Fleas...

[llevent]

I will start by saying I have never had a problem with fleas before. This spring, i moved to a new barn where people are allowed to bring their well behaved dogs. Well, one of those dogs had/has fleas, has brought them to the barn (which never had the issue before), and now all the other dogs have them. I think the fleas will survive up until winter, but what to do until then???

I have 3 JRT. I work/go to school all day and go to the barn after. I bring them along so they can play and get their exercise. I have tried everything: i give them flea baths every other day (with sergeant’s gold), frontline, vacuum, clean, do laundry, tried flea collars, even tried vacuuming my dog! (haha she was not impressed.) THEY WON’T GO AWAY.

I know a lot has to do with the fact that fleas are at the barn, so every time they go there, they get more, but they would be heartbroken if they couldn’t go to the barn.

Any suggestions as for as products or elimination techniques? Thanks.

[MunchingonHay]

if you are washing them every other day you could be washing off the front line, and giving them dry skin.

I have used in the past; program, confortis and the new one that came out tri…something or other.

I am not a fan of topical flea control and I have never had a collar that worked.

When you vacuum the house dont forget to get rid of the bag.

make sure every one is on a flea control cats included.

good luck I hope the temps drop where you are so the fleas die off.

[Horsegal984]

Go to Comfortis or Trifexis, and QUIT BATHING YOUR DOGS!!! If you go to one of those, the fleas will be dead before they have time to lay eggs. Also, spray the barn/your horses with fly spray every chance you get, as the pyrethrins in the spray will also kill fleas.

Oh, and while you don’t have to quit bathing them with Comfortis/Trifexis you won’t need to, and will save yourself a lot of hassle! Esp sine a flea shampoo has to soak for 10-15 min to be effective, and then it still only kills what is on them at that time! Some pups will vomit on the oral pill the first time or two, but I’d rather risk cleaning up some puke than having to bathe that often!

Oh, and if you have a bagless vacuum, put a cheap Hartz flea collar in the canister, and change it every couple cleanings!
Katherine
Vet Tech

[Philibuster]

When I worked for a vet 3 years ago (protocols may have changed since then), we were told to recommend advantage/advantix for dogs and advantage for cats. The vets weren’t paid to say that either lol, it’s what they used on their own animals. The fleas in the house will apparently all die off eventually when they jump to the medicated animals in search of food.
And fleas won’t die off in winter inside the house.

[equinelerium]

[QUOTE=Philibuster;5824797]

And fleas won’t die off in winter inside the house.[/QUOTE]

This would be what I’d be most concerned about. Once the fleas get into your house, they can be a HUGE pain to get rid of.

[oliverreed]

In addition to what others have said, sadly, I’d keep them away from the barn at least until you have their flea problem under control.

[Tornado_Run_Farm]

Flea Comb

What works well for me is a flea comb - $4 at Wal-Mart. While still outside, I just briskly comb through the hair - debris, hair and any fleas from the comb go directly into a wide mouth coffee container with Sevin dust. I just swish the container between “deposits” to make sure nothing jumps out. Both the dog & cats LOVE this short grooming session and I haven’t had a problem.

ETA: In addition to the other flea remendies, of course.

[Horsegal984]

Op- personally? If you switch to comfortis/trifexis I would take my animals to the barn every chance I got. While it may seem a little mean to know they’re going to get bitten, it will help tremendously to get the infestation taken care of there as well. Since the fleas die before laying eggs, the problem will resolve much faster than just not taking them. Otherwise, you may get bitten, OR the eggs may lay dormant until spring(flea eggs will not hatech until enviromental conditions say there is a meal nearby) and then your pups getting re-infested.

Katherine
Vet Tech

[tradewind]

Advantage is the best flea product out there…it does not offer tick control…Advantix kills both, but you MUST not use it if you have cats, even if you only put it on the dog…It is HIGHLY toxic to cats…If fleas and not ticks are your issue, use just the plain Advantage…they will be dead in 12 hours…If you have cats, treat them as well. Cats and fleas are a very happy mix. Vacum your house completely, sofas, chairs, baseboards etc…Then throw the bag out, or empty the canister outside…Fleas will jump right back out of the bag etc. Good luck…fleas are a complete PIA

[Horsegal984]

[QUOTE=tradewind;5831497]
Advantix kills both, but you MUST not use it if you have cats, even if you only put it on the dog…It is HIGHLY toxic to cats…[/QUOTE]

