I did a dumbie! Sierra came complete with a full set of fleas and
instead of waiting until I could get her some of the really good flea
treatment, I used something I had from days of yore, probably Dakota's
youth as it was for a dog Sierra's size.

It wasn't the super good stuff but the over-the-counter stuff. Well, no
big surprise but it's not working up to par and she's almost comical
falling over herself to scratch an itch.

Here's where the big trouble comes in. It distracts her from training.
I'll give a command and she'll start to do it, and then whirl around to
attack a flea biting. I've now got some good stuff for her but as I
just treated her, I don't know the safety of treating her again so soon.

Here's a question. Prior to Dakota I'd always used Frontline Plus with
excellent results. I didn't even have to use it once a month on Gypsy
Rose as it kept her flea free much longer. I probably used it 3-4 times
a year and she was clean.

Dakota picked up a set of super-fleas the time I boarded her that did
not respond to the Frontline Plus, so I got some Advantage. Because the
Plus also covers ticks and Advantage does not, and from reading the
Advantage a bath washes it off where Frontline Plus did not seem to have
that problem, I started alternating. Every other month with each. That
solved the super-flea problem but unlike with Gypsy Rose, I've never
been able to skip a month with Dakota.

What do y'all use? Or as we say down he all y'all?

We're in the south so superbugs of every variety are the norm.

--
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Sharon Delarose said in
rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

Dakota picked up a set of super-fleas the time I boarded
her that did not respond to the Frontline Plus, so I got
some Advantage. Because the Plus also covers ticks and
Advantage does not, and from reading the Advantage a bath
washes it off where Frontline Plus did not seem to have
that problem, I started alternating.

Advantage is only intended for heartworm, but Advantage Multi
covers external parasites as well as HW. Like Frontline Plus,
it's applied topically and goes subcataneous in a day or so and
will not wash off after that.

What does your vet say about alternating the two meds?

--
--Matt.

In article ,
Matt wrote:

Advantage is only intended for heartworm, but Advantage Multi
covers external parasites as well as HW. Like Frontline Plus,
it's applied topically and goes subcataneous in a day or so and
will not wash off after that.

What does your vet say about alternating the two meds?

--
--Matt.

The Advantage I have is a topical flea treatment. It doesn't say
"multi". The box just says "Advantage" but the paper inside says
"Advantage 100". Okay, reading the details it does say that it remains
active even after a bath. Interesting. I wonder where I got the idea
otherwise.

I've changed vets several times so he doesn't know although I did ask
for both while there the other day and they didn't say anything about
that. As they only carried the one kind that's all I ended up with. We
go back soon for her spay and final shots so I will ask him then.

The first vet I really liked until I boarded Dakota and she came back
covered with fleas, hookworms and tapeworms, in addition to acting
totally beaten down. I expected some reaction from her due to her
history but this went beyond so we did not go back.

I had kind of a theory about what may have happened. We hadn't had her
long and did not know at that time that she would chew a blanket. They
asked me if I wanted her to have a blanket and I said yes. I guarantee
she destroyed it since we had the same experience with her shortly
after. I'm wondering if they yelled at her or smacked her, adding to
her trauma of being there. If you'd seen her when we picked her up you
would have cried so hard. It was awful.

The second vet did something that made me uncomfortable. I took Dakota
there last year for her routine shots and visit. I've never had them
take a dog out of the room and go in back and do things. I'd brought
them a fresh poop sample. They were pretty adept at how they took her
leash and led her away from me saying they needed to take her in back
for a quick something. I wasn't expecting that. When they brought her
back her whole rearend was wet halfway up her body and her bunghole was
bright red and irritated, more than just a vet with a quick finger
check.

I kept asking what they'd done but never got a straight answer. Had
they said they evicted her glands or something I would have understood
but they sidestepped my questions. Maybe it was routine for them but I
prefer the old-school vets. I felt that was uncalled for.

Dakota isn't up for her yearly yet and with the coming of Sierra, I'm
trying a new vet yet again. So far I like him. He is more old-school
and I liked how they handled Sierra and their overall approach.

The previous vet who did the backroom thing, they also want you to worm
your dogs several times a year even if they don't show positive. I
understand that they can pick up worms at any time but that seems
excessive, to continually add a poison just because. I do it with fleas
because they are so severe in the South it would be cruel not to and if
you don't, fleas are guaranteed.

None of our dog friends here live close enough to share a vet. Most of
our neighbors do not care for their dogs in the same manner that we do
so I wouldn't heed their advice. For example they let their dogs run
loose...

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"Matt" wrote in message
...

Sharon Delarose said in
rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

Dakota picked up a set of super-fleas the time I boarded
her that did not respond to the Frontline Plus, so I got
some Advantage. Because the Plus also covers ticks and
Advantage does not, and from reading the Advantage a bath
washes it off where Frontline Plus did not seem to have
that problem, I started alternating.

