I have never used a flea topical on my dogs until the last two months when we travelled out west. I tried using Frontline Plus on both of them once while we were out west and when we got home a week ago. Since we got home I have found 2 fleas and one tick on Rocky and he is still scratching quite a bit so I don't know how effective it was in killing the fleas on him. I keep checking him all the time and I can't see any fleas so if he only has one or two fleas at a time, I suppose that is better then an infestation. We did go in a lot of campgrounds and hiking in a lot of woods where there were a lot of dogs and wild animals.

 

I hadn't used anything on my dogs in almost 3 years until this summer. I caught some feral kittens and brought them in the house to tame them... and they were just covered in fleas which soon infested my dogs.
After trying a few more natural methods I had to break down and give each dog one dose of Frontline. Fleas are gone and I haven't used anything since.

 

Frontline Plus on both of my dogs. I've found a few fleas and ticks now and then, especially when we go up to the mountains, but they were always dead or nearly dead by the time I spotted them (the bugs, not the dogs :wink.

 

Thanks everyone. I don't want to use anything on Aspen, but have to. He's got so much fur. If one flea jumps on him, it's so damn hard to find. I use K9 Advantix. If I don't use anything, I'm afraid of an infestation. Like I said earlier, he's got so much fur!

Hey Chowder, since your dog is a husky/chow, how did you keep him flea free in the past...?

Are flea topicals harmful to dogs...?

 

I have used Frontline Plus and K9 Advantix, but now I use Bio Spot On because it's cheaper and works just as well.

 

I have always tried to keep from using any chemicals on the dogs since I've had various dogs react to different drugs and chemicals. The flea topicals are suppose to be safe because they say it only gets into the dogs hair shafts but I prefer to be safe and use it as seldom as possible.

We have a fenced acre of land but we still have deer that jump over the fence and stray cats and assorted wildlife so we still get a LOT of ticks in the yard. Usually we spray the yard every spring with some kind of tick killer at least once and keep the dogs out of it until it rains. Sometimes we have to do it twice but that usually takes care of the tick problem. I haven't had any fleas in years until this year and I think we brought some of them back with us from one of the southern campgrounds we stayed in.

I have a theory that since my dogs eat a healthier diet they have a sort of natural resistance to fleas. It may be nonsense but my neighbors complained about fleas all last summer and even though I walked Rocky all over the neighborhood, I never had any flea problem at all. Even now I have only found two fleas on him, although as you know, it is really hard to find fleas in that thick hair!

One trick that i have found works really great to get rid of fleas and is all natural......

Place a nightlight in a low outlit near the floor. Then place a very shallow pan of water under it before you go to bed. During the night the fleas are attracted to the light and hop towards it. They land in the shallow pan of water and can't get out and drown. In the morning you will find a pan full of dead fleas and have used no chemicals. Just make sure the dogs don't drink all your water!

My son called me and said he had fleas hoping on his legs and I told him to do that. He didn't believe it would work but said that there must have been 50 fleas in the pan of water the next morning.

 

I don't like them, I hate the idea of puting poison on their skin, BUT... I also do not live in an area that fleas are a problem, so it's easy for me to say that, as I have flea-free dogs without using anything. Perhaps my mindset would change if I were actually faced with the problem.


That being said: I am curious to see if anyone has used any alternative methods (with success) for fleas. If so, what do they do? Sorry, I don't mean to hijack the thread!!!!!!:redface:

 

I don't mind one bit if you hijack the thread...I'de like to know too!!! :biggrin:

 

Do you really wanna know? :biggrin:

While this is fairly unconventional, it works and its WAY WAY WAY cheaper.

Absorbine Duramax fly spray. :smile:

It is meant for horses, but is equally effective for dogs. It repels and kills flies, fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, and we have even used it to keep ants out of our house! It is also waterproof.

