How often should I treat my puppy for fleas?

[Archie bean]

They can be incredibly difficult to spot and quite often you only get to see one when there are lots more in hiding  One of the best ways to keep a check is to get some damp kitchen paper and run a comb through the fur so that any debris falls onto the paper. If there is any flea dirt it wil initially be black but once it hits the damp paper it will start to turn reddish brown - as a result of the blood they have been feeding on.  If you find the flea dirt then there are fleas, even if you don't actually see any of them.

[Joules]

The only time I can see them on Coco is when they run across her tummy where the hair is thinner 

They are very fast little blighters 

[Jane57]

Omg Im itching just reading this.... think I shall stick to the frontline combo 

[MIN]

gemma sometimes brings "friends" home for tea. they are captured and dealt with at the time.

[Nicola]

I treat mine preventatively with Advocate because they come into contact with a lot of other dogs, and once you've found adult fleas on your dog they'll already have got into your house and car and laid eggs which will keep hatching out and reinfesting the dog. They had never had fleas until last year when we had a house guest who came with a few guests of their own They were a nightmare to get rid of, I had to spray the house and car several times as well as treating and combing the dogs, the flea life cycle can take several months to break and I'm just not going to risk another infestation. Much as I don't like putting stuff on the dogs I like them having fleas even less. I never got bitten but just the thought of them being on the dogs and in the house made my skin crawl and living where we do and them being around so many other dogs it's inevitable that they'll pick them up so I need them to die before they get a chance to start breeding!

[Bnstott]

We are in London and our vet recommends Advocate spot-on every month which is what we are doing.  We get foxes in our garden and meet lots of other dogs.  I can't bear the thought of having fleas in our house!

[Helen]

If I knew what the 90 percent of undisclosed supposedly 'inactive' ingredients are in spot on's and if they were then proved to be completely safe and risk free I'd be inclined to use them.  Since the drug companies refuse to disclose their full 'recipes', and I don't like any chemical that is used on the skin which is then absorbed into the blood stream I choose not to treat preventatively.

Yes, the ideas of fleas is horrible but I will deal with them if it happens   

[black taz]

I used to do mine monthly until i came on here.  Raffi is 7 months and i have only used flea treatment once on him so far.  I use advocate 2 or 3 times a year on the other dogs (usually before we go on holiday).  Havent had any problems so far and glad i have stopped using it on a regular basis - the smell gives me migraines, and it goes to prove that i didnt actually need to use it every month anyway (saved a fortune!)

[Wendy G]

I don't use a preventative on mine either, my dogs have not had fleas for years, in fact Stella has never had them and she is 5 next January

[geordiegirl]

sorry abit of a late reply on this topic! I use Advocate on Jasper, when I used it a couple of weeks ago he was really off, not himself at all and totally off his food for 24 hours after I had used it. 

The month before when I used it I stupidly put his collar back on before it had dried properly and it took all of the colour off his leather collar, which worries as if it can do that to a collar what is it doing to him skin?

I never used any of this stuff on my old cocker and he only ever got fleas once, I am now not sure if I should not bother with the flee treatment and just worm him or swap to Frontline and see how he gets on with that, Jasper is only 7 months at the moment, I think vets push this stuff too much really and do does really need flea treatment once a month?

[elaine.e]

sorry abit of a late reply on this topic! I use Advocate on Jasper, when I used it a couple of weeks ago he was really off, not himself at all and totally off his food for 24 hours after I had used it. 

The month before when I used it I stupidly put his collar back on before it had dried properly and it took all of the colour off his leather collar, which worries as if it can do that to a collar what is it doing to him skin?

I never used any of this stuff on my old cocker and he only ever got fleas once, I am now not sure if I should not bother with the flee treatment and just worm him or swap to Frontline and see how he gets on with that, Jasper is only 7 months at the moment, I think vets push this stuff too much really and do does really need flea treatment once a month?

On another dog forum I once read about somebody whose dog's plastic collar became stuck to the skin after applying Advocate. Apparently it contains some kind of solvent that dissolved the collar.  I haven't seen any similar reports anywhere else though.

I think if I were you I would let your vet know about Jasper's reaction. At the very least it should be put on his record and they may advise you to use something else instead. If you look on the Noah's Compendium website, probably on the Bayer website too, you'll find a list of reactions that Advocate can cause. They're mostly shown as rare or very rare, but they exist.

[HBP]

Just a quickie re fleas, I haven never ever seen a cat or dog flea (I know! )
How big are they, ? how "easy" to spot , or is it if the dog is scratching lots that people investigate?
I just couldnt bear the thought of having them in the house  let alone on the dog.


Not keen either on putting chemicals on him either now people mention it (even though I dont give a single thought of the chemicals I put on my hair every few months) lol.

They're big enough to see, especially if one is sat on your arm! 

Hudson has been Frontlined every 8 weeks so far. Our cats wear flea collars all year round as they are little nomads and cat fleas are just the worst!! Plus most of the spot on treatments I've had for cats have been virtually ineffective.