What flea protection should I use for my 1-year-old Shih Poo dog?

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.

Nexgard is an excellent product that provide tick protection in addition to flea prevention. Bravecto is a similar product, but it provides coverage against fleas and ticks for 3 months. All of these medications require a prescription. I would recommend discussing them with your vet to determine the best fit for Charlie.

I recommend oral flea & tick preventatives. There are several brands, and all are effective: Nexgard, Simparica, and Credelio are monthly, or Bravecto which is given every 12 weeks. My top two are Nexgard and Bravecto. These are prescription products available from your veterinarian. Hope this helps!

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 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 and/or chews Advantage, Advantix Advantage Multi (Advocate in the UK) Frontline (ticks as well) Bravecto spot on (ticks as well) - for cats, in tablet form for dogs Simparica, Nexgard Revolution (stronghold in the UK) Tablets: comfortis (will only kill fleas once) Collar: Seresto (ticks as well)

Natural products just don't stand up to pests like fleas and it will leave you very frustrated as a pet owner trying to get rid of them. J would stick with a good quality flea preventative such as Bravecto, Nexgard, Simparica or Comfortis. Frontline has largely grown out of favor because it has been ineffective in a lot of pets. The only over the counter product that may work in my opinion is Advantix or Advantage multi. Best of luck with your flea problems and I hope you get some resolve soon.

There are multiple good options for treating fleas and there is not one that is necessarily the "best." Frontline is a topical medication that is available over the counter, so you should be able to find it at most pet stores. NexGard and Bravecto are oral medications that are only available by prescription from your veterinarian. Frontline and NexGard have to be given once a month, while Bravecto lasts for 3 months. The most important thing when choosing a flea treatment is to choose one that you will be able to give to your pet consistently.

Bravecto last for three months, but I prefer using a monthly topical treatment personally. That's because it can be reapplied after two weeks at the earliest if needed, while you would need to wait longer to give your pet Bravecto again.