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Deb_and_Ed_M's avatar
Deb_and_Ed_M
Explorer II
Aug 18, 2015

Topical Flea Treatment "agitation"?

So I had asked about Vectra, and the common unhappy review on Amazon was that the dogs treated seemed overly-agitated and hyper touch-sensitive. I decided not to use it.

Then my sis and her kids and their dogs came for a visit - and her dogs were LOADED with fleas :-( And after they left - mine were, too. What had been occasional scratching with my guys, had turned into waking me up because their dogtags were jingling many times that night as they scratched. Sunday morning, I applied Activyl (a prior purchase from my Vet) to start cutting back on the flea population before all 4 of us stuff ourselves in our truck camper for 3 solid weeks...

But both Jimmy and Ben are acting like they've got the heebie-jeebies. Do these topicals make the fleas act "weird", so the dogs are reacting to more flea movement; or does it actually do something to the dog's nervous system?

Meanwhile, I've got some herbal flea spray for the house (peppermint and clove oils) and each night we do a flea combing, although I didn't find any last night (yet the dogs continued to scratch, although it's less than the previous nights)
  • RBak's avatar
    RBak
    Explorer
    Aug 18, 2015
    Maybe they need a prescription topical application to calm down the itchy spots on them. Some dogs develop flea bite dermatitis - it can drive them nuts and they scratch and scratch until they've got skin infections going. I had this happen to a few dogs I had in the past before Frontline. I've had success with Frontline Plus for my sensitive shelties - never a flea on them since I started using it more than 10 years ago. Hope the dogs (and you) get relief soon - maybe a trip to the vet is in order. Good luck!

    Rita
    Andy the sheltie
    Nicky the horse (wish they had Frontline for horses - darn those nasty flies!)
  • Deb_and_Ed_M's avatar
    Deb_and_Ed_M
    Explorer II
    Aug 18, 2015
    RBak wrote:
    Maybe they need a prescription topical application to calm down the itchy spots on them. Some dogs develop flea bite dermatitis - it can drive them nuts and they scratch and scratch until they've got skin infections going. I had this happen to a few dogs I had in the past before Frontline. I've had success with Frontline Plus for my sensitive shelties - never a flea on them since I started using it more than 10 years ago. Hope the dogs (and you) get relief soon - maybe a trip to the vet is in order. Good luck!

    Rita
    Andy the sheltie
    Nicky the horse (wish they had Frontline for horses - darn those nasty flies!)


    Thanks for that, Rita - I'll watch for a few days to see it they're scratching the same spots and there's a problem developing? If they still are scratching tonight - they'll be getting bethed tomorrow, on the outside chance it's the topical that's making them itch...
  • DOTLDaddy's avatar
    DOTLDaddy
    Nomad
    Aug 18, 2015
    RBak wrote:
    ... I've had success with Frontline Plus for my sensitive shelties - never a flea on them since I started using it more than 10 years ago....
    That has been our experience as well. Even though our vet starting telling us a couple years ago that Frontline Plus was losing it's effectiveness against fleas, we have just not seen that to be true for us. Maybe we don't frequent flea infested areas, I don't know.

    BTW, Deb and Ed, I'm pretty sure it's the dogs getting the heebie-jeebies from the topical, not from the fleas dancing around. :B

    In any case, good luck!
  • Pawz4me's avatar
    Pawz4me
    Explorer
    Aug 18, 2015
    The "heebie jeebies" is exactly how my Shih Tzu acted when he had a reaction to K9 Advantix. His were really bad, plus he had intense itchiness. I bathed him in Dawn (per the instructions on the K9 Advantix website) within a couple of hours of application but it didn't seem to help so we went to the vet and he was given a Benadryl injection. A couple of days later the itching had only gotten worse, so he was put on a course of steroids. It took a week for the "heebie jeebies" and itchiness to completely stop.

    Is this the second time you applied the Activyl? From what my vet said it's usually not the first application that triggers a reaction, but the second or subsequent applications.

    I remember reading some suggestions that said applying Vitamin E oil to the application site(s) can help.
  • Ductape's avatar
    Ductape
    Explorer
    Aug 18, 2015
    We use nothing but soap on the dogs, it's very effective at killing as long as it soaks for 5 minutes. Plain shampoo, not "flea soap" with insecticides.

    Boraxo for the environment (carpets and floors). Very reliable.

    Too many reports such as yours keep us away from systemics.

    Good luck ridding yourself.
  • Deb_and_Ed_M's avatar
    Deb_and_Ed_M
    Explorer II
    Aug 18, 2015
    Pawz4me wrote:


    Is this the second time you applied the Activyl? From what my vet said it's usually not the first application that triggers a reaction, but the second or subsequent applications.



    I've used it before (and don't remember this kind of reaction to it) - but probably a year ago? I normally don't like to use insecticides on my dogs, preferring to flea-comb them daily if necessary.

    Strangely, they've both been quietly sleeping here at work. No scratching. Maybe the worst is over now?
  • Deb_and_Ed_M's avatar
    Deb_and_Ed_M
    Explorer II
    Aug 18, 2015
    Ductape wrote:
    We use nothing but soap on the dogs, it's very effective at killing as long as it soaks for 5 minutes. Plain shampoo, not "flea soap" with insecticides.

    Boraxo for the environment (carpets and floors). Very reliable.

    Too many reports such as yours keep us away from systemics.

    Good luck ridding yourself.


    Thanks! So far - the fleas aren't hungry enough to be biting humans....

    I read somewhere, that the percentage of adult fleas to juveniles/eggs/etc was pretty low. Knowing I probably have all stages of them was enough to make me use the Activyl (and vacuum like a madwoman....LOL!)
  • Deb_and_Ed_M's avatar
    Deb_and_Ed_M
    Explorer II
    Aug 19, 2015
    DOTLDaddy wrote:

    BTW, Deb and Ed, I'm pretty sure it's the dogs getting the heebie-jeebies from the topical, not from the fleas dancing around. :B



    You're right. After watching Ben turn himself into a pretzel so he could lick the application site on his lower back, I gave both dogs baths in regular dog shampoo (and let the lather sit for a while). ONE single flea went down the drain, so the Activyl was doing a good job - but clearly that was the source of the irritation. They are both much happier/calmer now (and a LOT nicer to pet - I hate that greasy liquid on their fur anyway).
  • xteacher's avatar
    xteacher
    Explorer
    Aug 19, 2015
    I think the topicals cause an intense burning sensation in many dogs. Mine always hated it when I applied it. I stopped using Frontline Plus when it failed to be effective in my area (GA). I also didn't like the oily residue.

    I have found NexGard (a chewable) to be effective, although pricy, and I am now trying out the Sorresto flea/tick collar on my boxer. So far, so good. As with many of these medications, do not use if your dog is prone to seizures.
  • Deb_and_Ed_M's avatar
    Deb_and_Ed_M
    Explorer II
    Aug 19, 2015
    xteacher wrote:
    I think the topicals cause an intense burning sensation in many dogs. Mine always hated it when I applied it. I stopped using Frontline Plus when it failed to be effective in my area (GA). I also didn't like the oily residue.

    I have found NexGard (a chewable) to be effective, although pricy, and I am now trying out the Sorresto flea/tick collar on my boxer. So far, so good. As with many of these medications, do not use if your dog is prone to seizures.


    Poor Ike would act like I had poured acid on his back - THAT was when I started using the flea comb (rather than subject him to that). Thanks for the heads-up on Nexguard; it doesn't appear to be an ivermectin-related compound, so I might resort to that if need be. Pricy is OK - I don't mind supporting my vet :-)

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