Kaffy Magee Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 (edited) Yesterday I bathed all my dogs and my papillon had fleas, didnt notice any on the others though. I picked off what I could, which wasnt alot but today Ive found a couple more. The problem is he has a flea allergy and now his skin is all red and he has chewed/scratched him self raw in multiple places. I dont have any frontline or other flea treatment and as its public holidays I cant get anything for him. Im trying find them and pick them off him but they are so fast, his hair is getting in the way and the little bugger wont sit still. Does anyone have any ideas what I can use on him, to not only kill the fleas but soothe his skin? He is really making a mess of himself Edited April 25, 2011 by Kaffy Magee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shazzapug Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 The only thing I have found that works is Total care flea shampoo from Woolworths....kills them good I have just also bought their spot on monthly treatments but dont know if working yet. You are best to get AB's for your Pap incase he creates hot spots with all the skin breakage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leelaa17 Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Is he an outside dog? Could you keep him inside for the day and night and get stuff tomorrow? Keeping him inside will HOPEFULLY at least keep the grass fleas away from him. On the sore spots you can use vaseline, bepanthen, sorbalene to sooth the spots. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Capstar from Coles or Woolies, once a day until you get some Frontline onto him. I'm not sure I'd use a flea shampoo on a dog with broken skin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 (edited) Capstar from Coles or Woolies, once a day until you get some Frontline onto him. I'm not sure I'd use a flea shampoo on a dog with broken skin. I wouldn't use vaseline either. Buy some Capstar tablets from Woolies and look for an oatmeal based soothing lotion, some paw paw ointment or use Ilium Neocort if you have any. Edited April 25, 2011 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Yesterday I bathed all my dogs and my papillon had fleas, didnt notice any on the others though. I picked off what I could, which wasnt alot but today Ive found a couple more. The problem is he has a flea allergy and now his skin is all red and he has chewed/scratched him self raw in multiple places. I dont have any frontline or other flea treatment and as its public holidays I cant get anything for him. Im trying find them and pick them off him but they are so fast, his hair is getting in the way and the little bugger wont sit still. Does anyone have any ideas what I can use on him, to not only kill the fleas but soothe his skin? He is really making a mess of himself Bathing with plain dish washing liquid/soap surprisingly kills fleas on the spot. Put doggie in bath tub, start shampooing at the head, then work your way down the body. I would only use this in an emergency. Make sure you rinse thoroughly! Also, make sure you vacuum the whole house every day. It is a lot of hard work, but seems to work. Soaking rolled oats in a stocking, and them rubbing it all over fur is supposed to be soothing to the skin. My little Yorky has flea allergy, too, and it is driving me nuts... At the moment Pepper is scratching himself like mad again. Actually, will get off the computer now and vacuum the house. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 P.S. Apparently, once a flea allergic dog has been bitten even once, the itching can remain for over a week! To prevent Pepper from eating himself alive, I place an e-collar on him during the day, as well as the night. However, only if he is under supervision! Have bought 2 different collars, since I don't like the plastic one: the comfy cone (also sold at a vet in Ryde) http://www.petsprovidore.com.au/comfy-cone.html and a 'blow up/soft' one http://www.petsplus.com.au/pet-shop.asp?id=1100. When I have to go to work, and the itching is still really bad, I use (on advice of vet): Cortavance Cutaneous Spray Solution for Dogs. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shazzapug Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Capstar from Coles or Woolies, once a day until you get some Frontline onto him. I'm not sure I'd use a flea shampoo on a dog with broken skin. Total care is a medicated flea shampoo I have tried Advantage and Frontline and nothing seems to stop them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Capstar from Coles or Woolies, once a day until you get some Frontline onto him. I'm not sure I'd use a flea shampoo on a dog with broken skin. Total care is a medicated flea shampoo I have tried Advantage and Frontline and nothing seems to stop them. It's probably fine for a dog with fleas only, but this dog has chewed itself raw and the medication component in the shampoo may sting or irritate the skin further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaffy Magee Posted April 25, 2011 Author Share Posted April 25, 2011 Thank you for the replies. Leela he is an inside dog I think woolworths, Coles etc were all shut today. I've given him another bath and used my husbands shampoo Sebitar which has coal tar in it. Only need a tiny bit and it lathers up heaps. I pulled a few more fleas off him, they were dead or stunned but I popped them anyway just to be sure. I left it on for a while while I combed through his hair, the rinsed it off and combed again. He hasn't had heaps on him but he only just started scratching two nights ago. So I've changed all the dogs bedding, we have no carpet only tiles in the house, so don't need to vaccuum. Can some dogs be more suseptible to fleas? I can't say my bullmastiffs have ever had them but my 2 little dogs seem to get them, not all the time but often enough. I only frontline when I see fleas otherwise it would cots me a fortune to treat 6 dogs and 2 cats every month lol. I had a check over one of my cats just before and couldn't see anything, havent checked the other yet and my other little dog doesnt have any either. The itching does stick around for a little while afterwards but at the moment he is curled up in a ball asleep, no scratching however I think he now has the start of a hot spot. All I have here though is some out of date panalog ointment for ear and skin infections or betadine. I might give the panalog a go first. Thanks again for your help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 (edited) Flea eggs