The Flea Guru

Hi, The best produce to use to get rid offleas from Hugo is Comfortis tablets. As well as being the most effective product, it will be perfectly safe for you because the active ingredient only circulates in his blood stream, making it perfectly safe for use around pregnant women.

Hi, I would strongly advise against treating dogs with a product designed to be used on plants, due to differences in formulation. The MSDS for Advantage states that it contains imidacloprid & benzyl alcohol. The MSDS for Confidor states that it contains imidacloprid, glycerin, propylene glycol, isothiazole antifungal agent, emulsifiers, stabilisers & antifungal agents. Some of these may not be safe to use on dogs. With the number of dogs you have to treat, bathing or spraying with permethrin eg Permoxin might be an option. You can mix it up in a pressure sprayed & use it daily if necessary. Cheers

Hi, It sounds like you have a bad flea problem inside. Flea bombs don't always work as well as we would like them to. Flea larvae are found deep in the pile of carpets and rugs, and the mist from a flea bomb may not penetrate deep enough in the carpet to reach them. The mist will not get to carpets or rugs under lounges & other furniture. Also, flea eggs and pupae are protected from the insecticide by their shell or cocoon. Vacuuming regularly is essential for removing flea eggs, larvae and pupae. Using a vacuum cleaner with a power head which "beats" the carpet will be more effective. Empty the cleaner or discard the bag after vacuuming. Make sure you are washing your pets' bedding in water hotter than 60 degrees Celsius. Also, beware of steam cleaning carpet when you have a flea problem. Adding moisture to the carpets will make conditions more favourable for the development of fleas. Make sure that you are using effective flea products on all your pets, and use products which kill adult fleas before the females can lay eggs.

Some dogs have allergies so bad that they need Prednisolone for short periods of time and sometimes permanently, my dogs life is sometimes a misery because of his allergies and without using some form of cortisone he would have probably been in a lot more discomfort to the point where I would rather put him to sleep then see him suffer like that. Agree, my dog suffered terribly with his allergy and I think it's a bit ignorant to think that all allergies can be managed effectively in a short time frame without steroids. My boy pretty much itched 24 hours a day even with "management" including Aloveen baths, keeping him off grass, antihistamines, etc. He didn't sleep at night, he had an Elizabethan collar on for weeks straight, he had weeping hotspots. Sorry, but cortisone was a lifesaver for us so that he could actually act like a somewhat normal dog for a little while. I don't think some people understand that in some dogs the allergies are hell and in others the allergies are minor - there's always people here who thing that what worked for their dog should work for others and just because they've been able to keep their dog off Cortisone others should be able to - mind you I've read some very sad stories on threads like this from owners who refuse to use Cortisone whilst their dog suffers. I'd rather my dog have a shorter happy life span than a horrible misserable one. Although there are many dogs that have been on Cortisone all their lives and lived normal life spans, one just hopes that you can find the most minimal dose to keep the dog on that isn't immune suppressant. We are lucky, 2.5mg works for my dog daily, anymore and he is incontinent and sleeps 24/7. If dogs need cortisone long term to control allergies or other conditions, it is best given as "alternate day therapy" ie one day on and one day off. It is safer long term to give, for example, 5mg of cortisone (prednisolone is usually used) every second day rather than 2.5mg every day. However, before changing doses you should discuss it with your vet. Cheers

Comfortis does not kill all flea life cycle stages, only the adults. However, it breaks the flea life cycle very effectively because it kills tha adult fleas before female fleas can lay eggs. Flea eggs, larvae and pupae in the environment will still develp, but when they have a blood meal they will die within 4 hours. This means that when you start using Comfortis, you will see a rapid drop in flea numbers, but you may still see a few fleas for up to several months as the eggs, larvae and pupae devlop into adults.

Nizoral is an antifungal treatment, so it will only be effective for fungal infections.

Hi The fact that you can't find fleas or flea dirt on Buster doesn't mean that he can't be suffering from flea allergy dermatitis. One third of dogs with flea allergy will have no evidence of fleas or flea dirt! Can you see fleas or flea dirt on any of your other pets? If the problem is confined to Buster's rump, and he has had fleas in the past, then it is very likely that he is suffering from flea allergy dermatitis. It sounds like the problem was occuring at the end of the last flea season & has started again at the beginning of the current flea season, which obviously also suggests that fleas could be the cause. I would recommend treating all your pets with effective flea treatments - Comfortis is best for dogs - as well as environmental flea control. Buster may also need medication from your vet to control the itching while the flea control measures kick in. Cheers

Hi. If Oscar is riddled with fleas, you will need to remove or kill flea eggs, larvae and pupae in your household as well as killing the adult fleas with Capstar & Comfortis. Consider vacuuming, washing Oscar's bedding in hot water, spraying cracks & crevices etc. Also, if Oscar has lots of fleas he will have tapeworms, so he needs to be treated with a good quality tapewormer or allwormer even if you haven't seen any tapeworm segments. Cheers.