I am often asked about Flea Prevention. I received a question from one of our readers asking what she was doing wrong or if her dog was having a reaction to the Flea Preventative and what she should do. She told me her dog was very upset with the area where she applied the treatment and it looked red. Should she be worried and take her dog to the vet.
I want to be clear:
Flea Preventative is a POISON - in most cases it has the same active ingredient as the pesticide they use on our fruits and vegetables. So we know it isn't instantly deadly but it is industrial strength and created to do a job. As you all know from my post last night I have to use some type of commercially available protection on top of other methods because I live in Tropical or Sub - Tropical areas (we lived in Hong Kong for a year).
Flea Preventative is going to be slightly irritating on the skin but I personally much prefer it to an oral tablet. You can however make the application less bothersome to the dog or cat by splitting the vial either in half putting half between the shoulders and half the vial around the hip area and then comb it through to help it begin to spread or you can clip a leash on their collars and go for a walk to help start the process. Either way you are helping to spread the preventative so it is not allowed to all stay in one area. Indiana would normally go and hide under the bed or couch which would not help the flea preventative spread all over her body.
I am a moderator on a Chinese Crested Forum and every summer we get the same question does my hairless dog need Flea Preventative? The answer is your dog needs protection even if it only has a few wisps of hair. That does not mean you need to dump an entire vial on their skin that is made for a fully coated dog. What I tell people is either put some of the liquid onto a comb and apply directly to any patches of hair on the dog or if you have a coated dog after brushing the flea preventative through their coat use the same comb without washing it to comb through your hairless dogs furnishings.
I want to say that I am not a Veterinarian nor do I claim to want to be one. Ok so maybe I did want to when I was a little girl but that is another story entirely. I did work at an animal hospital so there are some things that I can help deal with at home instead of taking your pet to the vet each time it does something funny. The reason why I say that is because there are several things I have in the house at all times in cas the dogs need it. I will not tell you the dosages your vets office should be called to ask the proper dose for your pet but I will say that they are perfectly safe for use in your pet. In fact I will create separate posts for each topic at some point.
1. Benadryl
2. Pepcid Tablets
3. Nutrical
4. Dramamine - non-drowsy
Anyway back to Flea Preventatives. If you notice a red mark on your dog after applying and they seem bothered by the spot you can give them benadryl and observe them to see if the area gets better or if you will need to go to the vet because of a bad reaction and the area gets worse.
*Remember to wash your hands after you apply any type of flea prevention.
** We at Two Little Cavaliers DO NOT recommend Flea Collars for your pets for multiple reasons. Including that they are a chocking hazard for your pet and the companies that produce them in general use very toxic chemicals on them.