Flea Shampoo

[BellaMoon]

Hi all its been awhile since I have posted! Anyways Bella has had fleas twice in her life about a year ago and again this week. I used flea shampoo from Petco and she seems to be itching more than ever. I know after reading some posts on flea shampoo that this can be very harmful for our little ones but because of being naive and it working well the first time I didn't think anything of it. Once she started scratching I decided to see what the side effects were after already bathing her. ( Should have done it before but like I said she used this once before about a year ago and it cleared up everything! )

Last night after giving her the flee bath the night before I noticed just one little flee, I combed her through with the flee brush and she was covered in flee bites from the two days before. So she was itching more after the flea bath but she seemed to settle down when we went to bed. So mind you its been 24 hours since she had the flee bath at this point. So just because she looked like she was irritated and scratching more I researched in bed side effects from flea shampoo and was terrified to see the awful side effects which makes me wonder why they even allow them on the shelves themselves. So this morning before I left work I washed her in Dawn and wiped her down pretty well to get the rest of the shampoo off.

The only side effect I saw was the scratching and it being 36 hours this morning I hope she is ok. I am going to call the vet and and leaving work early today but does anyone else have any suggestions on what to do.

Other than the scratching and the irritated red skin, she is lively, non-lethargic, pupils are normal, no vomitting, no drool or white foam (all side effects I found online)

Please let me know any feedback! Thanks everyone!

[chachi]

It sounds like she has a flea alergy. I would have her checked by a vet

[concretegurl]

Flea shampoos have some very harsh chemicals in them. I would not be surprised if it was a reaction directly to the shampoo.

Did you know dish soap will kill fleas on contact? I prefer plain old blue regular Dawn because it is formulated in a way that it is only an eye irritant.

If she is sowing signs of flea allergies-wow watch it close, hot spots may present they look like a giant open sore can be oozing and can appear like a hole.

I thought my dog had been impaled I actually noticed the hot spot before the fleas because I use Frontline Plus it kills the fleas but not until they bite.

If it is a chemical burn or the beginning of a severe flea allergy you will need a medication (topical or oral) from the vet.

I hope it clears up and honestly have my that it's from the shampoo as I know the difficulties in having a dog with severe flea allergies.

[kjc]

Flea shampoos can be overly drying, as can Dawn dishwashing liquid, as it strips all the naturals oils from the coat. Dawn is good to use though bc it will rinse out completely To lessen the drying effect, I use a mega amount of creme rinse or hair conditioner after the shampooing and leave it on and massage it into the coat and skin really well, before the final rinse. This will restore some of the oils lost in the wash process. The coat should be flushed with straight water till it runs clear, as any product left on may cause more irritation.

A top spot treatment for fleas may be best to use for an infestation and will last longer than any shampoo. Please ask your vet about them and be sure to tell him what and when you have used other products on her, as certain combinations of flea killers can be toxic to the dog. This is extremely important.

I would never buy OTC flea treatments or meds from anywhere but my vets office for use on my pups. It's just not worth the risk to not have the support of my vet and the manufacturer should something go wrong like an unexpected reaction or something.

Flea treatments are just as critical as any vaccine or antibiotic for eliminating a disease threat in all pets, and should not be treated with any less regard. They may cost a bit more from the vet initially, but the cost is justified as for me it includes peace of mind in knowing I shouldn't be causing more problems for my pups by using the Vet recommended products sold at the Vet's office.

[BellaMoon]

Originally Posted by kjc

Flea shampoos can be overly drying, as can Dawn dishwashing liquid, as it strips all the naturals oils from the coat. Dawn is good to use though bc it will rinse out completely To lessen the drying effect, I use a mega amount of creme rinse or hair conditioner after the shampooing and leave it on and massage it into the coat and skin really well, before the final rinse. This will restore some of the oils lost in the wash process. The coat should be flushed with straight water till it runs clear, as any product left on may cause more irritation.

A top spot treatment for fleas may be best to use for an infestation and will last longer than any shampoo. Please ask your vet about them and be sure to tell him what and when you have used other products on her, as certain combinations of flea killers can be toxic to the dog. This is extremely important.

I would never buy OTC flea treatments or meds from anywhere but my vets office for use on my pups. It's just not worth the risk to not have the support of my vet and the manufacturer should something go wrong like an unexpected reaction or something.

Flea treatments are just as critical as any vaccine or antibiotic for eliminating a disease threat in all pets, and should not be treated with any less regard. They may cost a bit more from the vet initially, but the cost is justified as for me it includes peace of mind in knowing I shouldn't be causing more problems for my pups by using the Vet recommended products sold at the Vet's office.

Yes Thank you so so much. I will now be taking this issue to the vet. i went home last night and she was doing much better. She kept biting when I first got home so I went through her hair with the flea comb and found one last little guy that was biting her. After that she stopped the biting, licking, and itching. I cleaned all of my clothes, bedding, etc. so hopefully the eggs don't survive. we keep the house at a low temp so hopefully they won't be able to hatch because of the colder climate! I will be giving her one last bath with dawn tonight and will add the cream rinse to calm her skin. The irritation however, has cleared up in the past 24 hours! No more store bought crap, I am going to the vet!

