How can my dog have fleas if he’s an indoor dog and only takes walks once every day for about 30 minutes? It’s so sad, cause he’s chewing and scratching himself to the bone. I’ve used Bitter Apple spray, but it doesn’t seem to deter him. Do you think he has fleas, or just dry skin?
Your dog probably does have fleas. Fleas can live inside and out. He can pick up fleas when he’s outside, even it was only for a minute. You can also bring them in from outside, the pet store, or a friend’s house and bring them in on your clothing. Fleas can live inside year-round, and as soon as it gets above 40 degrees F outside, they’ll be everywhere outside too. Make sure you put him on a good flea control from your vet, such as Frontline, Advantage, or Revolution. The ones you get at Wal-Mart or other stores don’t work well, and they can cause a lot of other health problems, from skin irritation to digestive problems to organ failure. Frontline and Revolution are applied on one spot on the back of the dog’s neck/shoulder blades. You CAN run a strip down further, but you don’t have to – sometimes it makes less of a mess if you do if the dog is small or has fine hair. When you put him on a flea control, it can take a few months to et it under control, so don’t panic if he’s still scratching some after a month. You should try to treat the house/yard too – there are bug bomb you can get, or just have pest control come out. You can also get Frontline spray and spray it on his bed o areas where he likes to be. You can give him a bath, but wait at leas 48 hours after applying a product such as Frontline, and if you give him a bath first, wait at least 48 hours before applying the flea control. Use a moisturizing shampoo such as Hylyte so it will help moisturize the skin in case that’s another problem he has. If you see little black specs of dirt on him, try to comb them out, then put them on a white paper towel or napkin and get it damp, and rub – if it looks at all reddish when it gets wet, it’s flea dirt – blood the flea as eaten and then pooped out onto your dog. However, your dog can have fleas and not show any evidence – some dogs only need to have ONE flea on them and they’ll scratch like crazy because they’re allergic to fleas.
However, if it’s NOT fleas, it can be dry skin or allergies. The only way to know 100% for sure is to take him to a vet. They’ll check for fleas, and the vet will check to se eif it lokos more like a dry skin issue or an allergy issue. Many dogs are allergic to fleas, and they can get really bad if left untreated. He could also have a food allergy or a contact allergy. If it’s an allergy, you can have him tested and get allergy shots for him, or just treat him with antihistamines. If his skin is really bad, he might need a steroid and some antibiotics. If its a food allergy, try switching to a food that’s less likely to cause allergies – such as lamb and rice, duck and potato, etc….they even make kangaroo dog food, going off of the idea that if the dog’s never been exposed to a certain food, he won’t be allergic to it. If the problem is dry skin, a fatty acid supplement will help, something such as fish oil or flaxseed oil. You vet can give you a good recommendation for what to use. Also, a lot of dogs that have dry skin issue also have hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid. If he is also overweight or less active than he used to be, it would be a good idea to get his thyroid checked. A tiny pill twice a day will fix a thyroid problem.
The bitter aple spray is not going to work unless it’s a behavioral issue only – such as with a lick granuloma, where they just lick and chew because they can, and they’re bored. It will not stop chewing from fleas or other skin conditions, because the irritation is so bad that the taste of the bitter apple doesn’t matter as long as they can scratch/lick/chew. And some dogs even just seem to like the taste of it for some odd reason.
By the way, fleas carry tapeworms – if your dog eats a flea that is carrying tapeworms, you dog can get tapeworms. You might see little white things stuck to his back end under his tail or on his feces. If your dog has tapeworms as well, the vet will give you some medication for it – it’s just a single dose treatment. Even if your dog has only ever had one flea on it, and the flea had tapeworms, and your dog ate that flea, he can have tapeworms.
Good luck!
Fleas are easy to contract, could have even gotten them from you or a kid. Fleas love sand! Does his skin look dry?
he can get fleas at any time. you take him outside, and the fleas jump onto him from the grass. even indoor only animals like my cats will sometimes get fleas. fleas can come in on your shoes or bottom of your pants legs. if you have fleas in your yard then they will get into the house and on the pet one way or another.
If your dog is scratching the chances he has fleas are considerably greater than having dry skin. How long have you had your dog? has he been in contact with other dogs, even sniffing them a flea can jump from one dog to another VERY quickly. Have you been anywhere where there are other dogs or cats, they can jump onto you and then you transfer them home to your dog.
If your dog sniffs or rolls in grass where another dog or cat has been that has fleas then they will jump onto anything they consider to be a host.
All dogs get fleas at some point in their lives, and remember for every flea you find on your dog, there are 200 flea eggs in your house!!!!
Take the poor suffering creature to the vets ASAP and get him treated, the stuff you get from the vets is far stronger and works much more effectively that the watered down rubbish you can buy from pet shops. Also don’t forget to treat your house for fleas too, all his bedding and your cushions and carpets, everywhere he has been. Also if your dog has fleas the chances are he might also have worms, you can get both treated at your vets, best get him sorted ASAP.
Fleas are easy to get. If you think your dog has fleas, you should take him/her to the vet so the vet can check.
its easy 4 a dog to get fles and the best thing i have found to get ride of them is front line pluss 4 dogs or 1 of thos kind of things its realy easy to use you just put a strip of it downthere back once a month and the fles are gone! Thats wat i use 4 my dogs i have a rot whiler and a chuwawa and it works great 4 both!!
A dog could get fleas in 30 minutes.
cause 1. u havent washed him in a while
‘n’ 2. He stinks (which attracts fleas)
TIP- wash him
He can get fleas even from taking short walks. The fleas are in grassy areas mainly and once a few get on him they will multiply and get inside of your house as well. Use dawn dish soap to rid him of fleas. It always worked really well for me. Just be sure not to get it near his eyes.
If he has dry skin you should take him to the vet. They can determine if it is a food alergy or possible some type of mange. I hope he feels better soon!
well you can tell if your dog has fleas by just looking in their fur through their skin. the link has pics of fleas
if it is dry skin, it’ll only have, literally, dry skin. kind of like dandruff. if it is dry skin, try aloe vera and eggs (to eat) eggs are good for the coats and skin. also consider their shampoo it might be the problem.
your dog also could have caught the fleas from another dog that was there minutes before you.
Prob cos u havnt given him his “montly” flea treatment or u just havnt washed him
Fleas live in lawns and in plants, cats/dogs drop them there. It only take one flea and Voila. So, give him a nice bath-hypoallergenic to help with the fleas and put on front line plus. If he’s got dry skin add flax seed (1tablespoon) or fish oil capsule to his food. If he still itches – try Eqyss Rehydrant spray twice a day. Both my dogs have itchy coats and this seems to help. Still have problems try a food: no corn,wheat, soy – Natural Balance, Wellness etc. I’ve helped dozens of dogs with bad skin at my facility – these little tips seem to work wonders. Forget the Bitter Apple – won’t help fleas or allergic skin. If it still persists, off the the vet. Cheers.