My dog got sick from flea drops. Does he need flea control if he swims daily?

Great question! You are correct there are a lot of options out there, and there isn't a treatment that covers all of them. I will give you my opinion on the best medications for many of these things. Because Arthur spends time running in the woods, tick protection is quite important for him, so I recommend giving him NexGard. It protects against three different types of ticks as well as fleas, and because it's a chew, you don't have to worry about it washing off if he gets wet within 24 hours of giving it to him. It's safe to give along with heartworm protection, and for that I recommend giving Arthur Heartgard. It's an excellent heartworm preventative, and when I lived in the US, it's what I used on my dogs (there's no heartworm in New Zealand, so no need for me to use it now). Be sure to have him tested for heartworm first before giving him this medication. The test can be done by your vet. As for worms, I recommend Drontal. It's available by prescription only from the vet, but it kills roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, and tapeworms.

Poor Sam. It’s possible he may have had a reaction to the medication. I recommend to wash him with dish soap to help remove some of the medication. I also recommend to have Sam examined by his veterinarian for some bloodwork to make sure there has not been any liver damage. If Sam cannot tolerate a collar or the topical preventive, talk with your veterinarian about starting him on an oral medication like Nexgard. Best of luck.

The blood is probably from the dead fleas. I would not be overly worried about it. You just really need to get him on a high quality prescription flea medication. There is really no excuse for a flea infestation when there are so many good products on the market. Poor guy must be miserable...... I suggest an oral pill like Bravecto, Nexgard, Comfortis or Simparica. You can try one of these local vaccine clinics to get a product. ( https://www.vippetcare.com/find-a-clinic/32534/ ) ( https://www.ezpetclinic.com/products ) ( https://www.shotvet.com/pages/walgreens-pet-vaccine/ ) If you don't want to do that then you can try using K9 Advantix II from your local Petco or Walmart. ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/k9-advantix-ii-topical-large-dog-flea-and-tick-treatment )

Hello! My name is Dr. Elizabeth and I am happy to help. Ugh! Fleas are the worst but the good news is that you can effectively get rid of them if you use a good product and are diligent in the treatment. Here is a link about the flea life cycle: https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/flea-control-in-dogs The flea life cycle can last as long as 6 months. The key to getting rid of fleas is to make sure EVERY dog and cat in the house is treated with a good flea prevention AND that this treatment lasts an entire 6 months. Your vet can give you access to the best flea products on the market. Oral flea products like Simparica, Nexgard and Bravecto are the best products out there because they kill fleas so quickly. This decreased to potential for the female fleas to lay eggs which breaks the life cycle. Since the product is in the bloodstream, it also can't be washed off. Lastly, because they are new, there is not a resistance issue in the flea population. They are also cost competitive with a name brand product like Frontline. I recommend to get Smallie on one of these oral flea products and use it for 6 months. If you use a topical flea prevention, only wash Smallie just before the next application of flea prevention is due. Topical flea products like the one you applied can be washed off which means they won't work as well. Also know you will likely continue to see fleas for at least 6 weeks (assuming your product is working correctly) because of the newly emerging adult fleas. Lastly, know there is great variation in the effectiveness of topical flea products. As far as they go, for over the counter options, Seresto, name brand Frontline and Advantage/Advantix are your best options. Use them as directed. I hope this helps and please feel free to reach out with any additional questions.

Most of these flea shampoos often do more damage than good, i recommend not to use any of them, instead use high quality flea treatments such as Advantage spot on or Bravecto tablets. it doesn't sound like Archie got too bad of a reaction though, he should be fine.

1 flea bite can make an allergic dog itch for several weeks so you may need medicine to treat the itching while the fleas get under control. You can administer the bravecto at any point when you remove the collar. A good bath will help also

I would recommend to wait a couple of days before applying the new flea treatment. Give him a bath the same day you remove the collar, wait 48 hours and then apply the drops. Here is a list of good quality flea (and ticks) treatment. Spot ons: Revolution, Advantage, Advantage Multi, Bravecto spot on (ticks as well), Comfortis. A good house spray (just in case) would be Indoorex. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.