My dog has fleas and still itches after Nexgard. Can I use Seresto?

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. The manufacturers of flea and tick products do not recommend using more than one product at the time, as there could be an increased risk of side effects. Seresto is a very good product, it will be worth to give it a go but you should wait about 4 weeks after Luna had NexGard tablet.

It is ok to use Seresto along with other topical products, just not oral ones. In some pets there can be a little skin irritation, so watch out for that and notify your vet if this happens. Otherwise, you should be fine to go ahead with Seresto to see if this does the trick. I would also recommend using a flea fogger to treat your home, which can be found at your local Home Depot or Lowe's. If you still don't have good results with the Seresto collar, then I would wait at least 2 weeks and consider better products such as Simparica or Nexgard. Best of luck with your flea issue and Nova moving forward. Take care!

Giving Sentinel or Capstar will not interact with the Seresto collars, so you do not need to take them off before giving those medications. It will take a little time (a couple of days) for the collars to start working again while the medication spreads from the collar onto their skin, so go ahead and put them back on. If you are still having problems with fleas, be sure to talk to your veterinarian. And if the fleas are gone, but the itching continues, you may need to talk to your veterinarian about options for that. Good luck! I hope that was helpful! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would not recommend that you switch him yet as this may be completely coincidental. Nexgard is a great preventative and I would give it more time before switching to something else. Hopefully the scratching is not a reaction to it as that would be quite unusual. If the itchiness continues despite giving it a few days, that would likely be due to allergies rather than a cause of using Nexgard. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

This is not likely to be due to the collar. If the collar were to cause irritation, it would only be around where the collar is placed and would not cause severe itching. Severe itching is often due to one of the following things: 1) Allergies - this can happen suddenly and is usually due to an environmental (i.e pollen) cause. 2) External parasites - fleas, lice and mites can all cause intense itching. It's good to check him for fleas and get other treatment if needed. 3) Over-bathing, or using the wrong product for bathing - Bathing too often can cause the skin to get dry and irritated. Dogs should normally be bathed no more than once a month with a shampoo that is labeled for dogs. If you bathe more than that, or use a shampoo or soap that is meant for people, then you could be damaging the normal protective barrier of the skin. Seven months is a long time for a dog to be itching this much and it must be miserable for her. In order to find the cause of this and give her some relief, I highly recommend you schedule an exam by a veterinarian. We can usually discover the cause quickly and provide the most effective treatment. I hope that helps and she gets better soon.

Yes a Seresto collar and Nexgard can be used together, however both Nexgard and Seresto are highly effective against fleas and ticks and therefore it is not necessary to double up. You can just as effectively use either on its own.

Seresto is a very good product and in my experience would work best. Otherwise it seems you are doing everything Nina needs. Benadryl and any other medication you are giving should be ideally supervised by your veterinarian. Hope that answers your questions, if not please contact us again!