Flea Nightmare

Wow, I must be really lucky. I have used Frontline exclusively for all my shelties since the 2000's and have never had fleas on any of my pets!

I do keep them on it all year long... 12 months! Since I live in Michigan I thought I might not need it in the winter but decided to not to quit using it over the winter months. Yes, it is expensive to keep them on it all year... But, no fleas is worth it!

Wondering if that makes the difference?
 
I also use Frontline Plus and it has worked well...zero flea problems. During the coldest 4-5 months I typically don't use it...although if this year we continue to get the record breaking warm temps we are currently experiencing I will have to use it for all 12 months.

Trini
 
Fleas can live and survive for long periods of time in carpeting and other areas, so you'll need to treat your entire house for them. Once you've got the household infestation under control, the topical treatments are very good at keeping them at bay. My dog is treated with Advantage Multi, and I've never seen a flea on him, or the smallest sign of one.

Many years ago my mother, who has never been a "pet" person, took in a homeless kitten and kept it for a few days in her finished basement before finding it a home. A year or so later she was stunned to find that the carpet in that area was infested with fleas, so badly that you couldn't set your hand down on the floor without several fleas jumping right onto it!
 
Correlation does not equal causation.

I stopped using topical pesticides when it became too expensive with five dogs, so it's been seven or eight years now. No fleas (except the one time they were brought in on other infested dogs). My dogs are on farms, at trials, shows and all over the place.

Luck?
 
ClantyreSheltie said:
Correlation does not equal causation.

I stopped using topical pesticides when it became too expensive with five dogs, so it's been seven or eight years now. No fleas (except the one time they were brought in on other infested dogs). My dogs are on farms, at trials, shows and all over the place.

Luck?
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If I had to guess, I'd say it's because once you have your main domicile taken care of it, the odd flea brought in from outside isn't going to make a difference.
 
Well, Henry has been wearing the seresto collar for a couple of months now... It took a little while, but I have not seen any fleas on him in weeks and weeks. Seems to be a success! However, he still has the dermatitis. I'm wondering how long it takes for that to clear up once the fleas are gone??
 
Kelsey said:
Well, Henry has been wearing the seresto collar for a couple of months now... It took a little while, but I have not seen any fleas on him in weeks and weeks. Seems to be a success! However, he still has the dermatitis. I'm wondering how long it takes for that to clear up once the fleas are gone??
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The dermatitis might be from some other cause; the fleas might simply have exacerbated it.
 
Use Advantage (ticks are not any sort of problem around here.) I keep the Advantage treatments up all the time and the vet clinic is a "flea free clinic" meaning that they carefully examine a dog for fleas (for any procedure) and then treat if one is found--no questions asked (they inform pet-parents of this beforehand). In addition, fleas seem to LOVE me over any dog and I am sure to be the one scratching should there be any fleas within hopping distance . (Whenever there is a doggie visitor, I almost want to check that dog myself before allowing it admittance, and I HAVE given out Advantage samples to pet-parents of frequent doggie visitors but then I remind myself that grass fleas jump on anyone for a free ride into home.)

Besides the Advantage all year long, and the flea free vet clinic, I keep Zodiac Premise spray around. Knock all sorts of wood, so far this combination has worked. (And yes, I am no stranger to flea bombing but I hate the extra work it causes.)
 
jomuir said:
Do you have a cat? Our vet said that a house cat can have only a few fleas, we'd never see them because they groom themselves well and keep their own fleas down, but they have enough to pass them to the dog who can get infested or just be chronically bothered by them.

I'd change up your flea meds and give flea baths at home every two weeks, alternating w/the meds so you're not over-treating him. Poor guy! my Forrest gets allergic to their bites too and I hate to see him suffer with the skin irritation.
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We do not have a cat, but our neighborhood is one where owners don't keep good track of their pets, so we have a lot of wandering dogs and cats in the area (we've had plenty in our yard). My theory is that these wandering animals (the cats especially) are responsible for fleas in our yard that our dog subsequently picked up. I really think our yard was where he picked them up.
 
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