My dog has flea drops, but I found a live flea. Is this normal?

It might be a flea that jumped on him after the application, this can happen but if you find more than one and they are alive then the product you are using is likely not working and you need to change it to something else such as Bravecto, Advantage or Revolution.

Hello. First, no product for fleas is 100% effective. Bravecto is one of my favorites, but we must accept that there will be some breakthrough occasionally. Also, a flea does need to feed in order to die, so it is no wonder that you saw blood in the flea. Nothing we have in the fight against fleas prevents them from jumping on a pet. From there, either they die after feeding, or in the case of something like Frontline, the flea dies when coming in contact with the coat. But a flea can still bite as it is dying. So I think this is a random flea, especially since you are not routinely finding fleas on your pets. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

No you should not be worried, in order for Bravecto to kill ticks, the ticks have to attach and feed on the dog. After giving Bravecto, it distributes to the tissue fluids just under the skin. When fleas and ticks feed, they ingest Bravecto and die. Bravecto kills 100% of ticks on dogs within 12 hours so it would not be unusual to see some live ticks during the first 12 hours that they attach. Remember to give the medication every 12 weeks.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Fleas can be frustrating to eradicate even when using a quality product like Bravecto. You may wish to consider a product like Capstar or even a topical flea medication in addition to the Bravecto. Products like Frontline Gold, Vectra and Advantix tend to work well. The flea life cycle sometimes necessitates that you also treat your household and even your yard to fully eradicate the infestation. Regular laundering of pet bedding can help but you may still end up needing to have an exterminators help. Finally, make sure all pets in the household are treated with a safe, quality flea preventative as often house cats that have not been treated can harbor fleas. Good luck!

Typically, a topical treatment works by killing the flea when it bites the dog and sucks it's blood. Because it was live on your dog, it hadn't had a chance yet to bite him and diet. Even if there are more, they will die as soon as they bite your dog thanks to your stringent flea treatments. It's not something I would worry about since he's treated and you found no more on him, but if you wanted to be safe, you can give him Capstar. It's a one time pill that starts killing fleas in 30 minutes, and it's safe to give him now. I really think it was one he picked up outside. I hope this helps!

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.

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.