- I have 12 dogs on my property. I live in the country in a wooded area. I
use Advantage on them, and do not have fleas. Before Advantage, it was a
problem. Advantage does wash away, so you might want to consider Program,
which is a pill form. Program makes the fleas sterile so they cannot breed.
If you do select Program, use one round of Advantage first to kill the
fleas and then use the Program.
Marsha Ardoin
- Once you have fleas on your property, there is absolutely nothing
you can do to get rid of them. You may get them a little under
control but that is all. Advantage, Program, flea colars, etc,
etc, etc, all make an attempt but unfortunately only do very
little if anything. I know of someone that last year had a
very, very bad flea problem. They have all their dogs on Advantage
for a year now and have it under a little better control. Now
they only have a very bad flea problem. So does Advantage work?
I "guess" it helped somewhat. We used to live in Florida and
tried everything out there. Everything. Nothing was able to
get rid of the fleas completely. We always had a terrible problem.
Since we moved to Pennsylvania, we have been here for two years
now, we have not seen 1 flea. NONE. We are very lucky. We live
in a very wooded and rural area. There are lots of deer and
wildlife around our property all the time so fleas evidentally
don't start with them. I am not a "flea expert" although we have
had our share of them in the past in FL. As it stands now, I do not
expect any problems at all as long as another dog that has fleas
gets on our property. I take all precautions so that doesn't
happen. Fighting flea problems can get extremely costly with all
the miracle solutions on the market. Its a shame that a product
that actually works hasn't surfaced yet. IMHO
Jay
- Jay, Thanks for your reply. As of this time, I don't believe we have a flea
problem & I'm hoping to keep it that way. We also live in Pa and there
is a wooded area behind our home which Pepper has not been in. However,
we do have a neighbor with many dogs (who are poorly cared for). While
I do not see them on our property during the day, it is possible that
they wonder over her during our sleeping hours (they are kept outside &
loose). I guess what I'm really asking is, if I start Pepper on some
sort of flea medication now before any signs of fleas, will this prevent
it or is it inevitable regardless? Is a flea problem obvious to an
untrained eye? Is it obvious in the outdoors? (would I see them in
the grass etc)? Would an exterminator be able to spray the lawn area
to get rid of/prevent them?
Lydia/Pepper
- Lydia, I use FrontLine (not the spray kind but the kind in a little
"pouch" that you put on the dog at the neck area once every three
months). So far Lucy has had no fleas. Also, my mom died around
Xmas and I had to take Lucy to Georgia for a few days. She was
COVERED with fleas in 1 day (I don't use any flea stuff in Winter
because I live in DC and it's cold.) Believe me, if your Pepper
gets fleas on that white little coat you will know it. I have never
seen so many busy creatures on one poor little body...they were
crawling down her nose. I went to my aunt's vet and bought some
Frontline. I put it on her and the fleas were gone (all of them)
in 36 hr. They left behind a bunch of black specks (my groomer said
it was "flea dirt." She has been fine since. The Fronline, unlike
Advantage stays on through bathing. Hope this is helpful.
Cathy Brown
- I live in FL and I do not let my maltese touch the ground outside. If they
go outside it is with me carrying them. The only time I notice fleas is if
someone brings them into the house. My son slept over with a friend who has
dogs/cats and used his sleeping bag. When he came home our dogs were all
over the sleeping bag and a week or so later I noticed a couple of tiny
fleas. I IMMEDIATELY bathed my dogs and washed their bedding. So, staying
on top of the situation and also not allowing the dogs outside has kept
fleas out of our life. I do not like using chemicals around the dogs if I
can help it. By the way, my mother's dog (a Golden) had a terrible problem
with fleas until she used Advantage. It really worked for them. Jay, where
in FL did you live? It sounds like you had some very sad experiences here.
(With the pool) I am sorry. I have lived here almost all my life and I just
love it. Thanks for running this site!
DLS
- I am not an expert on fleas either, but I do agree that you have to keep up
with them, once you realize that you have a potential problem. I would
suggest spraying your yard, Diasonon (I think that's how you spell it) will
kill fleas, but your neighbors also have to spray their yards, or any spray
is ineffective. Especially if they let their dogs run wild. (Not very
concientious pet owners huh?) What people call "flea dirt" is actually
flea eggs and should be washed out of the coat and vacuumed off of the floor
as well, before they hatch. If you see black specks and they will just
brush off the coat, it is flea droppings, but if you try to brush them out
and they stick, you have eggs waiting to hatch and you need to dip the dog.