can gather around in your furniture and around your skirtings so I would still run the vacuum around periodically. Once you have an outbreak you really need to treat all animals for a minimum of 6 months to get rid of the ensuing lifecycle. If you are not sure of the lifecycle then the makers of frontline, advantage, revolution all have that info on their websites. If you don't treat your large dogs they will act as hosts for your flea population. If you have a dog being driven crazy by fleas it's not really fair that all the adult fleas need to jump on the one with the allergy to die. Unfortunately if you have a dog with flea allergy then you have no choice but to treat all animals continuously to ensure you have no fleas. You may get away with it over the dead of winter but from Oct-April you'll have to wear the cost. If you only frontline when you see fleas for one month you will never be rid of your population. Edited April 25, 2011 by Staff'n'Toller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttaburra Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Chances are there is some really dense fur around the haunches or (pantaloons) that flea treatments don't reach. I have found quite a good pyrtherim treatment, called fleatrol plus from supermarkets that seems to be effective if sprayed in those problem areas. This is used as course as an adjunct to Frontline or Advantix top spot treatments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Flea eggs can gather around in your furniture and around your skirtings so I would still run the vacuum around periodically.Once you have an outbreak you really need to treat all animals for a minimum of 6 months to get rid of the ensuing lifecycle. If you are not sure of the lifecycle then the makers of frontline, advantage, revolution all have that info on their websites. If you don't treat your large dogs they will act as hosts for your flea population. If you have a dog being driven crazy by fleas it's not really fair that all the adult fleas need to jump on the one with the allergy to die. Unfortunately if you have a dog with flea allergy then you have no choice but to treat all animals continuously to ensure you have no fleas. You may get away with it over the dead of winter but from Oct-April you'll have to wear the cost. If you only frontline when you see fleas for one month you will never be rid of your population. It would appear that the above is correct. It is said that "The fleas seen on a pet represent only 5% of the problem. The other 95% exists in the environment as eggs, larvae and pupae." http://www.frontlineplus.com.au/puppy_love/dogs_protect_your_friend_faqs_fleas.asp ://http://www.frontlineplus.com.au/pup...faqs_fleas.asp . I am sure we got our fleas from the cats, which frequently brought mice and rats into the house (not happy, Jan!). Had to treat ALL pets, plus lots of vacuuming, and still... Pepper was/is scratching. Looking forward to the cooler part of the year for that reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becks Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Have you tried giving him an antihistamine to help with the itching? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 I hate using cortisone, but in this case I would be putting the pap on a short course to break the itch cycle. You must treat all your dogs (and cats too if you have them) for fleas otherwise you won't eradicate the problem and the next time the pap gets a bite it will all start again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Have you tried giving him an antihistamine to help with the itching? A vet once advised me to give 1/2 Polaramine tablet for a small dog. Available from chemists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 (edited) I would not use cortavance spray on open wounds- it has alcohol in it and really stings! You could try antihistamines, but it often takes many trials of different brands to find one that works. I do not find them very helpful for severe itchiness, but they are a reasonable management tool for an allergy dog. I think in this case, steroids may be needed to take the edge off the itch initially. The dog may also have a secondary infection, which are in themselves extremely itchy. I would advise you to see a vet asap. In the meantime, cool water or an oatmeal/soothing shampoo can help relieve the itchiness for a short period. eta= capstar or comfortis to kill the fleas. All get your house treated for fleas- flea bombs are not enough because the flea eggs are often under furniture etc where the bomb does not penetrate. The sprays such as mortein that have insect growth regulators are quite good for these inaccessible areas. Edited April 26, 2011 by aussielover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaffy Magee Posted April 26, 2011 Author Share Posted April 26, 2011 Just wanted to say that when I notice if my dog has fleas which is instant because he starts scratching immediately I do treat all my dogs including the cats, even if I cant find any fleas on them. I only wanted something last night that I could treat my pap with because he is the one that was suffering. I have only ever treated fleas on sight and have never had an issue doing it this way. Ive gone months on end in summer too without an outbreak. And as I said it is only my little dogs and the cats that seem to get them, no evidence of fleas or flea dirt on my big dogs at all. My pap is much happier today, no scratching at all at this stage. Will get some frontline for them tomorrow. He has had shots of cortisone before for his allergy but I might look into the polaramine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKat Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Don't bother with the Frontline...go with Comfortis - a bit more expensive (depending where you buy) but works within hours and is incredibly effective! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 He has had shots of cortisone before for his allergy but I might look into the polaramine. Kaffy, the vet advised me about the polaramine, for an emergency when you can't get to the clinic to check if a cortisone shot is necessary. See if your vet agrees next time you see him or her. If so, check the dose. Maybe 1/4 tablet would be better for a fine-boned little pap. I'm glad your pap is a bit more comfy this morning. it's amazing, isn't it, how fast & nasty those flea allergy flare-ups are. And they always come on public holidays! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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