Why does my dog still have fleas after monthly flea medicine?

You will need to go to the vet to get the following products. First, I would give him Capstar. It's a one time pill that starts killing fleas within 30. minutes. Then follow up with a spot on treatment, such as Advantage or Revolution. This is a treatment that has to be used once a month. You will also have to disinfect the environment. Wash his bedding in hot soapy water, and vacuum the furniture and carpet surfaces. You can use a spray to kill fleas in the house, such as Indorex, or a flea bomb would work well to kill the fleas in the home.

If you’re noticing increased itching in that area and you found a flea, you may try switching the flea prevention to see if that helps. Fleas can become immune to products. The top products on the market are oral products such as Nexgard and Simparica. Most pets can use these products but you should talk with your veterinarian before switching. They are administered once a month and at this point appear to work very well. If the itching goes away, then you know it was related to flea bites. Best of luck.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is likely due to allergies and until these are improved, he will continue to itch. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Moon. Frontline and Seresto are both good products. They utilize different drugs. It is unlikely that both products have failed. The problem is likely the environment. The majority of the flea eggs are in the environment not on the dog. The carpet will need to be vacuumed at least once per day. All of her bedding (or yours if she sleeps with you) needs to washed in hot water. The yard can also be a source of contamination and may need to be treated as well. Wild animals or neighborhood cats can carry fleas and continually reinfection her. You can teach her to go potty on a potty pad inside as that may help. I hope this information helps!

If you're still seeing fleas after more than a week, I would be concerned that the K9 Advantix may not be working very well - it's usually one of the most effective topical medications for most dogs, but some will still have fleas. You can get an oral flea/tick medication like Nexgard or Bravecto from your vet that will be more effective, and you can give it right away - these are safe to administer along with K9 Advantix or other topicals if needed. If there are a lot of fleas in the environment, this could also be a reason that you are still seeing some - in this case, you may need to treat your house and yard for fleas or have an exterminator do this professionally to make sure they are gone.

Capstar will only kill those fleas that are on the dog and sucking blood once. Getting rid of fleas is relatively easy but entails work for a few months: Unfortunately fleas only hop on the body of your pet when they want to feed, then they hop off again and stay in your pet's environment. So you need to treat all pets in the household as well as the environment (which contains the fleas, their eggs and larvae). Flea treatment:  1) Get some flea medication such as a Flea spray or a spot on from a pet shop or your veterinarian and apply monthly )Bravecto/Nexgard/Seresto will last longer) 2) get flea powder, put some in your vacuum cleaner bag and vacuum your house and furniture and also non-carpeted areas frequently to remove flea larvae and eggs which live off house dust., Dispose of the bag in the trash outside. Hot-wash all the pet's bedding, If you do this diligently for a few months you will get rid of the fleas. Flea products: Spot-ons: Advantage, Advantix Advantage Multi (Advocate in the UK) Frontline (ticks as well) Bravecto/Nexgard spot on (ticks as well) - for cats, in tablet form for dogs Revolution (stronghold in the UK) Tablets: comfortis (will only kill fleas once) Collar: Seresto (ticks as well) House spray: Indoorex Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you so much!

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Fleas can be frustrating to eradicate even when using a quality product like Bravecto. You may wish to consider a product like Capstar or even a topical flea medication in addition to the Bravecto. Products like Frontline Gold, Vectra and Advantix tend to work well. The flea life cycle sometimes necessitates that you also treat your household and even your yard to fully eradicate the infestation. Regular laundering of pet bedding can help but you may still end up needing to have an exterminators help. Finally, make sure all pets in the household are treated with a safe, quality flea preventative as often house cats that have not been treated can harbor fleas. Good luck!