There are flea shampoos to dip the dog in without using flea dip. Flea dip
is harsh on the skin, coat, and eyes of a Maltese. I would only dip a
maltese if it was the last possible choice to get rid of the fleas. Try a
flea shampoo first. I ! think Bobbie has a very good system, spraying the
yard, and bombing frequently (just make sure you and your dog are out of the
house when you do this). I don't believe flea collars work, they just
control fleas where the collar is, not the whole dog. Fleas are a pain,
Good luck with keeping them away from you and Pepper!
taram
- That sounds all well and good but what are we po-folks supposed
to do? You must be well-off to be able to do all you are saying
there. I don't have that kind of money. What does it cost
a year to spray, bomb etc., I have a big yard out there.
Toni
- It's not as much as you think it might be. You can buy a jar of the
powdered BIOHALT for about $10 and it lasts for two or three applications --
and I have a very big yard. The monthly spraying is about $35 per month.
You can also do this your self for about $5- $10 per month. I only do the
BIOHALT myself as the commerical companies do not do this and I don't have
as much time as I would like so have the second done. Boming the house
every three months or so is about $15 - 20 dollars.
Something else to consider is if yiu have cats of your own or your
neighbors. If you do have a cat it is essential tht they at the minimum
wear a flea collar or use something like advantage on the. If they roam the
neigborhood they probably will bring back fleas. All this yard work also
makes a big difference if you have nieghbor cats that roam your yard.
bobbie
- I have spent a lot of money on flea prevention products. I trust my vet. He advises advantage, a product applied between the shoulder blades once a month at the least. Fleas are a problem and I am somewhat a neurotic about having them on Bogie or in my
home. I understand that fleas live on cats and in the grass. My
neighborhood has toooooo many unrestrained cats! So......
I'd like to hear from you as to what you are trusting will work. I've tried
garlic tablets, sprays, shampoos, brushings, pro spot and progam. Hope I've
helped. I learned that Frontline has not been ok'd in NY State, yet. Lucky
Pennsylvanians!
jmalta3
- Re: Fleas; Sorry I'm a little late with this subject, but I have been too
busy to log on. I live in FL and travel all over the country in the summer.
I do not have a flea problem, but have had a few fleas. We put KoKo on the
Program at 3 months old. At 3 1/2 months we were in the FL Keys and Bingo,
she had fleas. I used Adams Shampoo and picked for hours to remove the
fleas. Three days later more hatched, I bathed her again with Adams and she
was clean. I sprayed the motor home and the house when we got home. Last
summer traveling I spotted a tick on her. When I returned home I asked the
Vet and they recommend I use both Program and Frontline (Spray) due to our
life style. KoKo was clear until our new puppy picked up a few in Feb. She
only had one Frontline treatment and apparently it is a build up effect.
Our house is sprayed every 2 months completely by an Exterminator. Yesterday
I bathed both dogs and found one flea on each. They will be sprayed
tomorrow. Vet. said not to spray until 2 to 3 days before or after bath,
the chemical works on body oils. The moral is I do not have a problem, but
they are inspected weekly when they are bathed and they get treated on a
monthly basis I will begin the program again for both of them next month as
we will be traveling June, July & Aug. and they will be walked in all
different parts of the US and Canada. I walk them twice daily for both our
exercise. I live in FL in "The Great Outdoors" and the dogs love being
outside. After all, "don't you know" they are dogs.
Shelley
- Where do you get the BIOHALT? Do these [worms] affect any vegetation in the
yard? Sounds like a 'natural' solution to me. Who do you have spray? What do they use? (I also have human kids that go out in the yard to play, etc.) I've heard of a company, Fleabusters, that will come spray periodically in your yard. I have no idea if they are effective, or how much it costs.
Laurie B.
- Now that the flea season is upon most of us again, please
do yourself a big favor before buying any of the products
on the market. You will hear all kinds of helpful suggestions:
- "This is great"
- "It worked for me?"
- "No, that didn't work for me"
- "No, I tried that and it wasn't any good"
- "My friend tried this so you should too"
- "They say it will do this"
- etc, etc, etc, etc.
The bottom line is if the manufacturer of the product does not offer an unconditional money back guarantee on its product think twice before buying it. You can throw a LOT of money away on some of these snake oil products. Beware.
Jay
- Great advice, Jay. And one other reminder for people, as someone
pointed out on a post here the other day -- I think it was concerning
shampoo or a coat product -- that some products though they may work
well in one city or territory, because of various differences in water
or other factors, may not work as well in another state. So even,
if it is highly recommended by someone on the board here, because of
climate differences or even skin differences or whatever, always make
sure you have a guarantee to fall back on.
