My dog has fleas and is still itching. Will Frontline Homegard help?

You could talk to your vet about switching from frontline to Nexgard. Also, if he has any skin lesions, he may need additional medications to treat. He may need an antibiotic, anti-histamine, corticosteroid, or other medications to control the itching. It would be best to call your vet and schedule a recheck examination.

Frontline doesn't always work unfortunately, but a flea shampoo is not likely to give you a better result. Instead I recommend using Advantage or Advocate spot on, Alternatively a comfortis tablet will do an excellent job as well. Do not bath her at least 3 days before and after you apply any spot on. As these flea treatment do not contain the same active ingredients as the frontline, they are safe to use at anytime you chose.

I'm sorry you are having such problems with fleas! I have personally found, as have a number of my colleagues, that there is resistance to Frontline and pets continue to have problems with them despite applying the Frontline. I will give you the flea treatment program I typically recommend and have found to be very effective. First, I would give Shadow 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, this is very important. 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. You may have to flea bomb the house a few times to kill all the fleas. My brother had a problem with fleas in his home, and the exterminator had to visit three times before they were all gone. I hope this helps!

Flea infestations can be really frustrating to manage! It sounds as though you're doing all of the right things to manage this issue. However, in recent years, I have not found Frontline Plus to be as effective as it once was. Consider talking to your vet about switching to an oral flea preventive, such as Bravecto, Nexgard, Credelio or Simparica. (All are prescription-based, which is why you'll need to first talk to your vet.) I find these medications MUCH more effective at rapidly killing several flea lifestages, which helps to break the flea life cycle (adults lay eggs, which become larvae, then pupae, then adults, which lay more eggs). Consistently giving flea preventives is the best way to resolve a flea infestation. Over the counter oral medications like Capstar are great at killing adult fleas, but only last for 24 hours. K9 Advantix II is an over the counter topical option that works well, but isn't quite in the same league as the prescription orals. Also be sure to wash any blankets, pillows or bedding that is machine washable on the hottest setting allowable. Try to wash these things at least once a week. If all else fails, consult an exterminator to treat your environment. Flea baths are largely ineffective at treating fleas. Many of these flea shampoos cause skin irritation, so I would just try using a regular dog shampoo every few months to wash off any dead fleas or flea dirt. Also be sure to talk to your vet about checking a stool sample for tapeworms, as dogs can ingest tapeworm eggs if they eat infected fleas. I hope this helps and that all goes well for Atlas! https://www.petcoach.co/dog/condition/flea-infestation-1/

It is safe to reapply the Frontline now, but in my experience, it doesn't have great flea protection. You may have better luck with Advantage products or a Seresto collar. The best flea protection is the prescription oral flea preventatives, like Bravecto or Nexgard.

I'm so sorry to hear that Smokey is having this problem. Dogs that have flea allergies can be miserable with only 1 flea bite per week, so it doesn't take very many fleas to cause a problem. I am attaching a handout about flea control for an allergic dog below. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952572 I would recommend speaking with your veterinarian about one of the newer oral flea products. I have been very happy with Nexgard. It works differently than Frontline, so it might be more effective. There are a couple of different oral flea prevention products that can be given even though you have already done Frontline, so they will work together to get the problem under control ASAP. You may also need to speak with your veterinarian about adjusting his medications short term to help control his itching while the fleas are being treated. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Please do not feed garlic to your dog, it can cause blood disease in dogs! Here are instructions for flea prevention: 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)