What else can we do? fleas, licking, and heavy scratching!!

[FunkyMunkie]

Hello all!

I have a yorkie who is 3 years old, her name is Luna. I really need your help. Luna has been itchy and scratchy for the past 2 weeks. Just this week, it has got to it's worse! At first, I couldn't find any fleas on luna... all I would see is her constantly scratching. So I took her to the vet regardless, she was give a cortisone shot, an antihistamine shot, and put on antihistamine medication. The vet said it must be an allergy to something in the house, he too did not find any fleas!

Boy oh boy, were we WRONG! The next day I discovered a flea! Well, I kept looking and found another... and well another and another... soon after that I decided to give luna a flew bath and found 20+ fleas!!! I have no idea how or why we didn't see those suckers...well ever since then luna has received her montly frontline plus as well as the frontline spray, we've cleaned the house, put a fogger in the garage, flea bathed her 3 times, and still we discover at least 3 fleas a day!

Now she is constantly licking herself, in fact she has not stopped licking her skin the whole time that I have been writing this post. I really need your help, her hair seems to be falling off and I find little balls of hair everywhere. I really have no idea what else to do? should we shave her hair, bathe her every day? I'm really desperate here as I feel so terribly bad that all luna does is spend her day scratching herself... any suggestions are warmly welcomed!

- melissa

[patty58]

If you give her a bath in Dawn original, it will kill the fleas immediately. I have actually seen them fall off of Murfee. If they are in the house, I would suggest using flea bombs. Good luck.

[tortoisekeeper]

If you can find Bengal Flea spray for your house you can rid of them inside. I think they have a web site. It is made in Louisiana and a great product that I used many times when I had large dogs. So far in TN I have not had trouble with fleas. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Betty

[tortoisekeeper]

Here is the link to Bengal it works great. Bengal Full Season Flea Killer

Betty

[Crickettsmom]

Please do not use Dawn, it is harsh on their skin. Fleas die in water so any shampoo with kill the live ones. It is the eggs that need to be killed also. You need a good flea shampoo, vaccum and wash any kind of fabric around the house that the fleas could have layed eggs. Throw the vaccum bag away after you vaccum, they can escape from the bag. There is a dog safe spray you can get at premium pet stores or from the vet that you can spray on the carpet and furniture after you have vaccumed that will help get the eggs that you might have missed. Fleas are hard to get rid of and you might want to consider getting a professional to come out to help. Sorry you are having this problem. I hope things get better.

[JeanieK]

Originally Posted by Crickettsmom

Please do not use Dawn, it is harsh on their skin. Fleas die in water so any shampoo with kill the live ones. It is the eggs that need to be killed also. You need a good flea shampoo, vaccum and wash any kind of fabric around the house that the fleas could have layed eggs. Throw the vaccum bag away after you vaccum, they can escape from the bag. There is a dog safe spray you can get at premium pet stores or from the vet that you can spray on the carpet and furniture after you have vaccumed that will help get the eggs that you might have missed. Fleas are hard to get rid of and you might want to consider getting a professional to come out to help. Sorry you are having this problem. I hope things get better.

I'm sorry but fleas do not die in water, they form an oil sack around themslves and that is why dawn dish soap works. I personally have used it on my dogs and know that it does indeed work. It takes a lot of rinsing to make sure that you get all of the soap out and then a good conditioner will help.

As to the OP's concern of the licking. It takes a while for them to stop itching even after the fleas are gone, and some dogs develop an alergy to the flea bites and will continue to scratch long after the fleas are gone. soe scratch so much that they then develop dermatitus on their skin, which causes even more problems.

[Pettysmith]

If you are using Frontline or Frontline Plus and are using any human shampoo, Dawn, or any flea shampoo you are washing the Frontline off and it will not work. You need to use a mild aloe/oatmeal good pet shampoo recommended by your vet to keep these products working like they are supposed to. As was posted early, if they have flea bites, are allergic, it will take them a little while to feel better. Sometimes they need antibiotics and antihistamines to heal.

[labrown]

To the OP, I FULLY understand what you are feeling. I could just put my dog Tina's name in for yours and we would have the same story. We use dawn, but it doesn't kill ALL the fleas. And we give our dogs Sentinel which stops the cycle of fleas, but not on your bedding and in your carpet. And we vaccuum and wash our/the pups' bedding frequently. It is just overwhelming, and we haven't found much help from our vet either. We tried Capstar once to no avail, as well. Hope someone has some answers. I have searched and searched this site for flea remedies, and I know I haven't tried them all, but it is quite overwhelming. Best of luck!

[CupofDog]

Have you considered switching her diet? Diet has a lot to do with flea infestation in my experience. I would make sure she is eating something all natural, either Life's Abundance or a pre-made raw formula like Primal. This will also help her heal from bites when she does get bit. Frontline is not in anyway one hundred percent effective. You have to boost her immune system through her diet. I also reccomend flea combing once or twice a day to see if anything is on her and if you find anything, right to the bath! I prefer a sensitive skin, oatmeal formula. To kill the fleas, you can add a few drops of Critter Oil or tea tree oil to her shampoo. Good luck!

[mazie]

I'm really startint to relate to what you all are saying. I have used advatage when I had 2 poodles and we were infested and after one treatment they were all gone and then we only put it on when we saw a flea and that was not very often. Now that I have a yorkie I thought I would do the same so I got advantage and used one and the first week I thought it had worked and then I started seeing fleas. The next month I put it on again and within a couple of days the fleas were back so I asked the vet and she said I could use it every 3 weeks so I bought stuff to do the beding and carpets generally everywhere she is because by this time the fleas are starting to jump on us. I do that and still nothing is working so I use another advantage and still a couple of days later they are back. I gave her a bath today and it seemed like 20 came off of her and they were all alive and kicking. My problem is I'm afraid I going to put it on to often or use to much? I bought a flea collar but I didn't put it on her because it said not to use it if you've used something else in the last 30 days. Can anyone tell me if its okay to use like advantage with a flea collar or to use flea shampoo? How much is to much?

[bailey12]

Hi all. Have you tried using nematodes in your yard? They are microscopic organisms that eat flea larvae. They are purchased in a sponge and watered into the yard. I don't have a problem with fleas. I use frontline in the warmer months since we go to the park, etc., but I've had great success with the nematodes. I'm a little "crunchy", and I do prefer a non chemical solution when possible Juliet

[mazie]

Where do you get that?

[FunkyMunkie]

Thank you all for replying!! I keep trying everything that I have heard, without trying to act in desperation and do too much, but like one of you mentioned, what exactly is too much??? especially when there are fleas EVERYWHERE and your poor dog is constantly biting and turning red!

...but anyways, hehe, I do think that maybe, just maybe we are turning the corner here.

I have always bathed luna in tea tree oil, so I felt really good when on of the posts mentioned how that is good for getting rid of fleas! i am really treating the house now, more than Luna because I see that she really doesn't have fleas after I bathe her, until she's running around the house again... so as we speak I have her bathed and quartined in one of our bathrooms, which *cross my fingers* seems flea free!

I would really like to know your input on house product, since it seems as though Luna is finally starting to feel a bit more relieved. I have heard great things about Adam's foggers, I just don't know how much of that stuff to use and if it's really that effective... suggestions??

thanks again!

[FunkyMunkie]

oh yes, and were can I buy nematodes, sounds marvelous!