Rebecca
- I think something needs to be said here about guarantees and claims. First
let me preface this by saying that professionally (yes, I do something other
than breed and show Maltese) I am a Director of Clinical and Regulatory
Affairs for a company medical drug and diagnostics industry. As a part of
that position I am RAC (Regulatory Association Compliance) certified, which
means that I certified in the Regulations that guide the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA). I curently work in human medicine but have also
passed accrediation on the regulations that also apply to Veterinary Drugs
and Diagnostics (also regulated by the FDA). Now having said that . . .
The products that are mentioned for flea control are ALL regulated and
approved by the FDA -- which means that they all have undergone SUBSTANTIAL
clincial trials before being approved for sale and marketing. With each of
these applications to the FDA the company must submit an "Intended Use"
statement (what's is used for -- flea control in dogs) and must prove that
clinically and statistically to the FDA. All advertising, promotional
material, including web pages, etc. that promote the product must be
approved by FDA and in compliance with Code of Federal Regualtions. If a
manufactuer makes a statement (this is hypothetical) that XXX controls FFF
in SSS environment then this has been clincially and statistically proven
in Clinical Trials or the FDA will not allow the promotional material.
There is no need for a guarantee. Using the product, following the
manufactuers directions and intended use should provide the results as
descibed. That the product has received FDA approval GUARANTEES that this
is accurate. If you check any of your ethical medications (script or over
the counter) you will find similar statements. All have also been approved
by the FDA. There is NEVER any guarantee statement included with any
product approved by the FDA. Many of these products were originally
available only as script from veterinarians -- this is becasue the efficacy
had not been approved by the FDA when used by the general population. A
product is only approved for over-the-counter use (such as some of these
products are) until such a time as it has been proven that you and me can
use it follwoing the directions on the package and achieve the desired
results. Many times failures of OTC medications, drugs or anything such as
flea control products result form people not using them in accordance with
the manufacturers PRINTED directions.
Sorry for being on my soap box, but I'm afraid many people do not understand
this. These products would not be on the market if they were not effacious.
Bobbie Linden
- I had a problem with fleas on my two outside dogs, when I moved here from
Houston. The prior owners of the property, evidently left them for me. I
had the yard professionally sprayed, and nothing happened. I started using
Advantage, and I have no fleas. This is the only one I have had good luck
with, but I do suggest people use it, as it worked for me. I live in the
country, wooded area. It does not kill ticks, I have to use another product
for the yard for that, but the label says it is not effective on ticks.
It's those expensive flea collars that should be burned !
Marsha Ardoin
- I guess the old saying,- don't believe none of what you hear and
only half of what you see is very much the truth.
Bobbie Linden says quote: "There is NEVER any guarantee statement included
with any product approved by the FDA"
I am staring at a bottle of Homebest extra strength aspirins
that I would hope is approved by the FDA, with this written
right on the label "UNCONDITIONAL GUARANTEE"-Should this product
fail to give you satisfation in use, please return the unused
portion to place of purchase for replacement or refund of the
purchase price".
Like I said in my previous post, think twice before paying good
money for a product that doesn't have a satisfaction guarantee.
Jay
Date sent: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 08:22:46 -0600 (MDT)
Subject: Maltese Only-WWWBoard Msg 1373
- Your 100% right Jay. I have gone through hundreds of dollars before
I learned that most flea control products just don't do what they claim. Its hard to find a product that the manufacturer will stand behind with a guarantee, but there are a few out there. These are the only ones I will try anymore.
Carol M.
- Our family's Maltese had the uncanny ability to atract fleas
about a year ago. We eventually learned that she picked them up
at the kennel that we left her in for a week during our vacation.
Places like that and the pet stores that let you bring in your pets
are good places to catch fleas. We put a flea collar on her and
stopped taking her to that kennel. The flea collar was only
partially effective though. So we also began using a flea control
shampoo which I can't remember the name of. They have them at
the local pet shop. Another method we used on a dog we had a while
ago was professional flea dips. On his regular trip to the vet
we had them give him a dip which worked great.
Lesley/Muffy
- Wouldn't it be nice if there was a survey somewhere that compared areas of
the US and products that work where. Not done by the manufacturer, but a
survey group, or someone that is intelligent, has a gift for writing, very
good at research, say someone like Larry Stanberry.
Marsha Ardoin