Need to know what I can do about fleas on young puppies. As far as I know all the chemical stuff (flea shampoos, collars, vet. stuff) can’t be used on very young pups. These are about 3-4 weeks old.
These are the pups of an outdoor pair of Goldens, and they’re not mine, but I hate to see the little things have to deal with fleas for a month till something more effective can be used on them…is there anything I can wash them with/put on them to at least keep the fleas down to a roar till they’re older?
Yes, there are propietry shampoos specially formulated for cats and puppies.
You usually get it in a slightly concentrated form which you mix down, make sure you take care to do this correctly.
I woulds recommend you go to you vets and one of the techs in there will be able to help you.
If you do bath them, make sure to keep them warm whilst they dry out, and if you can, try to make it fun for them, it will make life much easier in the future if they don’t mind being bathed.
Looks like Advantage is for puppies at least 7 weeks of age, Frontline for puppies at least 8 weeks of age and Revolution for puppies at least 8 weeks of age (from this site.)
These would be preferable to any flea collar or shampoo, but you’ll have to wait a month for that.
In the meantime, look into Capstar. According to the product label (from this site, a Capstar pill can be used in puppies as young as 4 weeks.
A Capstar pill will kill every single flea on the puppy starting in twenty minutes. It is quicker than any of the above products, but each pill lasts only a day. The pill you give your puppy today won’t kill the fleas that jump on him tomorrow. It will kill all the current fleas, though.
You can combine Capstar with Program pills (also for puppies as young as four weeks, according to this site). Program does not actually kill any fleas, but it prevents them from reproducing. So one Capstar pill will kill all the fleas, and then a dog on Program may have the occaisional flea, but since they can’t reproduce, they don’t get “infested.”
I (and many other veterinarians) prescribe Advantage (Imidacloprid) extra-label all the time. Although my advise is not directed at you, I have prescribed Advantage for week old puppies on numerous occasions.
In order to label their product as safe and effective for dogs X weeks of age, the company has to do tests on animals in that range. Imagine running a lab and doing this testing. Seven week old pups are weaned and relatively self sufficient in a lab. Two week old pups need to be tube-fed and kept at a more constant temperature. The demand for the product to be used in 2 week old pups is minimal compared to the pia of testing.
Caution is advised. While what I say is true for imidacloprid, many other products are dangerous in young animals and some products are never safe (IMHO this would include many Hartz OTC products).
BTW, I have seen 5 week old puppies and kittens die from anemia due to severe flea infestation.