Until last week when we stayed at a hotel with dogs, we have never had a flea problem on a dog or in the house. All of our dogs have been on Trifexis or similar for the last 20 years. They didn’t go to dog parks because they have their own private dog park in the back 40. They stay home alot, or stay in our vehicles. When they go in public they rarely get within 10 feet of another dog. Because of all this, there were no flea problems. I would not have recognized a flea problem unless a dog was suddenly scratching and I actually saw fleas. Now I know better.
Last week when we stayed in a hotel. One of the dogs developed minor hot spots. He was licking his paws and scratching. I decided it was probably some sort of an allergy, possibly due a change in dog food 5 weeks before. I washed both dogs in oatmeal shampoo. It did nothing…so I made an appointment a vet and took him in. FLEAS! The problem was fleas! I am completely icked out about this! Now I know what that rash was on my lower legs, and it wasn’t a rash from some grass touching my legs. Ewwww! I was under the impression that Trifexis prevented fleas from attacking dogs, but it doesn’t. The fleas have to bite the dog on Trifexis. Then the fleas die in 30 minutes to 4 hours. In a closed environment with dogs on Trifexis (like how ours was until we stayed at the hotel), adult fleas die off before they can breed and produce eggs. This prevents flea infestation in both your house and on your dog…if they do not come in contact with a heavy load of fleas that jump aboard and attack them. The vet prescribed a few week’s worths of Apoquel to stop the itching. I also decided to purchase four vials of First Shield Trio topical flea repellant. The vet recommended that I hold off on washing him with flea shampoo, due to his irritated skin and mildly hot spots, so I did.
Somewhere inside, outside, or at both of the hotel, we must have encountered fleas. We only ventured to the dog potty spot twice in the first few days. It was so gross, we moved their potty business en route on their daily walks. The itchy, paw licking, hot spot dog was started on Apoquel and given a dose of topical First Shield Trio. He was still itching! I could see half dead fleas on the white hotel bedding. Great! Plague carrying fleas are slowly spreading around the US. At this point, the other dog had also started scratching. I gave her a dose of topical First Shield Trio. She also continued to itch and was being attacked towards her tail. I started her on a tiny dosage of Claritin. I asked the guy at the front desk about if they do anything to manage fleas. He said he thought they treated each room between guests. (This did not sound right to me because there are flea treatments that last weeks or many months.). I was very disappointed that between the Trifexis, Apoquel and topical First Shield Trio…the first dog was still really unhappy. The second dog was on Trifexis, First Shield Trio, and Claritin, and she was also still getting bitten. I figured that the hotel room must have either already been infested or we brought them in from the outdoors and the room was now infested with fleas if both dogs were being attacked so readily around the clock. When we checked out of the hotel, I told the GM that I believed their hotel had a flea problem, and I told her what had happened because “I figured as a part-owner of the hotel, she’d want to know.”. It didn’t appear that way. Not as much as a thank you or sorry for the inconvenience. Nothing.
Both dogs were bathed with flea shampoo right after that and both stopped itching once their coats dried. So, what exactly happened here? Someone, please enlighten me about fleas and flea control. Was our hotel room or hallway infested before we got there? Did we acquire fleas while at the dog potty area the first few days of our stay, somewhere on our walks, and then they infested our hotel room and the dogs? What exactly did we do wrong in this situation? Trifexis only works after the fleas have bitten the dog. Did some fleas hitch a ride on the dogs and actually infest the room and lay eggs before dying by Trifexis death? Should we have bathed both dogs with flea shampoo prior to staying at a hotel and then would have had no problem?
What is your protocol to prevent flea infestations?
PS: As we were leaving, I heard the GM tell a front desk clerk that they had to call Orkin. This makes me think they do not have a flea preventative plan in place and treating the rooms between each guest does not actually happen.
PSS: How do people travelling with dogs prevent this from happening? After that experience, I am tempted to spray the next hotel room with flea killer.
