Are all fleas the same?

Deb, I remember our old vet (now at The Bridge with all his dog and cat friends, telling me about a patient he had. This dog's quality of life was almost nil, due to severe hives, As a last resort, he prescribed Rimadyl around the clock and the dog was finally comfortable and start4ed to heal. I don't remember if the dog was also on steroids. I know some people and some vets don't like Rimadyl but this doc (whom we loved and trusted completely) maintained that it has it's uses. And yes, Florida has bugs and varmints you can't find elsewhere! Been there, seen that!

Both dogs are sleeping peacefully - the Bravecto is supposed to kill off everything living on the dog within 8 hours or so?

Thanks, Dr Doug - that's interesting that your beagle had what I'll call "location allergies", too? I'm allergic to cats - OTHER peoples' cats. I had cats for years, and mine never bothered me too much; but if I let other cats snuggle up to me, I'll have welts/hives where they touched me. I'm hoping (praying!) that Jimmy is only allergic to Florida fleas.....

30 years in dogs and never had fleas until I hit Florida. :(

I can't do topical flea control with my dogs, so I had to learn how to control them while in Florida. Most of the info I got on how to, came from all of you guys!

The key is a shampoo that kills the eggs so you can get ahead of the problem. Takes a couple of weeks but it can be accomplished. Bathing with a flea shampoo that doesn't kill flea eggs also is just blowing in the wind and a waste of money!

Walmart has the one that worked the best.
Adams Flea and Tick Shampoo- kills flea eggs.

And for the 16 year old who I can not wash every week with pyrethrins. He gets washed every other week with
Adams d-limonene Doesn't kill the eggs but he can tolerate it better.

He's the one that gets bumps from the flea bites if I don't stay on a rigid schedule of bathing him so the fleas don't 'get' to the biting stage. If I start seeing the bumps that means it's bath time plus a dose of liquid benydril.

There might not be any snow here but the fleas are a real pain.

When I was a kid growing up, we had a beagle that had terrible allergies in St. Louis. My parents were teachers and we spent the summers in northern Minnesota where my dad was a director in a summer camp. Our dog had no allergies when up north, but as soon as we got back to St. Louis in August, he was miserable until the first frost.

Flea allergies, bad ones, are among the worst skin conditions we see in dogs. Like you said, they are truly miserable. And they can do some serious self mutilation because of the itching.

Don't be too afraid of the steroids, they can really knock out the symptoms quickly (better than antihistamines) and allow time to get the flea situation under control.

Hope your plan works quickly.

Doug

I'm glad you found a vet you can trust. Our dogs are on Bravecto and they are doing well on it.

Well, we're back. I like the new Vet - she gave me several options for the treatment of probable "flea allergy dermatitis". I opted for the more hands-on route; will save steroids for "last-resort" needs. She said that dogs can develop allergies later; and that a flea allergy is a bad thing for a dog, since they're always a target for fleas; and fleas are everywhere.

I'm going to try Bravecto, the 3-month flea/tick killing chewable. She also said I can give Jimmy more Benadryl than I was; I also have a soothing oatmeal/aloe shampoo; and a topical cortisone spray. Ben will have to receive the Bravecto, too, lest he keep delivering bugs to Jimmy. I'm not keen on using pesticides inside or outside my dogs - but Jimmy is beyond miserable.

I guess I've been lucky that in all my years, I've never had a dog with recurring allergies. By the time the Bravecto wears off - we should be back in Michigan. It will be interesting to see if he reacts like this to Michigan fleas?

An aside: nobody in the Vet's office was familiar with Aussiepoos - and they were just goofy about my guys (who are lovable and super-friendly anyway). It also feels good to have a Vet connection down here. I also have a 24-hr emergency/specialty animal hospital literally across the street; but they don't handle "regular" Vet visits.

It may not be the fleas to which Jimmy has reacted. It could be a plant or something else in your in-laws' yard.

My Bat-dog got hives a couple years ago. She was at home in her own yard and one day she broke out in hives. We never could identify what it was that caused the hives and it hasn't happened again. But I keep an eye on signs of a recurrence and keep benedryl on hand.

Fleas are present all over the world. Over 2000 varieties, in fact. In America there are over 200 different types of fleas. Wikipedia has other facts about fleas that are interesting! Also contains advice regarding treatment to rid pet of these pests.

Sand Fleas are different than the normal Fleas! Some Dogs to react differently to them. However, they are still Fleas and the treatments are the same.