I live in Tahiti and unfortunately there aren't a lot of pet stores here on the islands. In fact, there aren't any pet stores here on the island. If we want anything for your pets we have to buy them from the veterinary or the pharmacy. We pay an extremely high price for our pet care needs.
One night my boyfriend came home from work with a 6 week old puppy. He was adorable and so cute. However, he was infested with fleas. I had never seen so many fleas on an animal before.
I went to the pharmacy and purchased a lice comb. Here in Tahiti they don't sell a flea comb for dogs. A lice comb works great if you buy the plastic one like I purchased. Afterwards, I stopped at the grocery store and bought a bottle of white vinegar. When I arrived at home I poured the vinegar into a bowl. I then proceeded to comb the dog with the lice comb. This trapped the fleas on the dog. Afterwards, I rinsed the comb in the bowl of vinegar. This immediately killed the fleas on the comb.
After spending an hour combing the dog and removing the fleas I made a tub of warm water and poured 2 cups of vinegar into the water. I soaked the dog in the tub of warm water for 30 minutes.
This procedure took me around a week to get rid of all the fleas on the dog. Fortunately, I have never had a flea problem again. Once I killed all the fleas with vinegar my dog has been free of fleas.
After some of the sores healed on the dog I was able to take him to the lagoon and bath him in the salt water. Here on the islands the salt water is fantastic for controlling and getting rid of fleas. However, when a dog's skin has too many sores it is not a good idea to bath him in salt water.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
My puppies are only 10 weeks, but badly invested with fleas from their mum. Is there anything I can use on them to help them at this very young age?
By A.J.
No,
Dawn is dangerous for puppies, went to the vet over it. It takes all of the natural oils and things out of coat. Do Not Use Dawn
Please help. This is our first ever problem with fleas.
By Kendall from CO
My dog had issues with fleas for years, and was allergic to pretty much everything I tried, including oatmeal flea wash. Then I planted pennyroyal in our garden and placed clippings of pennyroyal under her mattress. No more fleas!! You can also put sprigs of pennyroyal in oil (like canola oil) and let it sit for a week or so, and then dab the oil on all the flea zones of the puppies (ears, neck, tail etc).
My vet is really excited about Comfortis, since it doesn't go directly onto their skin and is apparently bacteria based. You can start using this when your puppies are 4 months old. Check it out and see what you think:
www.comfortis4dogs.com/
No poisons please. Dry borax in the carpets. Build their immune system.
Make sure you are vacuuming the carpet every other day. This is so you are getting eggs and newly hatched fleas.
Take your puppies to the Vet. They have a flea treatment that is safe for puppies because their skin is so sensitive.
My puppies had fleas from their mother and one treatment is all they needed.
DO NOT use over the counter flea treatment or flea treatment for older dogs. This stuff will burn the puppy's skin.
I have 5 dogs and two cats. This is nothing new for my family, we have always had at least 3 pets at a time. So fleas, ticks, worms..... etc. is not new to me. I also know how important it is to keep your pet free of these pesty, little things. In all the years that I have had pets inside and outside our home, we have been where we are now for well over 10 years, I have never had such a struggle! I take our pets to the vets (NOT CHEAP, thats why I work so hard to NOT let my pets get these things!) and not even their meds are working. Someone said something about COMFORTIS, it did not work for us. We dose all animals at the same time and do the house as well. Until now, I have never had them infested in my home or jump on one of us from the furniture or seen my poor animals so miserable. They have given us 3 types of flea and tick meds, pills and drops. I have resorted to stinky collars, not working. I have vacumed carpets, furniture, curtains. Ive mopped, shampooed and did the same to the pets. The wont go near ANY running water. They wont even let me pet them, they are probably sore from the flea comb and flea picking! I have discovered that Dawn dish liquid is like liquid, blue, duct tape! I read that about the Dawn soap bath on here, I also read about the vasoline trick on here, it worked great. I havent tried spreading salt everywhere just yet, it might kill some fleas but not before my dogs go crazy trying to lick in out of the floor and such.
