Corgi Forums

Fargo06 · **Fleas -** 06-05-2006, 11:38 AM

Fargo and I are having a little trouble battling the fleas. Last month we went to the vet and got a sample of Advantage which I placed on him the next day. Since then I haven't really noticed any until yesterday when I saw a couple on him. I know there are more and I hate the fact of that. I have a feeling that it has a lot to do with the fact that we live in an apartment currently and the area outside is visited by many other dogs probably. Does anyone know of a good flea shampoo that I can use on a 3 month old puppy? We are due for another shot on Thursday and I will be reapplying more Advantage but I'm not sure this will do the trick. Luckily we are moving into a house soon

Let me know if you have any ideas for these pesty critters. Thanks!

Chip's Mom · 06-05-2006, 12:43 PM

I would not mix the 2 - flea shampoo and the advantage. My previous dog had a bad reaction to that when my daughter applied one kind and my husband not knowing applied the second. They say Dawn dish detergent will kill fleas. Use a small amount and rinse well. They are supposed to drop off dead. Good Luck

Fargo06 · 06-05-2006, 12:58 PM

Okay, that sounds like a good idea. I just hate the thought of him having to itch all the time at them. Ugh, let alone having them in the apartment. Thanks!

Fluffypants · 06-05-2006, 01:02 PM

Make sure you wash and / or spray EVERYTHING when you move! Don't want those little buggers hitching a ride!

Michael Romanos · 06:16 PM

I can only say that Frontline s superior to Advantage but the latter should still work effectively(for a shorter period)) as long as it was correctly applied and no bathing or swimming was undertaken by your Corgi within the timeframe specified.

KatC · 06-05-2006, 05:59 PM

Even though you are moving soon I would suggest using an aerosol flea bomb for the apartment now. They are so inexpensive and easy to use. I find them a great help when we have flea problems. No worries then with the nasties lurking in the carpets etc. Good immediate results, then takes a week or two to completely eradicate the eggs. This protection remains in the house for many months.

Michael Romanos · 02:37 AM

When I moved into my present home, there was a terrible flea problem in the downstairs bedrooms. We had no dog then but we did have a rabbit. However my wife brought some dog flea spray and lightly sprayed the carpet in the three rooms on a daily basis and within a week all flea biting ceased and we have never had flea problems since.

darci · 06-05-2006, 07:55 PM

I second Michael on the fronline plus, would try that next time instead of Advantage.
I used Advantage several yrs ago and didnt work well at all.

woogiebear · 06-07-2006, 08:55 AM

I recently had a terrible flea catastrophie at my house after letting my sister and her cat come stay. The cat was infested beyond anything I have ever seen before and although she was kept separated from the rest of the house, the fleas made thier way there via my pets playing with hers under the door.

At the time I did not have Spoilt yet, but I did have Rotten and my 3 cats: Mallowmar, Woogiebear and Scatty. All were affected by the flea infestation terribly. I live in Houston and it is HOT down here which does not help matters.

I started by setting off a flea bomb in that room where her cat stayed. I used a local spray throughout the rest of the house as I could not remove all the pets from the house at one time. This enabled me to treat parts of the house at a time by rendering the pets to the other side of the house till the spray dried, and I mopped afterwards.

I then bathed all the animals. Then I started them all on Frontline Plus. One thing to remember though is the cycle of the flea. Fleas do not breed in the carpet as alot of people think. Flea eggs may drop off the pet onto the carpet and subsequently hatch, but must find a host right away as they live on blood. So they hop a ride on any available animal or person so they can feed. The Frontline (which I have had much better results with than Advantage) more or less kills off the fleas by attacking the flea cycle. You will see fleas occassionally that have survived one or another stage BUT eventually they will all die off. It takes a good solid 3 months I think to be rid of all stages of fleas in your home and on your pets. I didn't believe it at first but after much research and prompting from the company representative, I am finding it out to be true.

I am having extremely good progress with the Frontline Plus. I see fewer and fewer fleas each week. Remember that with Frontline Plus you CAN bathe the dog, but no more than once a week. Otherwise it WILL affect the medicine if bathed more. I would also in between times (cause I felt so bad the little babies were scratching so much) use a flea comb on Rotten. The cats were not as happy about this LOL....but the dog got to where he liked it. I would have a bowl of hot soapy water on the coffee table and lie him out on the couch on a sheet. I would then slowly comb through his fur and deposit any found fleas into the bowl of soapy water. The soap kills them and the dog found it relaxing.

Good luck!

Fargo06 · 06-07-2006, 09:23 AM

Thanks for all your information. Yesterday, I gave him a bath with dish soap which took off a few fleas. He looks much cleaner now

I have been using Advantage on him and the vet recommended that I use it about every 2-3 weeks because the fleas are horrible here right now. It is very hot right now. I also live in the woods which definitely does not help matters. The vet recommends Advantage because with Frontline they told me, and I've heard, that the flea actually has to bite the dog for it to die which doesn't help the scratching. With Advantage, once they come in contact with it, they die. Thankfully Fargo's fleas haven't gotten out of control yet. One of my coworkers has them much worse. She has bites all over her ankles. Ugh! Hopefully we can rid them before it gets like that!

Chip's Mom · 06-07-2006, 09:23 AM

You can also get a pill from your Vet that is administered one time and only lasts 24 hours but will kill all fleas on the animal. You can administer the Frontline Plus at the same time so by the time the 24 hours are up, Frontline Plus should have kicked in and the fleas on the animal are gone. Fortunately, we haven't had fleas too often at our house.

Michael Romanos · 06-08-2006, 02:42 AM

FargoO6 - How could a flea not resist biting into any plump and ripe Corgi?

tandemgal · 06-08-2006, 03:34 AM

Fargo,
When you move to your new home you might think about spraying the yard. My hubby bought some outdoor flea killer at Lowes in the pest department. Has used it the past two years and it is a great 2nd defense along with the Frontline.