Puppy came with fleas, help!

M

Mel1221

Forums Novice
Hello,

Last Saturday, my beautiful blue merle puppy named Blue arrived. Unfortunately for him and I, we found out yesterday that he has fleas, and must have carried them with him from the kennel where he came from. The vet gave Blue a pill to take (one time for the next couple of months, I think) that will kill the live fleas on him. She also put BasicGuard on him while he was there.

I was just wondering if anyone has experience dealing with this, and if so, how did you get the fleas out of your home? The vet said that if Blue continues to take the pill, that all fleas should die off within the next couple of months, but I've also heard stories of people never being able to get rid of them.

Thanks!

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/7154/tsux.JPG - Blue says thanks, too!
 
In the old days, we just gave them a bath with Hartz Mountain flea soap -- being careful to wash the ears and anus first to prevent "escapees." That did the trick. :confused2:
 
Keep in mind that some dogs a allergic to Hartz flee and tick shampoo. My oldest dog, F-kap, is. The fur on his chest, belly, and tail was falling out and parts of his tail were completely balled. After I stopped using it in the winter (because of the cold weather) his fur started growing back, last spring I gave him another bath, he had been big and fluffy one day, the next day his fur was noticably thinning. So I don't use it anymore.

When I give the dogs flee and tick baths I usually use Dawn dish soap. Don't give him to many baths with it though, eventually it can dry out his fur. I've also noticed it really brightens up the white in the coat, which would be very pretty on your boy's blue coat.:yes:
 
I've also heard that Dawn dish soap is the best way to kill fleas. Of course you can't get in in the puppy's face or ears and have to be very careful around his head so I'd probably start at the top of his head and work back so they don't run up his head.

Once he's bathed and flea-free, mist him daily with one part apple cider vinegar to three parts water. Just mix it in a spray bottle. Add a bit of lemon juice to make it even more effective. It's a wonderful natural repellent.

As for your house, that's a tough one. You can sprinkle diatomaceous earth (food grade only, available online) throughout the house and that should help kill them. It's safe for people and pets...some people even add it to dogs' food. Google it and you can find out how it works. I use it in my yard; it's amazing stuff. I would certainly use it in bedding and on carpets.

Other than that, your only option is an exterminator. You can flea bomb, but you have to vacate the house and I hate the chemicals in them.

Your new puppy is adorable! Congratulations!
 
Mel1221 said:
I was just wondering if anyone has experience dealing with this, and if so, how did you get the fleas out of your home? The vet said that if Blue continues to take the pill, that all fleas should die off within the next couple of months, but I've also heard stories of people never being able to get rid of them.
Click to expand...

My experience with fleas when we had cats and now that we have dogs is that once the animals are treated the fleas die off. They need to be on the animals to survive.

We always struggled with fleas on our cats until spots ons became available. Once we started using them we never had a problem again and also never once treated our home.
 
Kaddygirl12

First, congratulations on your Blue, he's very handsome!! Sorry to hear your
home is infested with those darn fleas!! I use to vaccum like crazy everyday, wash all bed linens with hot hot water and dry all the clothes on the santize cycle in the dryer. Since Blue is too young to have a flea bath, I totally agree with everyone on site. Brush him everyday with the flea comb too. All this combing, bathing, brushing and using the vaccum will get Blue use to motions and sounds of the vaccum and grooming. Good Luck!!
 
Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh Blue is cute !! I love merles !! Fleas are just a pain. It is flea season so you are not alone. You have already got good suggestions so far- I would just add that you should vacuum every day and take the bag outside because the fleas and eggs can live in the vacuum bag. Wash any bedding in hot water.
 
with all the rain we've had this summer and all the stray cats that are now in our neighborhood, we've had what I consider a bad flea summer.
the shelties currently get Comfortis- and really only when I see evidence of fleas. I prefer not to give them stuff unless they actually need it.
so they've had them a couple times this summer but there are not really fleas hiding all over the house- they get on the dogs and don't survive.
I've washed their bedding and that's about it.....
 
Chris said:
In the old days, we just gave them a bath with Hartz Mountain flea soap -- being careful to wash the ears and anus first to prevent "escapees." That did the trick. :confused2:
Click to expand...
That's what we do too. A good old fashion bath :) then comb, check for more, and repeat bath.

My female who is now 9 came home with TONS of fleas. gotta love it. They were all gone though after we bathed her a lot.

He is ADORABLE. totally worth the fleas :yes:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top