house to keep bugs out. I would find something for fleas and put it in the areas that I brought my dog out on even if it was in a complex. If they have a flea problem and are not dealing with it I would. I would go out there and spread the granular stuff and then go back in and I bet no one would say anything and it is done.
About the feeding. I am very picky about my animals diets. I buy good dogfood and only give my dog a certain amount twice a day to maintain optimum body weight with NO people food. It is so bad for them to eat scraps. So I would feed the dog and cat twice a day in separate areas and then what they did not eat at that session would be picked up and not put out again until the evening meal. I would not leave food out all day. If you do then yes the dog will eat it. They love cat food but it tends to give them the runs.

Frontline plus for the dog. And you will need to probably bomb the apartment (take your pets out with you before hand and for a few hours afterwards, of course).
As for the dog eating the cat food... umm, not healthy for the dog at all. The easiest solution is to a) pick up the bowl when the cat is done and/or b) find a location for the cat's dish that is out of the dog's reach (kitchen counter?) At one time, I had my cat's dish on top of my refrigerator (I had a roommate who had a dog- that liked to eat the cat food). BUT, the top of the refrigerator is bad for attracting other things---like roaches. Especially in an apartment where you can only control your own space, and not your neighbor's.

Frontline is good for fleas.

Go to the vet and get some Capstar. I think the stuff you put on their backs only sterilizes the fleas so they can't reproduce but the Capstar kills them usually within 30 minutes or so. Sometimes you might have to give them more than one pill but I haven't had to. That will get rid of them on the dog but if they are in the carpet that's another story. Dogs like the cat food because there's more oil/fat in their food which they love. Just pick up the cat food when the cat is finished or set it up high to where only the cat can reach it. Dogs will be dogs.

Sentinol heartwork/flea treatment pills work great. Expensive and must get them from your vet. Frontline works well too (also pricey but no vet visit needed). Both expensive options but you will no longer have fleas. If you have them in your house already, you are going to need to treat your house at the same time you treat your dog. I think they make fogs, or something along those lines. For the cat food, we have to feed our cat on the washer. Otherwise, the dog will eat the kitty's food.

Take the dog for flea dip and get rid of them once and for all. Frontline works great in the future for keeping fleas and ticks away. You shouldn't have to spray the lawn if you use Frontline. You can put a drop on the back of the dog's neck and end of his back above his rear so they can't lick it off. We had a dog that ate our cat food and eventually we raised the cat food up on top of her litter box so the dog would not bother it. Raise the cat food or put it in a different room.