Courtney is 2 1/2 years old. She keeps getting horrible hot spots. I take her to the vet. She gets shots and prednisone pills. I keep her on Frontline Plus. Recently, Frontline has not done a good job. She and the rest of my pets keep getting ticks. This last time, the tick left a fingertip size hole about 1/16th inch deep. I discovered the nasty hole when I was giving her a bath. I'll spare you the gruesome details, but let's just say, it was pretty nasty and infected. I called the doc again and they put her on more prednisone and cipro antibiotic. I noticed this morning that she has another hot spot coming. I have fed her quality food since I first brought her home. Currently she is on the venison and rice formula.

What else can I do for my little girl? I love her and hate to see her going through this every few days.

I have tried multiple remedies and nothing seems to work from pills, shampoos, creams, etc. I'm at my wits end. Help!

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

The answer is provided by :
Vicki J :
Cockers are prone to skin infections and ear infections. Ask your vet to test her for allergies. I had a Cocker that had the same symptoms as yours. The vet tested her and sure enough, she had allergies. I had to give her shots for it.
In the meantime, make some white rice, minute rice is fine. Boil some chicken and shred it up. Mix the chicken with the rice and feed her only this. Nothing else for flavor. This will not be a forever cure, but it should help with the skin problem until you can get her tested. Your vet may want to put her on a special food if it turns out that she has allergies. Good luck
Source(s):
Lifelong dog owner and breeder
Horse owner and breeder

I used Frontline Plus on my two cats, for fleas and ticks. They seem to be still itching a lot, so 2 wks later(pet shop staff told me I can re-apply after 2 wks for tick protection) I applied one of them with the third Frontline Plus.

Then 2 days later I bought Revolution and applied it on the other cat (I'm switching to Revolution for heart warm etc protection), but this one is still itching. This morning I found a couple of fleas still crawling on my cat.

I heard flea collar doesn't work that great.

Is there anything I could do for my poor itching cat before the next application is due in 3 weeks? Also, would next application have more chance of getting rid of the fleas?

They used to be on Revolution in the past year and never had problem with fleas before.
if you can't read and understand what I'm saying, please do not answer. I've no plan to apply anymore tinctures onto my cats before next application due date.

The following reply is by : SpotsB4myeyes :
sprinkle flea power on their bedding and on your carpets. wait a couple of hours then vaccume every square inch of your home. wash all fabrics in the hottest water possible, your bedding included if they've been up there, etc.

continue with the spot treatments on them but you Have to treat and clean the entire home.

My pets (2 cats and 1 dog) had fleas. I put Frontline Plus on them a week ago, and it worked great. Still seeing dead fleas dropping off of them. I've been vacuuming my furniture everyday, and trying to vacuum wherever else (I only have hardwood floors) but all of a sudden I'm seeing them on me and not my pets! I've caught a couple on my ankles and even had one in my bed. I can't bomb the place, one of the pets is pregnant. Has anyone tried borax? How long do I leave it on the furniture before vacuuming?

The best answer is by :
Debbiee :
try a spray or bomb, take the animals out of the house for the time its stats on the packaging. Flees will stay in the house dormant as long as they smell blood. You will need to do this twice, flees hatch every 10 days or until you don't find anymore flees. Keep the frontline going year around and you should be flee free.

Good Luck, its hard but you can do it.

I’ve heard Frontline Plus can do wonders. When you put it on your pet, the fleas on the pet will die as well as the ones in your home. Is that possible for the fleas in your home to die as well with Frontline Plus? I’ve researched and I found this: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/fleacontrol1 where it tells you that “…Even after bombing the house the eggs may still be present, leaving your home at risk of reinfestation. The pre-emerged adult flea will only develop in its cocoon as it receives signals of a host, such as heat and vibration, and when it emerges it can attach to its host within seconds. If no host is present the flea can lie in its cocoon for up to 2 years.” So I’m worried.

