Fleas

I recently got a tablet to give the dog orally from the vet. It cost about £8 and needs repeating monthly.I just do it for the flea season August to
October and it works really well.

The last treatment they did just over a week ago was a pill, but I don't know if it was from the vet. They can't use another pill for at least three weeks. I was wondering if a shampoo would be alright in the meantime.

I only know about cats, but the flea treatments you can buy over the counter are generally not much good. Often it's because the fleas have built up an immunity to that drug. The most effective sadly cost more and are obtained from your vet. Usually need doing every 4 weeks or more. Sorry can't help more. If you knew what he'd last been given and when, you could ask vet for advice.

My mum took her dog to the vet couple of days ago and yes she has fleas but not many. He gave her one pill,it's chewable and lasts 12 weeks which is great. She's already stopped scratching. We had bought cheaper over the counter pills but they really don't work so well.
The only downside to this is the price , £31 , gulp.

Frontline and other topical treatments seemed to lose their oomph a year or two back. Perhaps the mild winters are to blame too. I changed to Nexgard tablets for Grace - packs of 3, 1 every 4 weeks and they were wonderful. I had spent a fortune on room sprays which I didn't altogether trust anyway. Others speak highly of Advocate (?)
Ask the receptionist at your vets. They know everything!!

I thiml mine wad Nexgard too.

We have used the collars this year and found them effective. There are a lot of ticks here and the collars seem to stop them too. Only use them until the end of Oct though, think you can probably leave them on all the time. Our cat has a tablet from the vet.

I was quite relieved to read this thread as my D took her cavachon puppy for his first grooming on Thursday and she told me the groomer had had to give him a flea bath first as he had the little blighters. I was thinking, Oh the shame!!
I assume from the posts that a bath is not really effective.
It cost an extra £5.

annesixty your daughter needs to get flea treatment from her vet. As its only a puppy most of the vet treatments will work well but as the years go by sometimes the treatment stops working and you have to change brands.
Because my mother is elderly and forgetful, the 12 week treatment works very well for her.
No shame annesixty , fleas are part of life but prevention is the way forward.

That made me smile Izzy
I assume it is your mother's dog who has the fleas and not your Mother? ?

Haha you're very sharp this early in the morning annesixty !
Yes it is the dog much to her horror ?

My daughter treated her dog and cat with frontline, which she has always used. The cats hair fell out where it was applied, and the dog is still scratching.

We have given up on Frontline and get any treatment now from the Vet 3 months supply for £21.00 no sign of any visitors for over 12mths now so well worth the money,I also spray her bedding with Bob Martins Clear Spray just in case she brings anything indoors.Cat gets the same treatment now he is allowed out in the garden and playing with other cats who come to visit.

That sounds like the one we get, Nexgard, a meaty flavoured chewy thing. It needs a prescription.
We had fleas once but it was from a cat, it was a nightmare!

I use Advantage (a good one from Bayer) every month on cat and dog yet my dog has had masses of fleas this summer. I got a household spray from the vet but it warns that you may see fleas for 3 more months because nothing kills the pupae.
I've spent a small fortune and have hoovered the entire house over and over again and dog STILL has live fleas. I just hope they will gradually disappear after all my treatments.

I've used advantage on my cats, and it hasn't been so effective as before.

Our local cat protection branch use stronghold. Only available from vet. So I may try that next time.

If only all the manufacturers of dog pills or tablets could use whatever flavouring they put in Nexgard! Gracie used to regard them as a TREAT but anything else had to be ground up and disguised in best chicken liver pâté (and still spat out)

The vet is the only way to go with flea treatments. I had a cat forty years ago who shared fleas - treatments weren't as effective then, never again, my dogs are treated to flea worm and tick treatments from the vet. Expensive and no doubt full of chemicals but tea tree oil isn't as effective

Thanks all. They came round this afternoon having given the poor dog a thorough bath with anti-flea shampoo after bathing him yesterday - Head and Shoulders! that being all that was to hand - and sprayed the whole house with anti-flea spray. The dog looks like a puff ball, but isn't scratching so much! Maybe Head and Shoulders is the answer!

Is Nexgard only available from the vet?

We use Advocate, but not as often as the instructions direct because we're concerned that there might be a cumulative toxic effect on our dog. Anyway, it works pretty well.

They've bought some pills and a spray from the vet for £28! (Fibrotec?). Hopefully it'll work, the poor dog has scratched himself raw.

Nfk I do hope he has some relief quickly as it is so distressing to see them scratching,I know they have shampooed him in Head & Shoulders and off topic a wee bit but my DD cannot use it as she will claw at her head for days after.

Update. Poor dog seems to be scratching less - but only managed to keep the pill down for less than two hours. Luckily the vet did say it would start to work in about an hour. Vet also said being sick was a side effect which affected a lot of dogs but didn't think to warn them beforehand, and then said further treatment would be charged for. They've decided to wait and see if the pill had time to work. They're now fumigating the house!

What an unsympathetic Vet he should have warned of the side effects first time they spoke,he would probably charge another £20+ consultancy fee I imagine.At least Dick Turpin wore a mask.