Here we go again...Round 3....

[DukesMommy]

Lucie has worms for the third time....I have to wait till Monday to get her an appointment, hopefully they have an open slot on Monday....But this is the third time now that she has gotten tapeworm it couldn't have come at a worse time too because the vet bill for it is not cheap...
Anyway does anyone know of any methods to keep fleas off/away from her??
I use frontline monthly on her, she gets regular baths, and I brush her daily. The biggest problem is that my parents have several cats and all but 2 go outside and then come in at night, and my mother refuses to put anything on them for flea treatment, despite my repeated asking, she only treats one of her cats and it's one of the ones who is never outside, and I definitely can't afford to buy it for all of them....I use frontline on Duke as well but my parents also put him outside more than I would like so I know he can also be bringing them in. Are there any natural things I can put on her to try to double up on flea repellants? Aside from it being disgusting, I really don't want to be making routine vet trips to treat tapeworm...

[Wylie's Mom]

Oh geeze - I feel for you, how frustrating!

For natural repellent, you could try Neem Spray.

[Nancy1999]

I thought they got the worms from eating a flea, so it would seem like the flea wouldn't even have to have come from him. Sorry you have to go through this, and I hope you find a solution.

[DukesMommy]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

I thought they got the worms from eating a flea, so it would seem like the flea wouldn't even have to have come from him. Sorry you have to go through this, and I hope you find a solution.

You're right, they get them from eating the flea. The last time we were at the vet they told me that some dogs chase fleas if they see them, and she's such a curious little one so I am thinking that when I let her run around the house during the day she must be coming across them in that time. She gets into everything and my parents don't keep the cleanest of houses, they are total pack rats so there is plenty of breeding ground for the fleas to lay eggs..

I had another battle this afternoon with my parents about it so hopefully something will come of it this time.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by DukesMommy

You're right, they get them from eating the flea. The last time we were at the vet they told me that some dogs chase fleas if they see them, and she's such a curious little one so I am thinking that when I let her run around the house during the day she must be coming across them in that time. She gets into everything and my parents don't keep the cleanest of houses, they are total pack rats so there is plenty of breeding ground for the fleas to lay eggs..

I had another battle this afternoon with my parents about it so hopefully something will come of it this time.

Good luck, it's hard enough to get rid of them when you have total control, but when your parents are fighting you, that would be difficult. I have read that putting moth balls in the vacuum bag kills the fleas and/or eggs, and you can buy some moth balls that have a lavender scent and don't smell that bad. I hope you vet has some ideas, that's got to be pretty hard on Duke.

[YoRkiE Te aMo]

caution with the moth balls they are poison for the pets...
better use baking soda or borax it suffocates the fleas or even baby powder...

it is very hard to rid of them if the house and pets have them...as the eggs keep hatching every two weeks if nothing is done

[GurleyGirl]

You don't have to bring your dog to the vet when they have worms... you could just ask for the "tapeworm pill".

Good luck!

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by YoRkiE Te aMo

caution with the moth balls they are poison for the pets...
better use baking soda or borax it suffocates the fleas or even baby powder...

it is very hard to rid of them if the house and pets have them...as the eggs keep hatching every two weeks if nothing is done

No I just meant the balls go in the vacuum not on the dog, she uses frontline so the dog may not have any fleas, but they could be in the house from the cats. I've read that when cleaning many people sweep them up, but then they just crawl out the vacuum cleaner.

[DukesMommy]

Originally Posted by YoRkiE Te aMo

caution with the moth balls they are poison for the pets...
better use baking soda or borax it suffocates the fleas or even baby powder...

it is very hard to rid of them if the house and pets have them...as the eggs keep hatching every two weeks if nothing is done

Oh yuck, I didn't know they hatch every 2 weeks. My mom said she has borax to put on the carpet, but I know that's only going to take care of the ones that are currently in the carpet.

[DukesMommy]

Originally Posted by GurleyGirl

You don't have to bring your dog to the vet when they have worms... you could just ask for the "tapeworm pill".

Good luck!

I didn't know they would do that. It makes sense though, the last time I took her all they did was weigh her to see if she was losing weight, took her temp, and asked the same questions they asked on her first visit they didn't even need the stool sample because they knew she had it 4 weeks before that.
I'll ask them about it tomorrow when I call! Thanks.

