# Fleas are back



## chrishawn416 (Sep 9, 2016)

We got our puppy Aug. 22. She went to the vet September 1st and they put the Advantage Flea topical on her. All the scratching stopped. I checked her out and looked like fleas were all gone. Now 17 days later she's scratching again... she has fleas again. Ugh. The topical is a 30 day treatment it said so I'm frustrated that it's only been 17 days and it's not working at all already. Anyone else have these issues and what do you use to keep fleas off your fur babies??


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Did they use Advantage or Advantage Multi?

The Multi includes heartworm medication so its a bit of a different case than a flea/tick only topical.

Not all topicals work in all areas, some areas have fleas that are getting resistant to the meds. If it was the flea only Advantage, you can re-treat the dog in less than a one month time frame in case of severe fleas. You also need to take care of treating the environment though-- a very very good cleaning of the house including vaccuming baseboards, behind couches, washing all washable rugs/curtains/blankets etc. 

Capstar is a one time fast acting flea killing pill that can be given in tangent with most topicals; it will knock out the current fleas to give you a head start on combating them.


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## NaimaandMe (Jul 18, 2016)

Yeah, we live in Florida and I tried topicals for several years on my old dog. The first year they worked really well; after that they'd either stop working after a few weeks too, or they wouldn't work at all. The fleas here are HORRIBLE in summer. Apparently the local fleas build up a resistance or something after a few years (that's what I was told when I called the company). I can't imagine at this point using anything other than the pills (Naima is on Trifexis at the moment, but the others have always worked well too)--at least not in our part of the world! They apparently taste awful, but they get the job done (although I can certainly understand not being crazy about the idea of the pill).

And, as Shell says, vacuum like crazy in the meantime, and then take the vacuum bag right outside and get rid of it because the fleas are still alive after being vacuumed up and will just hop right back out!


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## Super_Nova (Dec 23, 2016)

We live in a heavily wooded area, so lots of fleas. We use Nexguard. It's costly but it's the only thing I've found that works for us.


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## DracoGSD (Feb 13, 2017)

Flea combs work AMAZING. If possible try and soak your pup up to the neck and keep brushing her head to keep fleas off while soaking. Wash all the bedding too so your dog and her sleeping area is clean at the same time. 

I used frontline for a long time but I found that Advantix works faster and longer. Cannot be used if you have a cat that is social with your dog, though. If you're going to try a different brand talk to a vet first to avoid any toxic combinations.


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## LorraineJim (Mar 16, 2017)

I can recommend you to use a flea collar. A flea collar is a great way to ward off fleas without always having to reapply something topically, and it keeps the flea control constant and steady. Aside from that, you may use a flea deterring drink too or a flea comb and spray to prevent those fleas on your baby doggie.


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## FURgirl (Mar 14, 2017)

What we suggest to our clients at our pet spa is: As mentioned above, many topicals don't work the same in different areas or even on different dogs SO switching between topicals every other month to "shock" the fleas has worked well for our clients. Also, be sure your pet does not have any other skin conditions as even just having dry skin will reduce the effectiveness of the topicals because the oils in the pet's skin are unable to spread the medication properly. In addition, fleas actually have good senses, they will gravitate to pet's with weakened immune systems, crazy right? Anyway, the flea comb can help if you have the time to do it, have a bowl of oil or alcohol nearby to drown them in as they are very quick and sneaky. Very few flea collars work well so be sure to do the proper research if you go that route


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