The question was answered by :
whymustdogsfly :
Frontline Plus is the best product in the market for flea/tick prevention. When you administer it, it kills all fleas and ticks on contact. They dont even have to bite your cat to die! Its amazing! The dying fleas will spasm before completely falling off the kitty and this movement will cause your cat to itch more so dont worry, it doesnt mean the medication isnt workin
However, Frontline is not to be used as home treatment. It goes between your pets shoulder blades and is distributed through the body by body oils. The best thing to do for home/yard treatment is call Fleabusters. They can give you a free estimate and guarantee their work for a whole year! Or your money back!

I took my dog to the beach today, and when going home, I noticed he had a flea. I guess I kind of freaked out and ran to the pet store to buy Frontline Plus. Since we just came home from the beach, I had to give him a bath and my friend told me to use some dishwashing soap on him since it helps her with the flea problems on her dogs (she has 4). After the bath, I called the emergency pet hospital since my vet’s closed on Sunday and she said it would be okay to apply the flea treatment after. What do you guys think? Is his skin too dry right now from the dishwashing soap? Or is it fine? He is completely dry, by the way.

This is was answered by :
♥♥♥L♥♥♥ :
Don't put any dishwashing liquid on your dog. Once your dog is completely dry…apply the frontline…done

Don't allow him to get wet for 24hrs after application.
~add~

http://frontline.us.merial.com/products/products_faqs.asp#q11

I’m confused to whether Advantage or Frontline Plus works better on fleas for cats and dogs…is there any real difference? I have tried advantage and frontline plus on my dog and cats and I think they are both great and maybe I haven’t noticed a difference but would really like to know which is better at treating and preventing fleas since I am sensitive to fleas myself and would like to know which method is best to not infest my home with them.

Or should I use different products for different types of pets? Like Advantage on my cats or Frontline plus on my dog?

The answer is provided by :
Samantha :
I prefer Frontline Plus for my dogs and Advantage for my cats! If both of the products seem to be working for you then choose the one you like best or talk to your vet!

I gave my cat some cheap medicine for my cat about 2 1/2 weeks ago for fleas and it hasnt done ANYTHING. I called my vet and was told I have 2 wait 2 more weeks b4 the vet will do anything to treat the fleas. I know that all these fleas are doing is multiplying and I have to do something now. I went to the pet store to buy Frontline but they didnt carry it. I was told Sentry PurrScriptions Plus was the next best thing. The thing is I dont want to have to wait even longer if this doesnt work. Does it work??? I also plan on bombing the house.

The answer is provided by :
Julie D :
I would suggest revolution. You have to get it from your vet. I wouldn’t trust off name brands of flea medication. If you cat is still a kitten you can give it a bath with flea shampoo. Be careful not to get any into his/her eyes. If you are brave and your cat is older you can try the bathing method as well. I’m not sure why you need your vet to help you take care of the fleas? When you do obtain either advantage/frontline or revolution…it should take about 24 hours to kick in.

My family’s house is infested with fleas (neighbors dogs brought them in) and they’ve spread to my pets. I’ve gotten stuff from the vet to treat the dogs (Frontline Plus and Capstar) and I’m vacuuming and mopping the hard wood floors. However, I had a bunch of dirty laundry in the mudroom piled up and some clean laundry on my table that I use to fold the laundry, but there seem to be fleas on them. I’m washing and bagging the clothes that can be washed and dried on hot, but some items will be damaged if washed in hot water (the labels say cold wash only/delicate, etc… and some are dry clean only, a few of which I just wash on the gentlest cycle with Woolite). What can I add to the wash for these clothing items that can’t be washed in anything other than cold water? Throwing them out isn’t an option as many of them are still relatively new, expensive clothing (work clothes and dress clothes). I’m in a panic because I’ll literally be throwing out hundreds of dollars worth of my family’s clothing if I can’t wash them in cold water and still kill the fleas. I’m having no luck finding info online. My mother mentioned Borax. Will that work? Is it too harsh for delicate clothing? Thanks.