Actually, Advantix is only toxic to cats until it is dry, so like the first 12 hours. So if you need tick control for your dogs it is a perfectly viable option, as long as you can seperate your dogs from our cats for 12 hours once a month after applying. For us, we would just lock all the cats out of the bedroom for a night, and by the time morning rolled around the dogs were good to go again…

Katherine
Vet Tech

[irkenequine]

I’ve got 3 busy bodies that I take the the barn (which has a HORRIBLE flea problem) and my neighbors apparently are having a bad flea season–but not ONE of my dogs has had a bite all summer. Capstar to get rid of your problem initially, use a drop of dawn dish soap and a flea comb to kill existing fleas if you need them off NOW, then once theyre dry–2 days or so after (so the oils have replenished on the skin) you can apply topical Revolution or Advantage/Advantix/Advantage multi. OR, use some confortis. I have NEVER, EVER had a problem with ANY of these products if theyre used religiously every month. They WORK.

You could recommend some diatomaceous earth for the BO’s…its cheap as dirt for a tub of the stuff and you can sprinkle it around the barn and in your dog beds. I cna’t personally vouch for the stuff (and I think people over-exaggerate many of the things it can do) but a shelter I worked for fed it to their dogs every day in peanut butter and bread and didn’t have a single flea…impressive in a sandy southern area and 80+ dogs! Certainly cheaper shot than trying to convince BO to bomb the whole barn or something.

Good luck! Fleas are nasty characters

[SLW]

Given all that you are doing to your dog the one thing left is to ask the barn owner if you can spray a product around the barn premises that kills fleas. You should be spraying that around your home also.

[CVPeg]

[QUOTE=equinelerium;5825507]
This would be what I’d be most concerned about. Once the fleas get into your house, they can be a HUGE pain to get rid of.[/QUOTE]

I have had fleas brought into the house by visiting neighborhood cats in the yard. Got a bomb or two or three from the vet’s, followed the instructions (basically remove everything that can be exposed and affected - soft items, food stuffs, clothing, cover couches, etc). Then taken the gang for a drive for the day, and returned to a bombed out, but flealess house.

A pain for me since I am a packrat - but well worth the effort.

And it is more often the exposure to cats where you’ll find the fleas.

[Rivermeer]

This year is the worst I have ever seen for fleas!

[candysgirl]

First of all, I’m a dog groomer and I’ve seen more fleas this year than I’ve ever seen before. They’re ridiculous this year. I’m not sure why.

Secondly, when the patent ran out and Frontline went OTC, something changed and it is less effective. I’m not sure what or why, but the majority of the (otherwise perfectly well taken care of dogs) who have come in with fleas have been given Frontline. I used Frontline my Border collie’s whole life (he died last fall) and it worked well for him. I started my new poodle on it at the beginning of this flea season and it didn’t work.

I use Revolution on my poodle. We’re on 7 acres and he’s outside a lot. There are tons of fleas and ticks here (neighbors all have at least one dog and NOBODY treats for fleas in this small town). I rarely see a flea on him. If I do, its A flea or two and it never turns into an issue.

The added bonus with Revolution is that it actually gets into their hair and the shedded hairs retain some kind of flea repellent properties. I’m not sure how it works exactly, but that’s what my vet tells me. In any event, it seems to work quite well and I’ve not had a flea problem since I started using it. Before I started using it, my dog was CRAWLING with fleas within a couple of days of noticing the first one and I could tell they were in my house because I was getting bit. All I did was put the Revolution on him and waited a couple of weeks. Problem solved. I’ve religiously used it every month since and haven’t had any issues.

[tradewind]

I am a groomer as well, and it is a horrible flea year for sure…Must have been perfect flea breeding weather this year. I also agree that frontline ain’t what it used to be, and I never particularly liked it for fleas…IMO it is not as effective on ticks as it used to be. My vet by the way will not sell Advantix to any dog owner that has a cat in the house, regardless of the claim that is it only toxic until it dries. He has seen way to many problems with it in that situation.

[Kwill]

I have gone to the Comfortis internal medication, and I like it. However, for my older dog, when I gave it last time, she developed some problems that may or may not have been tied into the pill – the other two did just fine – so I am being overprotective and doing the topical for her. It’s funny, because I have been seeing a dermatologist for one of my dogs with allergies, and he did not suggest the Comfortis, but instead weekly baths and a spray that is toxic to cats (he thought the dog’s skin was too dry for the topical to work correctly). Obviously, that wasn’t working for me, even spraying him outside gave me the willies about my cats. Another vet suggested the internal medication, and I am glad they did. MUCH easier.

It’s a real shame about Frontline, I was a loyal customer until this year.