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HELP! Fleas!
My dog ahs been staying at my in-laws for the past 3 mnths now. They took him in when my DH had his bad accident at work, then we had him home for the 36 hours in between my DH coming home, and me going into labor, then they took him back to their house until we could get settled with our son. Unbeknownst to me, they have a BAD flea problem, which in turn gave my house the same problem. We treated the house, and weeks later we are flea free! However, I am ready for my dog to come home now. My DH sent me a picture text with my dog, telling me he is home! We told my in-laws we were ready, so to dip or bath him well right before they bring him back up. Wel...they didn't! Why? "they didn't see any on him." WTF!!! So what! They said that a month ago when we went to visit, and I pet my dog, and FOUR jumped on ME!!!!! So excuse me if i don't believe them. Now I have a flea infested dog back at my house with my 7 WEEK old!!!!!!! I am Terrified of another problem like we had. We were lucky we didn't have to bomb the house it was so bad. Plus the diseases they carry! The last thing I need is for one to bite my son and give him something. 
The last time my DH and I "talked" about this he told me i was over reacting to the situation, and his parents are "taking care of it." Also that it is no big deal. To me that is him saying it is OK to live in filth! I am sorry...I REFUSE to put my child in that situation.
I just needed to vent!!!
Re: HELP! Fleas!
I have had this same problem, although not as extreme since I do not have kids. But, I have a St. Bernard and an indoor cat that were both infested with fleas, unbeknown to me. If you are sure that the house no longer has any fleas then find a store that sells CAPSTAR. Some pet stores carry it, or you can order it from 1800petmeds.com. This will kill all adult fleas on your dog within 24 hours. But it does nothing to the eggs. So I would suggest treating your dog with CAPSTAR and 2 days later giving it a flea bath. But this will only work if you're sure you have no more fleas/eggs in your house.
Hope that helps!
Oh gosh...well, honestly I would probably call my vet and ask them what to do...
What do you use on your dog for fleas? If you don't already, it sounds like you need to get on some sort of regime to keep your dog and house pest free. We use Advantix on our dog (drops that you use once a month on the dogs back) and it works really well for us.
Good luck!
We bought a house with fleas, my cat came down with them, and I only found out while I was pregnant! So I feel your pain.
First, take the dog to the vet to get appropriate treatment. We had gone through so many flea treatments on the cat in a short period (my panic) that our vet recommended Dawn Dish Soap and a monthly dose of Advantage flea treatment.
Then, give the house a good flea cleansing (bomb). We used this as a last resort, but honestly, it worked. We used Bio Spot Room Fogger from Petco.
As a follow up, vacuum, vaccum, vacuum! Get all the fleas and eggs out of there by vacuuming constantly. Rugs, curtains, furniture, etc. Wash your sheets and blankets daily too.
It's exhausting, I know; but it works. We haven't had a problem since.
Not sure why they would yell at you about using Dawn. Dawn is what they use to get OIL spills off of animals. It also kills the fleas! I use it on my cats and my ferrets because it is sensitive enough not to hurt them. My Vet even told me to use Dawn so i know it is ok. We have a flea problem as well. I am still trying to get rid of them. We were infested pretty bad. Its better then it was but i am still fighting them pesky little stinkers.
Another idea is to get a flea comb. Use the comb and have a container of soapy warm water. Comb the dog and dip the comb into the water. You might have to swish it around to get any fleas that are on it off or even use your fingers to get them off. It works though. I did this with one of my cats and i must have gotten like 20 fleas off of her doing just this!
Good luck. Fleas are horrible!
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Bathe your dog with some Dawn Soap. Get him on some Frontline/Advantage/Etc, which is by weight and can be brought a petstore or vet's office. If it persists capstar is a pill they can give your dog where the fleas will literally fall of of him.
Best of luck!
"Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies."- Aristotle
Capstar is a safe choice, it starts killing fleas in 20 minutes but it doesn't keep killing them (as in it stops working within 2 days). Therefore I think it's a good choice when combined with a spot treatment like Revolution; that way you get a fast kill and a persistant kill.
Another excellent choice is Comfortis (spinosad). It is a chewable pill with both fast kill and persistant kill.
There is a premise spray that you can buy at your vet that is safe to spray in your home, on your furniture, etc.
Capstar will start killing fleas within 30 minutes and works for 24 hours. Safe to give a pill each day.
Keep your dog on Sentinel, it's the heart worm preventative that also acts as a birth control for fleas.
Also, watch your dogs stools for tapeworm segments...they look like grains of rice or sesame seeds.
Thank you!! I am telling my in-laws about this.