My dog has fleas after Advantix. Do antibiotics affect flea meds?

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.

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.

I would wait another week before adding another flea medication. Also, you need to treat your home environment. If you use a pest control service, tell them you are having a flea problem and they can adjust their treatment. Use a premise spray that also contains an IGR, insect growth regulator. This will keep eggs and larvae from maturing into adults and helps break the life cycle. Also, vacuum EVERY DAY, throwing out the bag or emptying the canister every time into an outside receptacle and spraying the contents with insecticide to kill the fleas you’ve vacuumed up. Treat your yard as well, since fleas are opportunistic and will hop a ride into your home on your pant leg without you knowing it. Concentrate on areas under bushes, in the shade. Fleas are less likely to be located in open sunny areas where it gets hot. If chemicals are a problem for you, you can use borax in your home. Sprinkle it into rugs, into corners and under furniture, use a broom to work it into the fibers and let it sit for hours, days even. It won't hurt you or your cat to have it present. Then vacuum it up, reapply as needed. Food grade diatomaceous earth can be gotten from a health food store and worked into the rugs and corners in the same way as borax. These treatments aren't as fast and effective as chemical insecticides but they can help. You might want to consider boarding your pet for the day at your vet, to give you the opportunity to flea bomb your house without having to worry about your pet being exposed. They can bathe your pet and give a dose of Capstar while you treat your home. Be patient, you may have to repeat these steps multiple times 10-14 days apart to help break the flea life cycle.

You can use both products on the same day so it is fine to start the Advantix at any time. There are better products that Advantix. Top products for dogs are oral products such as Simparica and Nexgard. Top products for cats are topicals such as Revolution and Cheristan. There is also an oral product called Comfortis that both dogs and cats can take. You will need to switch all the pets over to a good flea product. Make sure to discuss these products with your veterinarian first. These products are generally safe for all pets but there are some conditions which are contraindicated for the oral products. Cleaning up and treating the house and yard will also help but it will not clear all the fleas. The main control is making sure the pets are on good products. This is what will ultimately stop the infestation. Also remember every female fleas lays about 50 eggs a day and it could take up to 6 months before the eggs hatch. Therefore, you will need to treat for at least 6 months. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

1. You don't need to give Daisy a flea bath before giving her the Advantix. You can give her the Advantix now. I don't recommend flea baths because they don't work well and can be very irritating to the skin. 2. You do not need to use the Advantix with the Sentry flea collar. Using Sentry (which contains fipronil) and Advantix together should be done with caution, as they have not be approved by the manufacturers for use together. The Advantix alone is enough protection. 3. You can give Daisy Capster with the Advantix. It's a one time pill that stars killing fleas in 30 minutes, and is safe to use anytime. That's the only oral medication I woken recommend to use in combination with the Advantix. Don't forget to disinfect the environment as well. Wash Daisy's bedding in hot soapy water, and vacuum the furniture and carpet surfaces. You can use a flea spray in the home such as Indorex, or you may need to flea bomb the house to kill the fleas. I hope this helps!

You'll want to be sure to the environment the Pets are in has been treated too. The fleas will die after they've bitten the Pet. This helps to kill the adult fleas. You may be finding fleas from the eggs that were laid at the time of application who are now growing into maturity. If there are many, you'll want to treat the house and yard and visit your local Veterinarian to discuss other options. For the ears, if you see any redness or inflammation you'll want to visit your local Veterinarian as soon as possible. They may have a yeast or bacterial infection that is causing discomfort.

Giving her the flea medication should not pose any issues if she is on antibiotics. You can wait about 2-3 hours after giving her the antibiotics before administering the flea medication (if it is oral) to be completely safe. That way, the antibiotics should be out of her stomach.