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01-23-2012, 09:28 PM | #1 |
YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Michigan
Posts: 747
| Fleas? Ok, definitely new to this topic so please bare with me: I happened to notice this morning when I was petting Sasha that I was feeling something near her skin so I would pick it out and it looked like a small black speck. I began feeling her over and every now and then I would find some more, some just small pieces, some a little bit bigger (not HUGE but just bigger than the specks). I'm not sure if it was flea dirt or not so I began checking near areas where I know fleas could be found and didn't see anything. She hasn't been itching at all and I've never noticed anything jump off of her when petting her. I bathed her in some Dawn dish soap this evening and scrubbed her twice very thoroughly making sure to get down to her skin but never saw any indication that any fleas were on her (nothing fell into the water). I plan on getting some k9 Advantix tomorrow to apply just in case there are eggs or something on her. We have had a rather warmer winter here than usual. We got about 3 inches of snow 2 days ago and today it got back up to 50 degrees so really I probably should have been applying month preventative since we haven't had a very long "freeze" yet this winter. Does this sound like it could be fleas or something else? Is there anything else that I could/should do? I've never had an issue like this. Thanks! |
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01-23-2012, 10:28 PM | #2 |
YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Michigan
Posts: 747
| UPDATE: It's hard to do this now because of how fluffy her fur is now but since she's dry, I began trying to feel towards her skin again to see if I could feel or find anymore of the black specks which I couldn't find. I rolled her onto her back so I could examine in her pits and along her belly and I did find some sort of bug which I was able to grab before it disappeared. To me, it seems slightly bigger than a flea would be but I've only ever seen a flea once before and it was extremely small. I could try to post a picture of it because I did put it in a bag but I'm sure it won't show up very well. I'm just confused because if it is indeed a flea, wouldn't it have fallen off of her when I bathed her in the Dawn dish soap? |
01-23-2012, 10:33 PM | #3 |
No Longer a Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: N/A
Posts: 3,692
| I'd say it's probably something other than fleas although I have no clue what, but if she isn't itchy or scratching it's most likely not fleas. Anything bigger than a speck and no noticeable scratching doesn't add up, as fleas need to suck on blood to grow and breed. I would still go with the flea preventative just in case. Fleas are nasty annoying little buggers that can lead to other problems. I would keep a close eye on Sasha. Do keep us updated. |
01-23-2012, 10:38 PM | #4 | |
No Longer a Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: N/A
Posts: 3,692
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01-25-2012, 07:28 PM | #5 |
YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Michigan
Posts: 747
| UPDATE #2: Well it was indeed a flea that I picked off of her. I bought some Advantix and immediately applied it once I got home. I vacuumed basically the entire house, couches, everything. Washed all the blankets, stripped my bed to wash everything on there and my mom emptied & cleaned out the vacuum outside. I used to work at Petsmart so that's where I went to get the Advantix and I stopped in their Banfield to just get the verification that it was indeed a flea. She told me it could take up to 3 months of treatments before everything is completely gone. Just wanted to get some imput on that and is there anything else that I should be doing? Like I said I only found the 1 flea on her. Even though I applied the Advantix, now I'm paranoid and I'm constantly looking her over but not finding anything and I get paranoid if she itches at all or brushes against the furniture. |
01-25-2012, 09:46 PM | #6 |
I ♥ Franklin & Maggie Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 2,068
| I know it's easy to freak out but it sounds like you've taken all the proper steps! As long as she is treated with a flea preventative, any fleas that come into contact with her should die. I would just vacuum every couple of days for another week or so and you should be fine.
__________________ Diana , Mommy to Franklin, Maggie, Oliver, and Millie - RIP Piper |
01-25-2012, 09:57 PM | #7 | |
YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Michigan
Posts: 747
| Quote:
Thank you very much! From now on, I'm just going to keep her on year round prevention. I normally only do 6 months, basically just the summer months and don't even worry about the winter but this year, the winter here basically hasn't even been a winter. We've had about 3 inches of snow total and it'll be 20 degrees one day with snow and then the next day is 50 degrees and sunny, so really i should have still been putting it on as a precaution. Lesson learned! | |
01-25-2012, 10:08 PM | #8 |
Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Home Sweet Home
Posts: 174
| Our English springer spaniel went to the country with my son and came home with a few fleas. I went to Petsmart and bought a spray that kills fleas in their bedding, on carpet, etc....i paid about $14 for the bottle -well worth the peace of mind it has provided me!! It's been 2 weeks now and no sign of fleas!! |
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