[BellaMoon]

Originally Posted by concretegurl

Flea shampoos have some very harsh chemicals in them. I would not be surprised if it was a reaction directly to the shampoo.

Did you know dish soap will kill fleas on contact? I prefer plain old blue regular Dawn because it is formulated in a way that it is only an eye irritant.

If she is sowing signs of flea allergies-wow watch it close, hot spots may present they look like a giant open sore can be oozing and can appear like a hole.

I thought my dog had been impaled I actually noticed the hot spot before the fleas because I use Frontline Plus it kills the fleas but not until they bite.

If it is a chemical burn or the beginning of a severe flea allergy you will need a medication (topical or oral) from the vet.

I hope it clears up and honestly have my that it's from the shampoo as I know the difficulties in having a dog with severe flea allergies.

Thank you! She is doing much better called the vet, we dont really have flea problems here but we went back to my parents for tgiving and they live on a farm in upstate ny! I learned my lesson

[concretegurl]

We take a walk to the park in our neighborhood-it's a play ground with a half basketball court as well a large field (2) lots of neighbors use one (unofficially desognated) area for their dogs (the front field is the unofficial baseball/football area)

anywho I can't take Princess there at all anymore if there us ONE random flea it finds her & she starts the itching/hair pulling needs her meds we're dealing with a full blown almost instant reaction.

So if it turns out to be a flea allergy I can let you know where i found get resources and what has worked for us-although every dog is different.

Glad it all seems to be getting better though!

[manina]

Originally Posted by kjc

Flea shampoos can be overly drying, as can Dawn dishwashing liquid, as it strips all the naturals oils from the coat. Dawn is good to use though bc it will rinse out completely To lessen the drying effect, I use a mega amount of creme rinse or hair conditioner after the shampooing and leave it on and massage it into the coat and skin really well, before the final rinse. This will restore some of the oils lost in the wash process. The coat should be flushed with straight water till it runs clear, as any product left on may cause more irritation.

A top spot treatment for fleas may be best to use for an infestation and will last longer than any shampoo. Please ask your vet about them and be sure to tell him what and when you have used other products on her, as certain combinations of flea killers can be toxic to the dog. This is extremely important.

I would never buy OTC flea treatments or meds from anywhere but my vets office for use on my pups. It's just not worth the risk to not have the support of my vet and the manufacturer should something go wrong like an unexpected reaction or something.

Flea treatments are just as critical as any vaccine or antibiotic for eliminating a disease threat in all pets, and should not be treated with any less regard. They may cost a bit more from the vet initially, but the cost is justified as for me it includes peace of mind in knowing I shouldn't be causing more problems for my pups by using the Vet recommended products sold at the Vet's office.

What do u think about the coconut oil for raise after the shampoo, I use the shampoo I get fr my vet the A/I shampoo with oatmeal. I also use A/I condition fr the vet.

bark@ulater!!!!!
manina,miley,max,reirei,rudy

[chachi]

Originally Posted by concretegurl

We take a walk to the park in our neighborhood-it's a play ground with a half basketball court as well a large field (2) lots of neighbors use one (unofficially desognated) area for their dogs (the front field is the unofficial baseball/football area)

anywho I can't take Princess there at all anymore if there us ONE random flea it finds her & she starts the itching/hair pulling needs her meds we're dealing with a full blown almost instant reaction.

So if it turns out to be a flea allergy I can let you know where i found get resources and what has worked for us-although every dog is different.

Glad it all seems to be getting better though!

Thats like my Chachi. One flea can put him into full blown reaction. Its gotten so bad with him that one time when he had a flea allergy his immune system got so low that he developed mange and then that was a mess to get rid of. I really have to stay on the flea preventatives with him

[concretegurl]

Originally Posted by chachi

Thats like my Chachi. One flea can put him into full blown reaction. Its gotten so bad with him that one time when he had a flea allergy his immune system got so low that he developed mange and then that was a mess to get rid of. I really have to stay on the flea preventatives with him

Princess was so bad when the stinking neighbors (they moved last week!!!!) next door allowed their outdoor only dog to get infested with fleas-my dog had to go to the vet to get regular injections!

It was such BS my dog needed all that because they failed proper basic care.
Putting DE along the fence line once a week was so frustrating too.

[chachi]

Originally Posted by concretegurl

Princess was so bad when the stinking neighbors (they moved last week!!!!) next door allowed their outdoor only dog to get infested with fleas-my dog had to go to the vet to get regular injections!

It was such BS my dog needed all that because they failed proper basic care.
Putting DE along the fence line once a week was so frustrating too.

Im glad for you that they moved. The house next to me is vaccant and Im concerned I may get a neighbor with a dog and have problems. I hope not but its happened before and its a rental so you can get anything in there