# Major Flea Issue!



## ErinandYoshie (Aug 15, 2010)

Has anyone else had an issue with fleas this season? I live in the south, and like most everywhere else it has been exceptionally hot this summer.. maybe that's making the fleas worse?
I use Frontline on my Yorkie, and last month gave him two dosages because the fleas were so bad. He had a flea bath at the groomer on top of that, and I had him shaved.. because obviously less hair makes it much easier for me to find and kill the fleas on him. I have spray for the bedding and carpet and have been vacuuming and washing things a few times a week to make sure they stay out of the carpet and off our bedding. 
My house isn't infested and I rarely see any other than a few on him every now and again, but he has a MAJOR flea allergy. He now has hot spots all over from all the bitting and some have even scabbed. He's also got little red bumps all over from the bites. 
I thought maybe he had a food allergy, but after bathing him today and finding somewhere between 10 and 15 fleas (between the water and him) I'm convinced it's the fleas. I just don't know what else I can do? Any and all help is greatly appreciated. I'm desperate right now! I know he is uncomfortable and I feel like a bad Mom because I don't know how to fix this..


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Can I ask you what you are feeding your Yorkie? I know its sounds weird but it is a bad flea season out there and the better your dog is fed from the inside out and healthier they are, the less fleas you will see.

I haven't seen a flea on my 3 dogs or in my house, oops yes I did a few months back, probably from the cat before I frontlined him, but I haven't used any flea meds on the dogs as of yet.


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## bdb5853 (May 21, 2010)

Two things....

I would also ask what you are feeding? A healthy dog isn't attractive to parasites. We have never had a flea here and my boy is almost 2. (He is raw fed).

I would question the effectiveness of Frontline. I have been hearing rumors that it is not as effective as it once was. I don't know if they have changed the formula or if fleas are developing a tolerance to it, but I have read numerous complaints lately that its' not working.


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## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

ErinandYoshie said:


> Has anyone else had an issue with fleas this season? I live in the south, and like most everywhere else it has been exceptionally hot this summer.. maybe that's making the fleas worse?
> I use Frontline on my Yorkie, and last month gave him two dosages because the fleas were so bad. He had a flea bath at the groomer on top of that, and I had him shaved.. because obviously less hair makes it much easier for me to find and kill the fleas on him. I have spray for the bedding and carpet and have been vacuuming and washing things a few times a week to make sure they stay out of the carpet and off our bedding.
> My house isn't infested and I rarely see any other than a few on him every now and again, but he has a MAJOR flea allergy. He now has hot spots all over from all the bitting and some have even scabbed. He's also got little red bumps all over from the bites.
> I thought maybe he had a food allergy, but after bathing him today and finding somewhere between 10 and 15 fleas (between the water and him) I'm convinced it's the fleas. I just don't know what else I can do? Any and all help is greatly appreciated. I'm desperate right now! I know he is uncomfortable and I feel like a bad Mom because I don't know how to fix this..


It sounds like Frontline isn't effective for your dog. Have you tried K9 Advantix? It works well for us year 'round here in FL. It's good against fleas, ticks and mosquitoes. We are especially mindful of these critters because we run our dog in conservation areas all the time.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

are you sure its fleas? I was watching my friends yorkie/shitzu mix this week and found out that he has some type of plant contact allergy. Since I let my dog run around off leash on trails, he was getting into various grass and brush as well and picked up something. I noticed 2 hot spot looking rashes on his chest and couple on his stomach, he's been scratching quite a bit as well, but he's on frontline too. I gave him a benadryl today and the scratching seem to have subsided. 

But as others have said, first make sure its not food allergy.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

We live in North Carolina and have a big tick problem. Frontline does absolutely nothing at all for us. We used K9-advantix for the ticks this year for the first time and have only had to use it once at the beginning of summer. Have not seen another tick since then. My son gets Frontline and is still finding ticks on his dogs. 

I agree that feeding your dog better seems to repel the fleas. We rarely ever see a flea on our dogs even though our neighbors have a big problem with them. We had a few fleas for the first time when we went on a cross country trip with the dogs and stayed at a lot of campgrounds with a LOT of doggie yards but once I got the Advantix it took care of the problem.


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## ErinandYoshie (Aug 15, 2010)

He eats Wellness Core sometimes the Reduced Fat Formula and sometimes the Ocean formula. All of his treats are pretty high quailty and grain free aswell. 
I have seen fleas so I'm pretty sure it's fleas and not grass or anything like that, plus I live in the city so he's usually on concreate.
I will no doubt change to Advantix when he's due for treatment again, because I'm really not happy with the Frontline.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

You can also try diatomaceous earth as an alternative treatment, the downside is that its pretty messy and has to be reaplied if the dog gets wet. Uno doesent get a lot of fleas, I just rub some earth into his coat and it works pretty well. It can also be sprinkled on carpet or dog bed to dehydrate the fleas, if you get it, make sure its human grade.


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## ruckusluvr (Oct 28, 2009)

here on the KY/TN border fleas are horrible.
and frontline NOR advantix works. the vets here dont even recommend them anymore.
every has switched to comfortis flea pill, with a preventic collar. 
since using comfortis i have never seen a flea on my dogs. its lovely to not have to worry about fleas what so ever.


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## ErinandYoshie (Aug 15, 2010)

I've never heard of either of the last two options?
Is the earth all natural?


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Yes it is, the main thing to watch out for is that you dont get it in their eyes and that you get food grade quality. 
Diatomaceous Earth

on the side note, I started doing little more research about it and decide to try it myself, I mix with with juice and drink it once a day. I noticed that few weeks into it, my brittle nails started growing out and those white specks have dissapeared. I also have a tendency to bite nail when I'm nerveous (I know, awful habit), but since taking this, I cant do it anymore because they are so hard.


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## ddenth (Aug 18, 2010)

*fleas*

I keep my dog on Revolution. A capsule you open and put contents on in between the shoulders once a month. I have been using this on my shepard mix for the last 10 years. I also take him to doggie parks. The old guy has not had a flea on him since I started using it..Oh the good thing is that it protects him against heartworm. A little expensive, I believe it is like $86.00 for 6 capsules. Cheaper for smaller dogs, goes by weight. I travel back and forth from Florida to Michigan several times a year.


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## ErinandYoshie (Aug 15, 2010)

Thank you guys so much for the input.


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## Jack Monzon (Jul 25, 2010)

Unosmom said:


> Diatomaceous Earth


I think at one point I used that to battle cockroaches.


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

I live in Illinois and have never had a flea problem. Ticks from the woods and greneral walks yes! But since useing Vectra 3D ~ no ticks and well fleas never had! :smile:


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## JColt (Sep 10, 2010)

This was the worst year for fleas that I remember in a long time. Out of my 2 dogs and 3 cats only one cat (long hair) got them bad. The others you would find one or two fleas but he was loaded! I had to take him in and they gave him capstar and a steroid shot. It's under control now.


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