How to handle fleas and other parasities?

[Abigal7]

I will try to keep this short. My dog Patrick was licking and scratching his back side so I looked and seen his back end was red and breaking out. I took him to the vet that sees him and took his flea treatment with me incase it was a reaction to that. My dog weighed 13 pounds when I got him and now weighs a little over 15 pounds. Turns out the flea treatment only goes up to 15 pounds. Patrick was given a shot and I was given antibiotics to give him twice daily. I was also told to switch to Frontline Plus since it goes up to 22 pounds. We found no fleas on Patrick but the vet thinks he is having a reaction to fleas. I have not seen any fleas on the carpet or even on me. They think that is possible since I give him monthly flea treatments. Since a lot of you own cats and dogs too what can I do to make sure there is no fleas whatsoever in the house? I let the vet known I had a pet bird and asked if there was a chance fleas would attack it too. They did not think so but they suggested I look into taking measures to prevent my from bird getting mites. I see my avian vet tomorrow so I will ask about that. But I would also like to get some advice from you guys.

 

[goalerjones]

They are very small...I would try using tweezers.

 

[Merlee]

One way to know if you have fleas are the droppings left behind on the animal. Many things can encourage dogs to scratch like allergies from food and things in its environment. The description that you gave sounds like a reaction so you will have to do some detective work and see if there is a pattern to when the scratching occurs.

I have had flea infestations in the past and never worried about them on my birds.

 

[crimson]

if you want to use a treatment for mites, use Ivermectin. It is the best there is, it's more effective than Scatt, or any other product out there.

It will kill any mite, whether it's red, feather, scaly,air sac mites etc....just remember to do a course of treatment 3x's every 10 days.

 

[Merlee]

I think the OP needs to find out if she is dealing with any type of pests before prescribing anything. What can be done to find out?

 

[crimson]

I think consulting your vet goes without saying

 

[JerseyWendy]

This may sound like a dumb idea, but has worked for friends of ours: Place white sheets all over the place. It'll be easy to spot fleas on them.

 

[Mayden]

Ivermectin I'd vote for too if you get the option of treatment. But speak to vets first!

Your birds are unlikely to suffer from fleas - their bodies are entirely different (temperature, etc!) to dogs/cats/ours (mammals in general) and they "do not like" it. So will just keep harassing your dog instead, that's where the good stuff is for them.

You can get mite treatment for your birds (be VERY picky about that and if I ever catch anyone on this forum using any Bob Martin products I will come over there and slay you myself) but chances are they are not needed - but your vet might prescribe something precautionary.

Good luck, sounds like a reaction, so maybe your vet could recommend something that might soothe the poor guy?

Wendy, your dog had a bad time recently too with allergies or something wasn't it? Maybe you could suggest some things for helping with the skin itching! (Asides from abolishing the fleas themselves!)

 

[JerseyWendy]

Wendy, your dog had a bad time recently too with allergies or something wasn't it? Maybe you could suggest some things for helping with the skin itching! (Asides from abolishing the fleas themselves!)

Yes, he sure did. And all the supplements I'm giving him are still working wonders. A difference from night and day.

Here is my story of the itchy dog: http://www.parrotforums.com/nonfeathered-pets/34641-one-very-itchy-dog-no-more.html

 

[ruffledfeathers]

One of my dogs seemed to get fleas every summer. I also first spotted it by the way he seemed itchy and like he had "ants in his pants" and when I looked at his lower back, it was all red and raw. I also found flea dirt all over him when I looked very closely under his fur. That time I used K9 Advantix and they were gone and the problem just kind of went away. I never did have a problem with them in the house. When I saw any evidence of fleas or flea dirt on the dog, I treated him and washed all bedding/blankets, crate pads etc and it all seemed fine.
I also had him start wearing a Shoo Tag on his collar.
This year I have had no problems with fleas whatsoever---and I am wondering if it is the heartworm chew I am giving them now? I will have to check into that. They have been using this chew for a year now and I haven't treated once for fleas and no one has had a problem. If that's a fringe benefit of the chew, i'll take it!! Excellent.