The following reply is by : Amanda I :
Your washer isn't what kills the fleas, and their eggs. It's your dryer. It dries out the eggs so that they can't hatch. You can toss your pillows and your kids stuffed animals in the dryer on low for about 20 minutes and that should do it. You don't even have to wash them first to kill the fleas.

Also check into how much it would cost to have an exterminator come out and spray. It's safer and far more effective than flea bombs. Plus it doesn't have the stink.

if not whats the best flea product to buy in stores

This is was answered by :
L&L ♥gimme ur cookie♥ :
Our local petsmart and petco sell Frontline Plus; you have to ask for it at the counter though…they don't keep it out with the cheap stuff. It's top shelf LOL!

You can also order them online from a lot of different places.

I've used Frontline Plus, Revolution, and Advantage and all worked like a charm.

Hey all, so I’m wondering the best way to win back my house from fleas.

At the moment we have 3 pets that all live indoors, 1 cat and 2 dogs.

the cat is on frontline, 1 dog is on Frontline Plus, and the other is on Revolution.

All the pets are indoor pets but we do frequent the dog park with the dogs. So at the moment, i can pick fleas off of one of my dogs at a rate of about 6-8 a day. The other dog (a black poodle) probably has a few, but i cant see them and they dont seem to bother her. The cat has quite a few too.

We have tried spraying the carpet and it seems to work for a little while, but never the less, they seem to always come back. We got some flea traps (they are en route) but i was wondering what products i should treat my carpet/furniture with to try to get this taken care of.

We have probably 8-900 sq feet of carpet in the house, including stairs. If we lay long term carpet powders, are they safe for the dogs? Should we bomb each room, and if so, is that safe for the pets?
This is some great info, and im glad that im not alone!

I bought (a few days back) some of those flea traps (basically a small heat lamp above a sticky surface) which will probably accomplish the same job as the heat lamp above a dish of water.

The vacuum i have (ironically) is a bagless one with a Hepa ffilter (which sucking up all that powder just completely clogs up) should i get a basic bag vacuum to handle this?

Also, ill avoid the bombs if a can, as that seems like its going to be a huge hassle. Ill try to get some decent carpet powder or try the baking soda/salt one and see what happens.

Can anyone name some decent powder to try that i would be able to find at a petco/petsmart?

Also, to add, my pets arent overly irritated (they are both small dogs) so i might not have it as bad as i think, but its just nasty.

The question was answered by :
presouzKitty :
I did it for about 10 years when I had indoor outdoor kitties, now only indoor, so no need any more but it was a life savor!!

How I got rid of fleas and bugs from my home

You will need to purchase a simple bug/fly zapper; the type you use on a patio to kill flying insects. You can buy a small one that will cover a large area of your house at most home improvement stores for as little as 20.00-30.00 dollars. For faster results you can use one bug zapper for each room. However the fleas do gravitate to the bug zapper’s light once night sets in and all the lights in your house are out. So one should work for a small home, just make sure to place it in the room where the most fleas are seen or felt. Place the zapper on the floor in a corner behind a piece of furniture so kids and pets won’t play with or bother it. Set it on a plate or pie tin for easy cleaning up of the zapped bugs, you will be killing all bugs in your home as well, and then plug it in. Remember, it is a piece of electrical equipment. You have to use caution in where you put it. At night the fleas automatically want to go to a light, when they hop in to the bug zapper light they get fried! You can actually hear little, zits, zits when the fleas are getting zapped! All GONE! Keep the carpet vacuumed daily until your flea problem is under control, this will help tremendously in getting the fleas eggs out of your home and carpet faster!! I am not responsible for misuse of the above item. Use full caution in placing your bug zapper to the safest place. It will work for months, even years; it will continue to kill bugs in your home as long as the light is on. The bulb can be replaced once it burns out. The light bulb can be purchased at most home improvement stores. http://www.samstores.com/_images/products/FLOWTRON_BK15.jpg