Follow the vet recommendations and change products. You could ask, if your dog is going occasionally to flea infested areas, for some Capstar. This will immediately kill the dog but only lasts for a day. See what the vet says, the capstar may help for a few days while the Advantage kicks in.
If the dog is on a prescribed monthly preventive that the fleas are not resistant to, it should last for the whole month. Heck, some of them probably last a bit longer than a month (but say “apply every 40 days” is harder than “just apply it on the 1/15th/30th of the month”). OTOH, some products like Advantage could potentially wear off if you’re costantly bathing the dog, in which case, you can reapply more frequently.
BTW, Advantage and Frontline both use different chemicals, so there is a very good chance that the fleas that are resistant to Frontline have not yet developed the resistance to Advantage.
I had great success eradicating fleas with Adams products. Once the house was a flea-free zone, we started the dog on one of the heartworm + flea control products and never had a problem again for the rest of that dog’s life. IIRC, we tried the spot-on products, but they were just vastly more trouble than they were worth for us, since we had to give him a heartworm pill anyway.
I had the same problem with Frontine a couple of years ago when we had a bad flea-year. Vet # 1 said, the reason you are seeing active fleas is because they get hyperactive right before they drop dead. Which doesn’t help if you have a dog or cat who is allergic to flea bites. however, most spot treatments only work because a flea has to land on your pet before keeling over…were you using Frontline (fipronil) plain or the Frontline that kills the eggs?
Vet #2 said he’d stopped dispensing Frontline because of perceived resistance and was prescribing Revolution or Sentinel instead. However, this year is another bad one for fleas and I was seeing them after 2-3 weeks on Revolution. I switched back to generic Frontline from Wal-Mart (I have foster dogs, plus treat some outdoor cats and it’s much cheaper) and so far, so good. One of my dogs is flea-allerigc, so he’s my early warning system. If he starts scratching: there’s fleas.
I know people who swear by DE for treating the home and yard. Others think this is woo. I’ve not used it so have no opinion but IMO it’s probably worth a try.
My strategy so far is switching flea meds - I never use the crap Hartz products or Bio-Spot or any of those things. Advantage or generic Frontline now available OTC, or Revolution/Sentinel from the vet.
No rats right now. A few years ago I had some. My pest control guy set out bait boxes and I haven’t seen one in at least 5 years.
Is anyone treating the dogs bedding with spray or powder? I have a crate cushion in my dogs crate and a towel on top. Every couple weeks I wash the towel and replace. Before putting it in the washing machine, I first soak the towel in the laundry sink with some bleach in the water for half an hour. I’ve been told that will kill any flea eggs. Then I rinse it and run it through the washer.
Any chance the fleas have taken up residence in your carpet or furniture? Do you ever see them not on the dog?
I had fleas in my house last summer, I would treat the dog and within days they’d be all over her again. What ended up working was Borax powder. Sprinkled onto rugs, carpets, inside couch crevices, under furniture, mattresses, etc. Sit for an hour or two, vacuum up the exposed areas (I left it beneath the beds and couches), and repeat about a week later. Cost me $6 and a bit of time but it totally did the trick.
I have seen a number of reports of Frontline not working. I have also seen reports that it is due to counterfeit Frontline. With the wealth of good products on the market, it may be easier to just change. Much of the time since the good stuff came out we have only had one healthy young dog in the house. We mostly haven’t used anything and have had very little trouble. Got into a mess when we took unprotected Gretchen to visit my sister’s flea bitten cats. Also, Tux at the state fair. I think they jumped him when I let him relieve himself outside the cattle barn. A dose of Capstar cleared him up in time to take first place in his class.
Since we have had little trouble without anything, it is hard for me to say the Revolution or Sentinel did much when we have used it. I sometimes do douse the dogs with Ovitrol before going where there may be fleas. Thanks to this thread reminding me to before the state fair.
The spot-on stuff has never worked for Stella. No one believes me, but I have successfully used the spot-on stuff on other dogs and my cat, but no dice with Stella. I think it’s because she doesn’t have a lot of coat oils so it doesn’t spread correctly. Regardless, I’ve tried everything else to get rid of fleas. The best thing yet is Comfortis, which is basically a monthly version of Capstar. Works great and provides indirect protection for the cat, too.
Also, during the worst of flea season, I bathe her with Zodiac flea shampoo, even when I don’t see any fleas. I think it helps keep her from bringing them in from outside. I can’t prove that, just a suspicion.
Before Comfortis, I used Enforcer house spray to get rid of fleas in the house. I sprayed my carpets and her bed every few months. Seemed to help. You can get it at Home Depot, Walmart, etc.
I agree with switching to Advantage. The biggest difference between Frontline and Advantage, IMO, is staying power through bathing or swimming. Frontline lasts through those better than Advantage does, but if you’re in an area where the fleas are resistant to Frontline, then switching to Advantage and applying more frequently if there is much bathing or swimming going on, might be the best approach.
We did something similar. We frontlined the animals, put all the blankets and bedding through the wash on hot water, and got a cheap $4 can of flea powder and dusted every piece of furniture in the house. Let it sit for an hour or two and vacuumed it up and immediately emptied the vacuum into the outside garbage. Haven’t seen a flea on an animal in the house since.
Heh, thanks for catching that :smack: . Capstar will immediately kill all the fleas, but it lasts only one day. OTOH, that may be all that is needed to protect the dog from flea infestation and letting it out for a while until the new med (Advangate) kicks in.
One more vote for Advantage. We put Frontline on our cat this year, and he still had fleas. We put Advantage on him, and within an hour dying fleas were falling off.
I think both of you are mistaken about how these products work. They are absorbed through the skin into the bloodstream, they don’t just spread everywhere on the outside of your pet’s fur. Bathing your pet or allowing it to go swimming a few days after application should have no effect on their staying power.
ETA: And I think applying more frequently after bathing or swimming is a very bad idea.