 

[Boysmom]

A very easy, cheap, and safe way to get rid of fleas on a small dog is to wet the dog with warm water. Then take BLUE dawn dishwashing soap and generously lather the dogs coat. Really smather it on. Wrap in a towel and allow it to soak for 10 minutes. Rinse and you can pick all the dead fleas out. I don't know why but my vet said only the BLUE detergent works, but I used it on my 6 week old puppy and it worked miracles. All the fleas were dead and most just rinsed off, but I did take tweezers and pick a few out of the hair.

 

[Mayden]

A very easy, cheap, and safe way to get rid of fleas on a small dog is to wet the dog with warm water. Then take BLUE dawn dishwashing soap and generously lather the dogs coat. Really smather it on. Wrap in a towel and allow it to soak for 10 minutes. Rinse and you can pick all the dead fleas out. I don't know why but my vet said only the BLUE detergent works, but I used it on my 6 week old puppy and it worked miracles. All the fleas were dead and most just rinsed off, but I did take tweezers and pick a few out of the hair.

Wish we had Dawn in the UK. Has soooo many benefits to for animal skin/feather/fur problems.

Really could have used that when Merlin was all oiled up!

 

[Robinrae]

My dogs have had issues with fleas this year for the first time. I usually just use frontline plus once a month but this year have been having to alternate the frontline with advantage every 2 wks! The fleas apparently are getting resistant. My beagle is very sensitive to flea bites and if I am late on a dose she starts scratching. I have not seen fleas in house but the white sheet idea is a good one. Washing bedding important too.

 

[crimson]

we've had fleas on my daughters guinea pigs in the past month and a half.
Because they are 'her' animals she has been cleaning their cages and looking after them, she never noticed the fleas, and I went into her room one day to vacuum and holy crow I just about flipped!!

every cage was jumping with hundreds and hundreds of them!

we removed all the cages downstairs temporarily after they were thoroughly disinfected,outside, along with the pigs, then we dealt with her room. we purchased flea spray and did the carpet. it killed any remaining fleas that were in the carpet.

We also bought flea shampoo for kittens, and shampoo'd all the g.p.'s too.

I was worried I might transfer them to my birds but so far so good.
As for the fleas, we have the odd one now, but we seem to have it under control now.
that was crazy!

 

[Abigal7]

Ivermectin I'd vote for too if you get the option of treatment. But speak to vets first!

Your birds are unlikely to suffer from fleas - their bodies are entirely different (temperature, etc!) to dogs/cats/ours (mammals in general) and they "do not like" it. So will just keep harassing your dog instead, that's where the good stuff is for them.

You can get mite treatment for your birds (be VERY picky about that and if I ever catch anyone on this forum using any Bob Martin products I will come over there and slay you myself) but chances are they are not needed - but your vet might prescribe something precautionary.

Good luck, sounds like a reaction, so maybe your vet could recommend something that might soothe the poor guy?

Wendy, your dog had a bad time recently too with allergies or something wasn't it? Maybe you could suggest some things for helping with the skin itching! (Asides from abolishing the fleas themselves!)

The vet did give my dog a shot to help with the itching. I am also to give him twice a dose of Cephalexin. So hopefully it will work.

 

[Abigal7]

One of my dogs seemed to get fleas every summer. I also first spotted it by the way he seemed itchy and like he had "ants in his pants" and when I looked at his lower back, it was all red and raw. I also found flea dirt all over him when I looked very closely under his fur. That time I used K9 Advantix and they were gone and the problem just kind of went away. I never did have a problem with them in the house. When I saw any evidence of fleas or flea dirt on the dog, I treated him and washed all bedding/blankets, crate pads etc and it all seemed fine.
I also had him start wearing a Shoo Tag on his collar.
This year I have had no problems with fleas whatsoever---and I am wondering if it is the heartworm chew I am giving them now? I will have to check into that. They have been using this chew for a year now and I haven't treated once for fleas and no one has had a problem. If that's a fringe benefit of the chew, i'll take it!! Excellent.

I looked closely under Patrick's fur I think I see some flea dirt. Your description of your dog itching and his lower back being red and raw sounds like what my dog is going through.

 

[Abigal7]

I thought I would update and let everyone know the red breakout on Patrick's back end has cleared up. He does not scratch or lick as much as he was doing in the past. I even noticed he is more active (like his old self).

 

[MikeyTN]

I'm glad Patrick finally have some relief from all the itch and the red breakout. Thanks for the update!!!