My 10-week-old Maltese poodle puppy has fleas. How do I treat them?

You may want to try an oral preventative if you haven’t already - they tend to kill fleas quickly. Nexgard, Simparica, Bravecto and Credilio are a few brand names of similar products. You can see what your vet carries. You may also need to treat the environment if there is a big flea burden in the home or yard. You could talk to a pest control person or try an Advantage spray that is safe for pets.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There are several medications that can be used in dogs to kill fleas and keep them away. I would recommend you consider a flea preventative like Bravecto or Frontline plus. Also, you could consider a medication such as Capstar to help kill as many fleas as possible quickly. Remember to vacuum all the surfaces that have contact with Rico often. This should help tremendously. Good luck!

Hello! My name is Dr. Elizabeth and I am happy to help. Ugh! Fleas are the worst but the good news is that you can effectively get rid of them if you use a good product and are diligent in the treatment. Here is a link about the flea life cycle: https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/flea-control-in-dogs The flea life cycle can last as long as 6 months. The key to getting rid of fleas is to make sure EVERY dog and cat in the house is treated with a good flea prevention AND that this treatment lasts an entire 6 months. Your vet can give you access to the best flea products on the market. Oral flea products like Simparica, Nexgard and Bravecto are the best products out there because they kill fleas so quickly. This decreased to potential for the female fleas to lay eggs which breaks the life cycle. Since the product is in the bloodstream, it also can't be washed off. Lastly, because they are new, there is not a resistance issue in the flea population. They are also cost competitive with a name brand product like Frontline. I recommend to get Smallie on one of these oral flea products and use it for 6 months. If you use a topical flea prevention, only wash Smallie just before the next application of flea prevention is due. Topical flea products like the one you applied can be washed off which means they won't work as well. Also know you will likely continue to see fleas for at least 6 weeks (assuming your product is working correctly) because of the newly emerging adult fleas. Lastly, know there is great variation in the effectiveness of topical flea products. As far as they go, for over the counter options, Seresto, name brand Frontline and Advantage/Advantix are your best options. Use them as directed. I hope this helps and please feel free to reach out with any additional questions.

Hello there! Just to let you know, the message caps off at 500 characters, so it ends at "I usually don't even". I think I have enough information to answer your question appropriately, I just wanted to let you know in case you said something pertinent after that. I'm sorry to hear about your flea invasion! Those are very frustrating! Fleas have a complicated life cycle that requires multiples angles of treatment to totally get rid of in a household. Coconut oil will only give you a greasy dog, which it sounds like you have already found out. Flea and tick shampoo is a great place to start!. Your next step is putting Boogie on a flea preventive that lasts a month. You can get a brand called Advantage from Petco without a prescription. 90% of the flea eggs are going to be wherever Boogie usually sleeps. When Boogie has the medication in his system and is going about his usual routine in the house, any new fleas that hatch will not be able to feed on him and thus starve. During this month, you need to be very diligent about cleaning all the fabrics in the house to eliminate the flea egg population. If you have carpet, I would recommend vacuuming at least three times per week. I would recommend washing any bedding that Boogie sleeps on at least twice per week with hot water. This, combined with Boogie's flea prevention, should eliminate fleas over a period of weeks. I know this is a lot of information, but tackling fleas is a big issue that requires a lot of work! I hope you find this helpful! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Great question! I will give you a flea treatment program for Lioh. First, I would give him 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. 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'll need to treat Chloe and the environment. You can use an oral or topical flea treatment to get rid of the fleas on her. Preventatives such as Frontline, K9 Advantix or Revolution are applied once a month. Oral preventatives, such as CapStar or Advantus, can be given daily but only kill adult fleas. The Seresto collar can be effective against fleas and other parasites for up to 8 months. Use a preventative for at least three consecutive months to break the flea life cycle. Year round use is preferred. Next, you'll need to treat the environment. Wash all bedding in the hottest water allowable by fabric and dry in the dryer, not outdoors. Vacuum everywhere Chloe has been and dispose of the bag or empty the canister outdoors immediately after. Use an area treatment, such as Knockout ES or Bayer Advantage Spray, to prevent reinfestation.

Pretty much all of the OTC flea medications are safe for 7 month-old puppies. There are several options, such a monthly topicals, flea collars, or a Seresto collar. Flea shampoos don't work well at all. Prescription oral flea preventative seem to work the best, in my opinion, so I would recommend that Grace be checked out by a vet so she can get started on one of these. Please know that it can take several months of consistent treatment to get rid of a flea infestation. Fleas don't live on the dog, they only jump on at bedtime. So, if you see a 2 or 3 fleas on Grace at one time, then there could be 20-30 fleas off of her, laying eggs to make new fleas! Here is some more information on fleas: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=3682