Fleas!

[Shang]

Okay, my dog has fleas.  She gets them so easily, it's like she's a magnet.  I have tried everything (collars, sprays, the pill, Frontline, etc.) to try and get rid of the damn things.  They all seemed to work for about 2 days, even the flea dips didn't help!  She is currently getting a bath a week so I can at least pick off some of the fleas.  The house has been treated as well.  I can't treat the yard because I live in an apartment.

Do you guys have any secrets or any suggestions to try and get the fleas off of her and to help keep them off?

[Flan]

http://www.examiner.com/x-42591-Knoxville-Pug-Examiner~y2010m3d25-Peppermint-Oil-Leaves-Among-Natural-Flea-Fighters

[Shang]

Thank you!

I wonder why peppermint never came up in my searches, I always got lemon or citrus (which I have tried, too, didn't work).

[Cameron James]

Try Dawn soap - the dish soap, not the bath soap. Just put some around your dog's neck - make it a thick lather, and then submerge her in water just under the soap line. Fleas can't cross the soap (don't know why, but they can't) so the ones on her body will drown in the water. Definitely get a flea comb.

My gf and I got a kitten that had fleas, and it took a flea comb and Dawn to get them under control and eventually gone. Flea collars usually work best for prevention.

It sounds like your problem really lies with the flea eggs - the baths kill the fleas themselves, but flea eggs hatch every 4 to 6 days, and the baths don't kill the eggs. You may want to try to give her a thorough bath with peppermint leaves, Dawn, and lemon juice every day for a week. That should kill them all.

[Shang]

Thanks for the information, but I got the fleas all taken care of!  

I had to stop using anything on her.  Turns out she was more-than-likely allergic to the flea bites and the flea shampoo and collar just made things worse because they irritated her skin further.

She's now taking a Brewer's yeast tablet once a day and she hasn't been itchy and I haven't seen a flea on her (or in the apartment).  The sores she gave herself from scratching have also all healed up, though she now looks like she's part dalmation because she scarred on her bare skin.  Her skin is no longer red from the scratching and irritation.

She's doing so much better now!

[Cameron James]

She's doing so much better now!

Great news! Fleas suck.

[Shang]

Great news! Fleas suck.

They do.  And they're stubborn little guys who don't get a hint easily.