[hugz4all4]

Not to be gross or anything but is there a way that your dog could be eating the cats poo? If the cats have them and they arent being treated then its likely the cats are eating the fleas and passing the larva in thier poo.
Does your dog groom your cats? He could be eating the fleas that way too. I find it a little hard to beleive that your dog is running around chasing fleas, they are very hard to see on animals let alone jumping from the carpets.
Have you tried using a flea spray made for carpets and furniture to help control the ones in your house, its not really expensive and you can get it at any pet store or even your vets. You can also buy a spray meant for cats that will help with the fleas on them if your parents cant afford the montly stuff. I will keep my fingers crossed that your parents start treating thier cats, they cant be very comfortable with all those pesty critters running all over them.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by hugz4all4

Not to be gross or anything but is there a way that your dog could be eating the cats poo? If the cats have them and they arent being treated then its likely the cats are eating the fleas and passing the larva in thier poo.
Does your dog groom your cats? He could be eating the fleas that way too. I find it a little hard to beleive that your dog is running around chasing fleas, they are very hard to see on animals let alone jumping from the carpets.
Have you tried using a flea spray made for carpets and furniture to help control the ones in your house, its not really expensive and you can get it at any pet store or even your vets. You can also buy a spray meant for cats that will help with the fleas on them if your parents cant afford the montly stuff. I will keep my fingers crossed that your parents start treating thier cats, they cant be very comfortable with all those pesty critters running all over them.

Never thought of that, dogs love cat poop.

[DukesMommy]

Originally Posted by hugz4all4

Not to be gross or anything but is there a way that your dog could be eating the cats poo? If the cats have them and they arent being treated then its likely the cats are eating the fleas and passing the larva in thier poo.
Does your dog groom your cats? He could be eating the fleas that way too. I find it a little hard to beleive that your dog is running around chasing fleas, they are very hard to see on animals let alone jumping from the carpets.
Have you tried using a flea spray made for carpets and furniture to help control the ones in your house, its not really expensive and you can get it at any pet store or even your vets. You can also buy a spray meant for cats that will help with the fleas on them if your parents cant afford the montly stuff. I will keep my fingers crossed that your parents start treating thier cats, they cant be very comfortable with all those pesty critters running all over them.

She grooms herself a lot so the vet was saying that because of that she could be getting them if they jump on her, not that she's actually chasing them in the house
But no, she doesn't groom the cats or get into their litter box.

But, borax got put on the carpets yesterday, and my mom actually did go get frontline for all the cats and put it on all of them. So hopefully within a few days they will be gone. I'm going to vaccum again today because last night I got bit by one.

After my mom saw what Lucie went through after taking the pill yesterday she felt bad for her because she kept throwing up and then had the "runs". So hopefully that was enough to make her treat the cats each month.

[Miao]

I had light coloured carpetting and was able to see the fleas perfectly when my cat was infested with them one time (from my old dog). Had to treat her for fleas for a while and catch and kill whatever ended up on her sleeping area (on my duvet cover!). I became somewhat of an expert at catching the jumpy ones off the carpet with a pair of tweezers... I hate little critters of any kind so that was a nightmare and I was the only one getting bit on occassion! I actually don't remember my hubby complaining of a single bite at the time. I also caught what I could off of the cat's hair too even though she's a medium haired girl, she's white and grey so it makes it easier to see the little black guys on her. The Advantage treatment might have been working on her slowly since the ones that fall off of her onto the blanket seem less energetic so they're easy catches. The more lively ones do well "swimming" through strands of hair hiding as I've watched them do before.

[hugz4all4]

Originally Posted by DukesMommy

She grooms herself a lot so the vet was saying that because of that she could be getting them if they jump on her, not that she's actually chasing them in the house
But no, she doesn't groom the cats or get into their litter box.

But, borax got put on the carpets yesterday, and my mom actually did go get frontline for all the cats and put it on all of them. So hopefully within a few days they will be gone. I'm going to vaccum again today because last night I got bit by one.

After my mom saw what Lucie went through after taking the pill yesterday she felt bad for her because she kept throwing up and then had the "runs". So hopefully that was enough to make her treat the cats each month.

awesome!! Im glad your parents treated the cats!!