My First Flea Experience with a New Puppy

Learn about My First Flea Experience with a new Puppy and how I got rid of Fleas.

You can read about why I started this FleaSeason.com website and I’m going to write here about my first experience with Fleas . . .

Almost 5 years ago, I added a Welsh Corgi puppy to the family, I think she was 10 weeks old. I named her Missy. It had been a long time since we had a dog in the house, and all the dogs I had as a child and then as an adult – never had Fleas. So I really had no experience at all with Fleas.

Things were going along fine – Missy went to her Groomer every four weeks and when she was out of ‘puppyhood’ and it was safe, I started using a Flea treatment, I bought Advantage II for Dogs and unfortunately, it made her sick. I used the  ‘Advantage’ Drops in the morning, and within the hour she was vomiting. So, I bought and used Frontline Plus – which worked out fine with no side effects.

When Missy was about 2 ½ years old, she started playing with a neighbor dog. Well, come to find out – the neighbor dog always has Fleas and is never taken to the Groomer. I think I missed a month and didn’t use the Frontline Plus – and Missy isn’t acting abnormal, but she is scratching. Every day. Several times a day. My hubby says “I think the dog has Fleas”. I’m like – OK what do I do now. I’m not seeing any Fleas in the House. I’m not being bitten by Fleas. I look at my dog’s coat and I’m not seeing any Fleas … so I take her to her regular Grooming appointment.

I don’t even make it home – and I get a call from the groomer telling me Missy HAS FLEAS and they are giving her a Capstar tablet to start killing the fleas immediately. They have a ‘No-Flea’ policy and they had to give her the ‘Capstar’ so the Fleas  wouldn’t spread to other dogs waiting to be groomed.

I started washing everything in the house in hot water followed by high-heat in the dryer. I vacuumed the entire house from top to bottom – three times. I vacuumed my car, and the pet carrier. I took all the area rugs outside and sprayed with Vet’s Best Flea and Tick Home Spray for Dogs, which is a natural organic flea spray. After spraying the area rugs outside – I let them sit for an hour, then vacuumed them  twice. I also sprayed the area where my dog sleeps, and in the corners of my office, another place Missy spends a lot of time. I placed several glass pie plates, filled with soapy water and a votive candle in the center – in two places of my house where I thought Fleas might be. Within fours hours, there was only one Flea in the water … the Groomer said if the house was infested – there would have been up to a hundred(s) Fleas in the water.

I bought a Steam Cleaner (to disinfect and to use for Fleas) and now it’s my new best friend. Steam cleaners kill Fleas and Dust Mites. I use it on my floors and beds. Yeah!

I sprinkled Diatomaceous Earth (food grade) powder very lightly in the corners of rooms and along baseboards in the basement. I keep Diatomaceous Earth on-hand, and use just a light dusting in my Corgi’s coat once a week during the Summer  months. It’s inexpensive, doesn’t harm her at all, and I just feel better using it as a second-step to ensure against her getting Fleas again.

Now I make my own organic Diatomaceous Earth blend, and it works great to control Fleas, and isn’t drying to her skin.

 

Note: Frontline Plus has worked for my Corgi, and hasn’t made her sick. I alternate every month now between Frontline and Revolution. As far as I know – Revolution is only available with a prescription from a Veterinarian.

Revolution not only kills Fleas and Flea eggs, it also guards against Heartworms, ear mites, mange and ticks. Safe to use on puppies over 6 weeks. Missy has never had an adverse reaction to Revolution.