Advantage is only intended for heartworm, but Advantage Multi
covers external parasites as well as HW. Like Frontline Plus,
it's applied topically and goes subcataneous in a day or so and
will not wash off after that.

The regular Advantage we get here in CA is for fleas only, and does nothing
for Heartworm. Maybe you're thinking of something else?

"Wingnut" said in
rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

The regular Advantage we get here in CA is for fleas only,
and does nothing for Heartworm. Maybe you're thinking of
something else?

You're probably correct. We don't have HW here - I recall
moving to the Multi when I started traveling with my dogs.

--
--Matt.

"Sharon Delarose" wrote

I did a dumbie! Sierra came complete with a full set of fleas and
instead of waiting until I could get her some of the really good flea
treatment, I used something I had from days of yore, probably Dakota's
youth as it was for a dog Sierra's size.

It wasn't the super good stuff but the over-the-counter stuff.

Don't treat again until it's been a month but wash the dog. Head and
Shoulders (original) kills fleas and will keep killing for a few days. Many
other soaps will kill, but this one keeps killing for a bit and kills most
of the eggs. It's not only safer, it's both cheaper and more effective than
dog special products for the same job.

Advantix, frontline are decent brands. Don't use OTC stuff like hartz.
They have a high rate of sudden deadly aftereffects.

In article ,
"cshenk" wrote:

Don't treat again until it's been a month but wash the dog. Head and
Shoulders (original) kills fleas and will keep killing for a few days. Many
other soaps will kill, but this one keeps killing for a bit and kills most
of the eggs. It's not only safer, it's both cheaper and more effective than
dog special products for the same job.

Advantix, frontline are decent brands. Don't use OTC stuff like hartz.
They have a high rate of sudden deadly aftereffects.

Head and Shoulders, interesting! I know from past experience that the
flea shampoos don't work well. They seem to stun the fleas or slow them
down but not actually kill them.

When Dakota came back from boarding covered with superfleas and gave
them to Gypsy Rose, it took awhile to clear them up. They were so
severe that I would shampoo the dogs, and then spend an hour picking off
the "stunned" fleas.

I try to avoid poisons on the carpet or yard so as not to expose the
dogs. While we fertilize and weed kill our front yard, we don't in the
back. I had to make an exception for the superflea/tapeworm/hookworm
problem and treat the backyard with poisons. I hated that.

I've not tried Advantix. Or heard about the deadly aftereffect of OTC
flea treatments! I will have to research that. Wow.

--
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In article ,
"cshenk" wrote:

You'll possibly find a few after the head and shoulders but not many
'just stunned ones'. Soap up a good lather

Sierra got the H&S bath today. Dakota's turn tomorrow. Two baths in
one week for Sierra, she is so loving me right now!

--
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http://books.gityasome.com
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http://www.gityasome.com

"Sharon Delarose" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"cshenk" wrote:

You'll possibly find a few after the head and shoulders but not many
'just stunned ones'. Soap up a good lather

Sierra got the H&S bath today. Dakota's turn tomorrow. Two baths in
one week for Sierra, she is so loving me right now!

I'll be Char's proxy and provide the following links to natural flea control
measures. Certainly won't hurt to try them. This year Muttley has not had
any fleas and only a few ticks. Maybe the blizzards of February and the
record-breaking 100+ heat in the summer reduced their populations? Or maybe
it's been his partially raw diet of beef hearts, kidneys, and marrow bones?
http://eartheasy.com/live_natural_flea_control.html
http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIP...Prevention.php
http://www.vetinfo.com/best-flea-treatment-dogs.html

Paul and Muttley

In article ,
"Paul E. Schoen" wrote:

I'll be Char's proxy and provide the following links to natural flea control
measures. Certainly won't hurt to try them. This year Muttley has not had
any fleas and only a few ticks. Maybe the blizzards of February and the
record-breaking 100+ heat in the summer reduced their populations? Or maybe
it's been his partially raw diet of beef hearts, kidneys, and marrow bones?
http://eartheasy.com/live_natural_flea_control.html
http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIP...Prevention.php
http://www.vetinfo.com/best-flea-treatment-dogs.html

Paul and Muttley

LOL! Thank you, Paul. I hadn't heard of some of these such as the
apple cider and rosemary. I love the smell of rosemary!

We've had a weird weather year, too. In all my years down South
(originally a Yankee) I've never seen a freeze like we had this past
winter. The whole lake froze over. (Small subdivision lake of about 12
acres.) Dakota has been solid for a couple years in respecting the back
boundary and not going into the lake but with the weird freeze over we
didn't take a chance and took her out on a leash until it thawed. I did
not want to risk her attempting to walk on the ice and falling thru
somewhere out there.

We've had record breaking winters, heat, floods, rain, and draughts in
the past couple years. We went from severe draught to 100 year floods,
even through our subdivision. It's been crazy! We didn't see any
scorpions this year for the first time and wondered if it was the
weather pattern.

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