I've actually tried Bendryl on him but it doesn't seem to work. The vet suggested a couple of other over the counter antihistamines, but although they seem to delay the onset, I usually end up giving him the preds even if I get rid of all the fleas. I'm not a big fan of preds either since you're basically giving your dogs steroids with all that implies, and the vets perscribed a couple of different drugs but the only thing I've found to work is the preds. Luckily if I keep the fleas under control, I only have the use them during the summer and only about 2-3 times for the 2 week regiment. I can't remember now which ones I've tried both for antihistamine and perscription meds, but if you have any suggestions?