Question by Hana: My dog is always biting and itching but doesnt have fleas!?! please help!?
my dog is a 10 month shih tzu and he recently went into a vet check up and they gave us some medication for him and he started to do better. but after he stopped taking it he started to itch alot. the doctor said it was allergies to food, or outside allergies. he currently eats benefit for pups and we bathe him every 2 weeks. when i tried looking for the fleas or ticks, all i find are little black critters but no eggs. he recently got worst since i look him outside to use the bathroom and i think a bug bite him? because he started to run out of the grass and itch himself.

i also heard that it that it could be dried skin? if so what shampoo should i change to? im currently using hartz ultraguard and top paw bright and brilliant whitening conditioner.

im thinking about changing his dog food, shampoo and getting flea treatment just in case but looking for other opinions!

Best answer:

Answer by ladystang
take to vet for tests
could be allergies
could be bathing to much, 6-8 weeks is plenty for dogs

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Question by T_RawRr: My dog has fleas and i need alternative treatments?
my dog has fleas and to got a spot on thing for him because the vet recommended it for him many years ago.(Advantage by bayer)

im sure ive put it on him right because its worked every other time

i only treat him when he actually gets fleas because its expensive (and my mum refuses to pay that much)

its been around 2 weeks since i put it on and it hasnt had much effect unlike the other times. i dont want to give him a flea bath because he usually bites his skin to its broken when its itchy (from allergies and stuff) so i dont want to put any cleaning stuff on broken skin

+ he is already wearing a tick collar for paralysis ticks and not fleas (other collars dont usually protect him from those type ticks or only last for 2 weeks) so id rather not use anymore pesticide treatment (ticks are common in my area and id rather not pay another $ 1300 vet bill if he gets tick poisoning)

any suggestions?
the spot on is meant to kill fleas around him as well

he has only been infesting 3-4 times in his 8 year life

Best answer:

Answer by Why So Serious?
vinegar. no lie

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Question by Sidney C: Fleas on linoleum in bathroom – won’t die!?
We have two dogs, both under 10 lbs. They tend to get fleas pretty badly during the summer, even though they only go outside to do their business. Our oldest dog has now even developed a flea allergy and bites and scratches until he causes open wounds on his skin and loses fur! In the past couple of weeks they have gotten fleas badly again, and brought them into the house. We have carpet in all rooms except for kitchen and bathroom – we have no fleas in the kitchen, we no longer have them on the carpet (as we vacuum frequently and have sprayed the carpet), but they have invaded the bathroom and WILL NOT DIE. The bathroom is linoleum, and very small! I thought there was no way for them to continue living on it, but they have proved me wrong. I have sprayed twice with two different flea sprays (that worked on the rest of the floors), washed the bathroom rugs several times and tried removing them for a while, vacuumed around all edges of the bathroom, and have steam mopped twice. Today we even flea bombed the entire house, in hopes that we would finally solve the problem… it actually made the bathroom situation worse. I walked into the bathroom for the first time after bombing and had six on my foot at one time, when before the bombing it would be two on me at a time at most. What do we do?? My husband and I are expecting our first child in less than two months and we don’t want to be dealing with this any longer! Please help!!

Oh, and today we sprayed our yard (again) with a concentrated flea killer. We have also applied frontline to our smaller dog and Comfortis to our older dog about a week ago – they still have fleas. The meds have always done the job of killing their fleas before, but not this year!

Best answer:

Answer by Ajulutsikael
If the Frontline isn’t working switch to Advantage. I had this problem before and you have to just spray the yard, house and deal with the dogs.

If you’re going to vacuum, use Borax on the rugs, its usually very good. There is a barn spray that I used a while back when I had a huge infestation and it worked wonders. It’s called LD-44z. It works, trust me.
I used this spray while pregnant with no problems, I just didn’t breathe in.

Also, fleas can live up to a year without feeding.

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Question by rubber_fryed_chicken: Vet or Holistic Vet help please for 2 Great Pyrenees (fleas and underweight)?
This will be long, I apologize.

I have 2 Pyr’s, one is 7 1/2 one is 2 1/2. These are my 4th and 5th Pyr’s respectively, so I am quite familiar with the breed. I have home cooked for them since the pet food scare back in 2007, except for recently, due to time constraints and lack of job. I fully plan on resuming their normal diet next week, Wednesday to be exact.

I recently took them on a job for 1 week where they contracted fleas. I do not usually treat them for fleas unless I see signs of of infestation due to the garlic and brewers yeast which is normally present in their diet. I also use a tea tree oil spritz in their regular grooming routine, and this regiment usually allows me to forgo any chemical treatment. But this year has been an exception, unfortunately.

Tonight I bathed both dogs in a good flea shampoo and treated them with frontline. Their skin is a mess due to both the fleas and the corn allergies they have. I am leery of spritzing them with the tea tree spritz due to the alcohol content but am instead thinking of making a salve which includes almond oil, tea tree oil and neosporin ointment. I am concerned that the almond oil will smell attractive to them and they will ingest it along with the other ingredients. Please let me know what you think about this.

But that is not my MAJOR concern. While bathing my youngest Pyr, I have discovered he seems to be EXTREMELY underweight. I mean his wet body is about as wide as a Grey Hound. His hips are prominent and I can feel each rib bone. He looks like a big wet head… What I am thinking is I need to increase his Iron, Calcium and Protein intake drastically, but on a slightly gradual basis. I plan on doing this with Liver, cheese, eggshells, lentils and spinach along with vitamin fortified cereal (bran flakes) and possibly eggs.

Please tell me if you think I am moving in the right direction, I need to get weight and nutrients into this baby FAST!!
No tapeworm present in stool. Carpets, All bedding and upholstery has also been treated tonight.

I also just noticed that he is missing a toe nail and the toe is slightly swollen and that there might be an underlying infection which is affecting his appetite.

If I were not unemployed, my boy would be at the vet and this question would not be on here.

Best answer:

Answer by chzbrgr
Bring him to the vet. There may be a medical issue underlying his condition, and even if there isn’t it’s a good idea to get professional input before changing his diet when he is so underweight.

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Question by cyndia: Does my dog have allergies or fleas???
My dog doesnt stop scratching after i bathe him in flea soap. I’ve tried dishwashing detergent a few weeks ago, also store bought flea shampoo.

He uses front line plus and K9-advantix dont seem to work. yes i put it on his scalp and i dont bathe him afterwards. I also put on a flea collar a few days ago… i bathe him once a week, he is a shih tzu

I already flea bombed the whole house a few times in the last few months(i found some fleas on me last week)

so the question is, do i assume it is not fleas that he is sratching b/c he still scratches after i bathe him?

i have already started switching his food to non-corn….. btw he is 10 months old.

Best answer:

Answer by Ani
Could be skin allergies, especially this time of year.

Try getting an oatmeal dog shampoo (it will usually say for itchy or sensitive skin) Dont use people shampoo because it could dry out the dog’s skin and make the itching worse.

If the skin on the dog’s back, right above the tail feels warmer than usual to the touch, it is probably allergies.
Benadryl pills help too. Just give 1/2-1 mg per pound.

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