Quote Originally Posted by zoey
Daisy is scratching and biting all the time.
I took her to the vet and he said it was flea dirt. I have only ever seen 1 flea on her, and she's with me practically 24/7. The vet said that sometimes it's just the irritaion from a bite, and perhaps the eggs they lay subcutaniously.
He said the flea only stays on the dog for 7 seconds, a lot of times.
He said to treat her and the home. Well, I have and she still is scratching and biting 10 days later.
I bathed her thursday, re-applied her frontline to her back, treated the carpets and floors with a boric acid compound and will repeat due to the incubation period.
I'm looking into essential oils. I've read that the neem oil, mixed with aloe repels the fleas.
Has anyone had any luck w/ any?
If so, where is a good place to buy the pure essential oils online?
Any replies welcomed! Thanks!
Zoey
A good point was brought up on the flea allergies. Most dogs will end up with an allergic reaction to the flea bite, followed by a possible skin infection. Try Benedryl to suppress the allergic reaction. Usual dosage is 1-2 mg/lb - consult with your Vet. When your dog is under a flea attack there are several approaches:

1. Shampoo the carpet as you apparently already have done.

2. If the dog is heavily infested with fleas, then get a Capstar pill from the Vet. Any flea that bites the dog in the next 24 hrs- dies instantly. Sometimes a second dose is needed 2 weeks later if eggs start to hatch.

3. The monthly Sentinel heartworm medication has the Program medication embedded in it. If you are using Heartguard instead, then ask the Vet for the Program medication. Any female flea that bites the dog treated with Program, causes her eggs to become sterile.

At this point you have killed the adult fleas, and sterilized the female fleas to prevent any future eggs layed to be able to hatch. Two breaks in the life cycle.

What I have to battle off/on is when my dogs get around a neighbor's dog that has fleas. They hop onto mine, and then I have to contend with a few adult fleas causing problems. The solution is to buy a flea trap. Consists of a photo-electric light that sits above a sticky pad. Flea hops off dog in the middle of the night, jumps towards light, lands on pad, and gets stuck.

Also if the dog has been licking flea feces, then that could lead to tapeworm. The way a dog will get tapeworm is to eat the flea feces, or the infected flea itself. Keep an eye out for anything that looks like rice in the dog's feces.

You can try supplementing the diet with fish oil, and Vitamin-E (dry succinate salt form). This will help with skin repair.