The only downside it that it only lasts 14 days, but considering that it is usually less than $15 per 32 oz bottle which lasts one year between 3 dogs and 3 horses, I think it is something I can handle. :wink:

 

Here is a link to a webpage that talks about all the different flea controls and the advantages and disadvantages to each one. It includes the permethrin and pyrethroids that make up Absorbine Duraguard and most other spray on type insect sprays that you put directly on the animals. I still have Adams Flea Spray which uses Pyrethrin and for an immediate effect, you can't beat that ingredient for safety and effectiveness on fleas and ticks. It doesn't have much long term staying effect though. The ones with permethrin cannot be used on cats.

Ingredients in Flea & Tick Control Productsfor Dogs: Mode of Action, Use, and Safety

 

It includes the permethrin and pyrethroids that make up Absorbine Duraguard and most other spray on type insect sprays that you put directly on the animals.

Tiny error there. Permethrin is a type of pyrethroid. It contains mostly permethrin and pyrethrin (the same active ingredient in Adam's). There is also N-octyl bicycloheptene dicarboximide, but by itself, it does squat in terms of pesticidal activity. It works together with permethrin and pyrethrin to make them more effective than they would be other.

 

Do you guys think I should be applying flea topicals in the winter...?

 

I don't unless there are special circumstances, like visiting places that I know have a high population of dogs or other critters with questionable veterinarian care.

Same for the horses.

 

Well, there's opposums and cats nearby...so maybe I have to...ugh!

 

I have seen people on other boards claim great success with Diatomaceous earth (food grade). You sprinkle it on your dogs, carpets, and furniture. I have never used it but many people swear by it. I've been thinking of trying it. Maybe next year.

 

I wonder why that would work. It's just the shells of itty bitty sea critters. Maybe because they are spiky on a microscopic level?

My only concern with that would be that one has to be very careful with it since it can be very, very irritating to the lungs since it is such a fine powder. It actually is small enough to get past the natural air filtering blockages set up by your body and irritates your lungs' aveoli.

As a TA, I had to set up an experiment that used DE. Woo! That was painful!

 

This is a little off of the topical section, but still about fleas. My next door neighbor uses Frontline Plus and Program together for his two black labs. Is he (I don't know if this is the correct word) over-medicating them...?

 

It depends.

At once? Yes and it could be detrimental to the dogs in their are chemical interactions

In rotation? Maybe.

 

DE works by serrating the exoskeleton of fleas and basically EVERY other type of insect it comes in contact with, thus slowly dehydrating them- then they die. It isn't immediate. I have heard of people swearing by it too. However it did not seem to work on my dogs, perhaps it was just taking too long for them to die. I did sprinkle it in my carpets. It may have helped there as my carpets never got infested, only found them on the dogs.
You do have to be careful applying it. I would recommend wearing a dust mask until the dust settles. I did not wear one and it made my throat sore and swollen from the irritation. However, it is completely safe to humans and pets once the dust settles.

 

Ok...so we have found 1...just 1 flea on 1 of our dogs a couple times throughout the summer.

Who ever finds just 1 flea?!?!? Really?!?!? I thought it was "If you find one, you find a million." We were beside ourselves...

I have never used flea and tick repellents on my dogs, no real reason to here in CO. Until I started finding 1 flippin' flea, I considered it, but now that its like 9 degrees outside right now...I'm not too worried. Global warming sucks LOL :tongue:

If it comes down to needing something I guess I will need to do some research!

 

I use Vectra 3D from the vet. Its expensive, but I used it srpring & fall so far ! Seems to work very effectively!
I use it for ticks which are really just discusting and out here they are all over! So this works the best for me!

 

I've used Frontline Plus in the past, but it makes me nervous ever since I placed the cap on a table while I was medicating one of the dogs and it ate a hole in the varnish. It was on there less than a minute too....

So now I'm trying to find natural repellents but haven't had much luck. One of my dogs has flea dermatitis and gets super itchy and red if even one flea bites her. I check them for fleas religiously, but somehow they seem to find her even though I can't find a flea on her. My worry is she's picking them up when she goes to my parents house for "daycare." They have a dog (who definitely has fleas, I've seen them) and 6 cats. So, I'm guessing they are biting her even though I'm not finding them. Hopefully this cold weather will kill them off.