What Flea treatment do YOU use on your dog?

[irisha]

My dogs are always having problems with fleas and we just can't get rid of them for ages. What in your opinion is the best flea treatment?

If everyone could post a reply that would be really excellent.

Ciao

[storm22]

the best we use is advantage, it sticks to the fallen out hairs and helps treat there beds and carpet, we use it on all our dogs, but also flea spray and clean there beds and kennels, and a insect bomb

i got told from the vet the other day that dogs have 5% of the flea population on there bodies the rest is where your dog sleeps and in the carpet, so if your having trouble you can buy flea and insect bombs to de-flea your house they really work we do it about twice a year, good luck i know how those tiny bugs can drive you and your dogs nuts

[morgel]

Once the house is flea free, then I use garlic cloves in the dogs food, or garlic tablets from the health food section.

Adult dogs get 1 clove or tablet and puppies (over 8 weeks) get 1/2. Works for humans too.

[Jean]

I use the drops that you put on the back of the shoulder blades. I had flees once and that got rid of all of them instantly. (Well, a day or two)

[good_doggie]

I use a special flea powder that kills the fleas and then I pull them sometimes by force and and sometimes it is stuck in his fur.

[fickla]

I use frontline and have never had a problem. If you use k9 Advantix I've heard that you're not supposed to use it if you also have cats in your house.

[alexa999]

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!

[pksky9]

So Just mix the vinegar with dog food?

[alexa999]

That's all u do!

[leema]

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.

[lane]

I Give my dogs garlic cloves in their food and we don't have a problem. We have problems ourselves though in the midge season and we use Avon Skin So Soft which seems to keep them away. My daughter has used it on her horse and says it works. I don't know what effect it would have on dogs but it smells nice

[ruffmuttk9z]

I don't buy the whole 'healthy dogs don't get fleas' thing myself. I've known people with very healthy, naturally reared dogs whose dogs have gotten fleas. I also won't give my dogs garlic as it can be toxic to dogs. It's in the same family as onions, which can cause pancreatitis and ultimately death. Each dog has a different sensitivity level and I don't really want to figure out what that level is for even one of my dogs. I've heard Apple Cider Vinegar (not regular white vinegar) will repel fleas and I used it in their food for a while, but it got to be a real pain in the butt to have to give it to them every single day. I live in TX where fleas are a REAL problem as are ticks. I also have 10 dogs of my own and anywhere from 8-15 fosters at a time. So the thought of a flea infestation makes me want to vomit. Whenever I get a new foster dog I immediately give the dog a Capstar tablet. When I get home, I bathe the dog with any shampoo. The dog should be sudsed up really well and then left to sit with the shampoo on him for 15 minutes. The suds suffocates all live fleas. After the bath, you should wait 48 hours to apply any topical flea/tick preventatives.

I've heard that a lot of fleas are becoming resistant to Frontline so I wouldn't use that product for fleas. I use an OTC product called Zodiac. It has the same active flea/tick killer as K9 Advantix and the same IGR (Insect Growth Regulator--kills the larvae) as Frontline. The best part is, it's about 1/5th the cost of either of those two products. It works like a charm and to date, I have NEVER had a flea problem at all. For having 20-25 dogs at a time, many of those fosters that come to me flea-infested and unhealthy is really saying something. I treat every single dog with the topical Zodiac on the 1st of every month year-round. In TX it doesn't get cold enough for the fleas to die so we can't stop using these products in the winter.

If you're having a flea problem you not only need to treat your dog but your house and yard as well. All bedding needs to be washed on HOT water, carpets need to be vacuumed daily and your yard needs to be sprayed with a Permethrin-based flea/tick spray. You'll never eradicate the fleas if you don't take care of your house and yard as well as the dog(s).

[alee]

I think its called advantage, it protects from fleas, ticks and even mosquitos.

[ruffmuttk9z]

Advantage, as far as I've heard, is still working for fleas. It isn't for ticks, though. That would be Bayer's better product, K9 Advantix.

[starbuck]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Comfortis (Spinosad). It's relatively new but it's similar to Capstar except it has memory. It's a chewable tablet, Starts killing within 30 minutes, kills all fleas within hours, and lasts a full month. The main ingredient is environmentally friendly (even organic farmers can use it on their crops.)

The vet I work for swears by Frontline (Fipronil), but i don't like it. Too many complaints about resistance.

I've always used K9 Advantix, which gets rid of Fleas, ticks, mosquitoes and now it's labeled for Biting Flies.

As ruffmutt said above Advantage does only Fleas, but Advantage MULTI gives you flea pvt, heartworm pvt, and intestinal parasite pvt in one. Also talk of it helping with demodectic mange.

ProMeris is a good product too, but a lot of people don't like the eucalyptus smell or the lethargy side effect. It goes away within a couple hours but it still tends to put people off. But it's great for fleas, ticks, and demodectic mange.

Revolution is a good HW prevention but I don't think it's very effective on fleas.

I don't like Program or Sentinel, or any of the growth inhibitors because they don't KILL the fleas, they just keep them from reproducing.

PREVENTIC collars are great for ticks. Though flea collars usually don't do any good.

And as other people have said above, only 5% of fleas are on your pet, the other 95% are in the environment so you have to treat your house as well as your pet if you have an infestation.