Beside myself....

[MikkelPaige]

My dog has FLEAS. I grew up with an adorable bichon who NEVER had ticks, fleas....anything. Maybe it was where I lived?

Now I live in Florida and have a golden retriever/yellow lab mix who I love dearly but she's had ticks....and now FLEAS. I'm really beside myself. I'm going to target to see what I can buy and she's certainly not sleeping in our bed but I'm just devistated.

I am obviously going to wash all the sheets, vacuum like crazy and do anything I can (including a groomer appointment first thing in the morning) but has anyone had this problem? I feel so gross!! And I feel embarassed my dog even has them!

[Becca Bonneville]

Oh nothing to be embarrassed about! Dogs get fleas. Some areas are worse than others. I don't have a dog now, but growing up we had a dog who got them and the poor thing was allergic to them. It was terrible.

[lauren grier]

lol it's not your fault-- and you shouldn't feel gross about it She could have gotten them from the grass outside


I wouldn't get any of the flea meds @ target. I'd stick to like advantage and such. You can get them pretty cheap @ 1800petmeds.com

[meems]

oh no . . . I hope they're not too hard to get rid of.

[SamaraGugler]

We are very lucky. We live in an area that doesn't have fleas or ticks.

[BrattyMeg]

Check with the vet too..my vet matches prices from 1800petmeds b/c they would rather us buy them from there than order online.

No reason to be embarrassed. Dogs get fleas..esp in humid florida they are abundant there so don't be upset that she got them. I would definitely get her a dip at the vet and a good flea collar and prevention med for them.

Good luck

[Stacey42]

Fleas are a common problem. Sometimes the flea meds you are using wear off sooner than you expect. Some years the flea population is larger than usual & some get through the meds. You might want to look into flea bombs or a flea spray for your house. Just washing & vacuuming might not be effective enough. We've used a brand called Enforcer in the past. It's a spray & is good for local infestations. Spray it everywhere then wait 3 days and spray again. If you still have the fleas after that look for the Raid flea bombs. You have to shut up the house, turn off the a/c & leave for 4 hours but it is very effective & leaves no residue.

We have indoor/outdoor cats & despite flea meds, flea collars, flea baths etc, we usually end up with one dose of them in mid summer.

[newfiemountiewife]

Our cat got them one year, I washed the clothes, vaccuumed, and got Advantage. It worked right away.

Fleas are just a fact with a lot of animals! Good luck and don't be embarrassed!

[Jennilyn]

I'm sorry Mikkel...fleas suck! We've had them in our house when I was a kid and it's not fun. Just get some pills for your dog to take and hopefully it'll be better soon!

[rachal73]

Mikkel, one of the best treatments you'll ever get is Frontline. It costs a little more than the normal flea treatment but Frontline is absorbed through the skin of the dog (you apply it on to the skin where his head and body meet) and you can wash the dog 24 hours after applying the frontline as by then it's fully absorbed into the skin. Then the flea comes along, bites the dogs skin and bam.......it sucks up the frontline. Fleas also hate sunlight so get some flea rinse (just some cheap stuff), mix it with water and spray under the lounge, beds and anywhere else there's low traffic and no sunlight (fleas love warm, damp places and the eggs lay undisturbed until the most appropriate time to hatch). If you've got alot of sand at your house too, mix the flea rinse with water and put in a bucket and pour on the sand, and/or turn the sand around so the stuff on the bottom gets to the top which will kill fleas too (they really do hate sunlight).
I've been a vet nurse for the past 20 years so I hope that this helps some. And dont panic, fleas are so common. By the way, if you've just washed your dog, wait 24 - 48 hours before applying the Frontline because the frontline needs oils in the skin to work properly and as you know, washing strips away those oils. If you want any more info just yell, but i hope that's helped.

[rachal73]

Sorry, I forgot to mention that you can wash the dogs bedding in a bit of flea rinse too (but not frontline as it's a waste of the good stuff) to get rid of any eggs and fleas hanging about.

[scrappychic]

Nothing to be ashamed about, fleas are attracted to anything that sweats and has fur. I used Frontline or Advantage. I like Frontline better because it's water resistant. Advantage washes off. Give him a bath first though, and like rachal said wait 1-2 days before the treatment. Make sure you don't pet him while it's wet on his fur, I usually put it on at night before we go to bed.

[KayM]

Oh my goodness that is nothing to be embarrassed about. My dogs always have fleas! lol! I use Frontline, Advantage and I'm now trying a new one and even all of those won't do the trick in mid summer. I'm originally from Florida and we had fleas there too. Oh and I have a adorable Bichon! She's the one with fleas! hahahaha!!

[MikkelPaige]

Thank you everyone for calming me down! I actually applied Frontline on her today (before I determined she definitely had the fleas) so do you think I need to wait until tomorrow afternoon for her to get a flea bath? I made an appointment for her at the Petco groomer at 10am but now I think that maybe I need to wait until noon to make sure it's all absorbed?

I went to Target and got the flea and tick spray for the upholstry, the flea and tick powder for the carpet and 2 of the bombs for the "great room" and our bedroom.

2 more questions:
1) if I just do a normal wash/dry of her bedding and our bedding (she sleeps in our bed a lot) will that be good or I need to wash it in a special detergent?
2) My fiance seems to think, "Just because she has fleas doesn't mean you should panic about the rest of the house yet." and I TOTALLY disagree. I read on the internet (which I know can be evil sometimes) that if she has fleas chances are they're in the house. Opinions?

[chloe]

Originally Posted by MikkelPaige

1) if I just do a normal wash/dry of her bedding and our bedding (she sleeps in our bed a lot) will that be good or I need to wash it in a special detergent?
2) My fiance seems to think, "Just because she has fleas doesn't mean you should panic about the rest of the house yet." and I TOTALLY disagree. I read on the internet (which I know can be evil sometimes) that if she has fleas chances are they're in the house. Opinions?

You are right to take care of the whole house too, especially the bed. My first cat got some fleas outdoor and it took us quite a long time to notice, so they had a good chance to dispatch in the carpet, in the couch, and especially in the bed. DBF didn't attracted them but I got bitten big time, and we had trouble to completely get rid of them in the bed. Don't know if they go in the mattress, but that was a real PITA. Everything is easier now that our cat doesn't go outside, but I still freak out every time he itches! LOL

[pbumbaca]

It's nothing to be embarrasses about, fleas are outside and all it takes is one to jump on the dog and whammo! The best thing to do is use Frontline (or Advantage, I just prefer frontline) faithfully. You may want to get a bomb for your house tho, because if you left one after vacuuming you will have them again, sorry! bombing is easy, just set it to go off right before you leave the hosue for work, but make sure the dog or any animals are not in the house, maybe a neighbor could keep them for you, and it's done when you get home at night! Then you are sure to never have them again if you keep using the frontline or advantage.

Good luck!

[newfiemountiewife]

Mikkel, I would do the house too. I'm sure the dog goes everywhere, so they can jump off into the carpet. I am SO glad I have no carpet in this house, but my cat hasn't gotten them since we moved here.

[ajf9597]

Nothing to be embarrased about. I would ask the Petco groomer what they think about the time, they probably would have a better idea. Definately not a bad idea to treat the house, much easier to do it now as a preventive vs. finding out later that you have them and try to get rid of them.

[FireWolf]

I'd wait the extra time on the bath just to be sure and you should also get a good wormer, one that takes care of tape worms. Animals get the tape worms from the fleas so where there are fleas, there will be tape worms, eventually, but if you catch it early enough, which I think you have done, then it shouldn't be a problem.