What to do when pet’s flea medication stops working

 To eliminate a flea infestation, it takes patience treating your pet and your environment.

All too often, a pet owner will come in and share their experience in which he or she regularly applies topical flea prevention, yet is frustrated that after several treatments they are still seeing fleas. There are several plausible explanations for persistent flea infestations which may have nothing to do with lack of efficacy of these products.

Apply flea medication properly for maximum effectiveness

First, I ensure the pet owner is correctly applying the flea medication to his or her pet. It is important to completely part the hair and apply the product directly to the skin so that proper skin and hair follicle distribution can occur. This is something that can be somewhat of a challenge for thick haired pets; however, the pet medication will not work properly if only the hair follicles receive the medication – it must be applied to the skin. Next, it’s important to properly follow product label directions, which may vary depending on the size of your pet. For instance, for large dogs, Advantage II requires the product to be applied on multiple spots down the pet’s back.

While it is tempting to try and save money by using only portions of products labeled for larger pets on smaller animals, it’s a process such as this that can lead to product inefficiency.

Ensure your home and yard are treated 

Another reason for products not working is by not treating your home and yard, where in some cases 80% of the flea life cycle may occur. Read how to control fleas indoors and outdoors.

In cases of heavy flea infestations, some home products such as Advantage Carpet and Upholstery Spray kills fleas and ticks quickly and continues to kill fleas for two weeks. In spite of recent discussion in the veterinary literature, the development of widespread flea resistance is still not believed to be a major factor to clients still finding fleas on their pets.

Consider switching to oral flea medications

The newer oral flea medications are becoming very popular and with good reason — they’re even more effective than topical treatments at killing adult fleas and keeping your pet flea-free. Plus, with an oral flea treatment, you eliminate the mess of topical flea treatments and the worry about whether you’ve applied the product properly.

Have you been battling a flea infestation in your home? What are some of the ways in which you have been trying to get rid of them? 

Have pet health questions? For any medical concerns, we always recommend you consult your veterinarian. However, for non-emergency questions, you can contact Dr. Dym directly using our Ask the Vet form.

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