Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
What is the best way to rid a dog of fleas?
By jackie from Antioch, TN
If you dog has long fur and is matted; fleas will manifest in this. I suggest grooming a long haired dog short and bathing it well. Use Frontline TopSpot at early sign of spring (April). Thereafter, apply monthly (My dog's treatment is not that often, but they are inhouse pets and still haven't shown any signs of fleas) You can get a flea zapping comb that works well and kills them the minute it touches but doesn't harm the pet. I bought one at Jefferspet.com and they don't cost that much; use regularly if you don't intend on flea treatment.
First of all bathe your dog in Dawn dishwashing detergent. This will kill the fleas immediately. Then rub the dog down with sage. Fleas for some reason hate the smell of this herb.
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Can someone please help us with our flea problem? They are attacking our dogs.
By Me from Southern CA
Do an internet search on diatomaceous earth, not the pool kind, for preventing fleas. Brewers yeast is also used in preventing fleas.
Sprinkle salt all over the house or baking soda. I like salt. I put it everywhere and let it sit, then vacuum up. Do this two weeks later too, and then if you see any. Vacuum the house all the time and empty the bag or keep a flea collar in the bag, not on the pet!
Severely allergic dogs do well being bathed in Dove soap, the kind that is a quarter moisturizing cream. I bath mine every time they get dry skin or seem to not be able to stop scratching,
If you need to kill a large infection of fleas of your dog, or cat then use a shampoo and peroxide mixed up in your hand. I use Dawn on really bad cases, let it sit a few minutes if you can and rinse. I would not add the peroxide to the Dawn. I do the Dawn treatment for kittens, but almost any kind of bath will work. Then I comb through them all the time with a lice comb or a flea comb and put the fleas in a bowl of hot water to drown in.
Also treat the skin of the dog. Either give him fish oil pills or a little olive oil, 1 tablespoon for big dogs less for little dogs, most of them will lick it off the spoon. I do this every day.
When I have leftover meat, that is good for dogs such as hamburger, chicken, etc. I mix it with a few good vegetables and then put a few drops of vitamin drops for infants in it and add mayonnaise, and a little oil and sometimes oatmeal and mix it up. Most dog foods do not have enough meat in them that the average person can afford. When their skin is better the flea problem will improve.
If they are outside and I am sure they are, spray the yard. Benadryl is necessary for dogs that have lots of hot spots and I would look at the food and diet and oils and such. If they are getting the wrong food, it can cause allergies to show themselves in the skin. Any dog food without meat as the first ingredient isn't the best food in the world and who can afford to buy Authority? I do buy small bags of Authority and give those as treats, and don't give the garbage treats that they sell as treats.
I have heard that Frontline has changed owners and the new stuff is awful. I know for a fact it stopped working on my dogs. I was really disappointed. There is also a pill that kills fleas in 24 hours and another one that kills them for a month, Comfortis I believe. Hope this helps! (12/14/2009)
By Robyn Fed
I use garlic pills; either force them down or open capsule and mix with food. (12/14/2009)
By Kathy
I really don't see how this can be a problem these days. Once a month treatment with Advantage or Frontline will take care of it so why worry? If the dog is covered with fleas there is a product the vet can give you that is a pill. The dog swallows it and within six hours all the fleas die and drop off. This product is safe. Then a once a month treatment with Advantage (my favorite) or Frontline will keep them off. Medicated shampoo will help the bites to heal because this take a while and the dog will continue scratching until they do. (12/18/2009)
By Lilac
How can I get rid of fleas on my dogs?
By jamie from Savannah, NY
In 37 years as a pet care provider, the best way to control fleas are the spot-on treatments that have become popular and available since 1996, Advantage or Frontline. Frontline now offers Frontline Plus, and it is the only thing I use anymore. Flea collars on cats can cause cats to have seizures, who knows what they do to dogs, because I have not used them in decades. As far as the other flea control products on the market,
I really feel you are just wasting your money, unless you have "hundreds" of fleas on your pet and they are running out of blood meals to feed on your pet and are jumping on you. If that is the case, Adams makes a really good flea shampoo and dip to get rid of them on your pet 24 hours before you apply the Frontline. However, let me tell you how Frontline works so you will see that everything else is not necessary: You apply the Frontline in between your dogs shoulder-blades for an inch or two.
From that point on the Frontline solution begins to saturate your pet through their sebatious glands of their skin and within 24 hours most, if not all, of the fleas on your pet should be dead, the rest within 48 hours. Fleas need to feed off your pet with a blood meal, which they get by biting your pet. At that point, when they bite your pet, the Frontline attacks their central nervous system and paralyzes them and they die. They never get the chance to lay any more eggs for any more fleas to reinfest your pet.
The fleas in your house, furniture, carpeting, bedding, etc. will need to jump on your pet to feed and again, they will die. So, as long as you keep a tube of Frontline on your pet "consistently" every month during flea season (typically from March to November in the north) your flea problem will go away. So, I really think you would just be throwing money away to invest in carpet powders, shampoos, bombs, flea collars (that don't work that well anyway), etc., when one product will work for you. Go to your vet and get a tube every month (or a box of 3 or 6, whichever you can afford). (08/22/2009)
By Sue Williams
Hands down the best product out there is Advantage (or if you also have a tick problem, Advantix). Nothing else works as quickly and completely as this does. The fleas will be dead and gone within 24 hours. (08/26/2009)
I treat my dogs and cats to a meal of raw beef or pork liver from time to time and they never have any parasites. When I started doing that it got rid of the mites and fleas they had. (08/26/2009)
By Regina
Tried and true methods are feed your dog some brewers yeast in small amounts (mixed in with their food) and put just a touch of vinegar in their water. Fleas hate the products effect on their hosts blood so they don't stay on. Works the same for cats, too. (08/26/2009)
Hello I am looking for a helpful hint on how to eradicate fleas on my dogs who play outside but sleep indoors. thanks and peace