I use baking soda on all my floors and furniture. I spread it into corners, the edges of floor and walls. I leave it for several hours then sweep up the powder in the middle of the rooms. I leave the test for 2 days then vacuum. Keep cleaning the vacuum filter so it doesn't clog.
Let me give you a little trick that saved my baby she was so allergic I could not touch her her whole back andteil were covered in scabs so get a spray bottle two nice sqiers of dawn and pour peroxide 4 Mississippi lol and warm water spray your baby all overrub in now they won't like the fuzzy feeling but won't hurt let me tell you the adult fleas bitterly disappear and the eggs foam up and all gone if have lot scabs rub with finger gentle will start to go away rinse off about five min rub coconut oil in fur lifhry spay whose house never fiound such success
My 6 week old puppy has fleas. Can I give him a bath at this age?
By Karen from Nova Scotia, Canada
For safe removal of fleas for a puppy that young, you can buy a flea zapper comb that kills fleas the minute the comb comes in contact. I've used it on my own dogs and it really works. You can buy them at any pet store or on the internet. The dog doesn't feel the tiny charge on the flea either. It works best with short haired dogs.
Can I give him a bath
You sure can give your pup a bath at 6 weeks. That doesn't necessarily mean that you should though. Puppies aren't like little humans and their skin isn't meant to get a bath that soon. Personally, I would just use a warm, moist towel and rub him down. However, it's not going to do any harm as long as you don't make it a regular thing at such a young age.
Get a small storage tote, fill it half way up with water or to the bottom of it belly. (Water level depends on the height of the pup.) Get a regular bar of Zest soap, hold it under the water in either hand & keep rolling the bar of soap in your hand until the water becomes milky looking. Put the pup in the tote & watch the fleas float to the top. It kills them instantly. Get a cup, or use your hand, to pour the water over its back. I don't know what it is in the Zest soap but it kills fleas instantly. My grandfather was a coon hunter & did this for his coonhounds. I've since carried on the family tradition & have 5 hounds of my own. I've done this for years & it works. Now you'll have to find something to put on the pup to repel them. Zest doesn't repel fleas, it just kills them & their eggs.
The comb sounds like a good thing but here's the problem broke no money what should I do now what can I get
What can I do to rid a puppy three weeks old and under 2 lbs. of fleas?
Bathe in a solution of water and Blue Dawn.
it is essential to the puppy's heath to try to get rid of their fleas and any fleas in the house or on the mother.
If you decide to give the puppy a bath in the sink, I would recommend that you have everything/all supplies ready before you begin and make sure you will have enough time to finish the bath and after bath tasks without interruption as puppy's can get cold very quickly. i would also say to place either a rubber mat or thick towel in the bottom of the sink so the puppy will not slip and get frightened. (The towel will have dead/live fleas attached so you will need to have a bucket ready so you can take the towel to the washing machine.)
If you decide to try to remove fleas with a comb (no bath) it is generally best to have an old sheet or something to put over your lap to hold the puppy and also not harm yourself with their claws. Always use a bowl of warm water with a teaspoon of Dawn to dip the fleas or you can use a touch of Vaseline to stop the fleas from running.
Here are some very good sites that explain the best ways to control fleas on puppies and their moms.
www.cuteness.com/
www.dogchatforum.com/
www.wikihow.com/
dawn is about the only thing you can use. at that age, vets are against using any commercial products.
Definitely the Dawn way. It's effective and very safe.
I have a tea cup Chihuahua he was tiny when I got him I used baby shampoo and baby oil to rid flea s , rinse an combed them out
We currently have a 2 week old litter of 8 Puggles. The neighbourhood flea populatoon serm to be immune to Fipronil. Honest to goodness. Frontline does little to aid their parents, a commonly reported problem in our city.
The best line of defense (for us) is militant management. Mom gets daily Dawn baths (as do Dad & older Puggle brother), as well as comb downs 2ce a day.
The puppies are bathed every 2 days (once cord stump atrophies/evacuates) & then 2ce a day, we run a fine-toothed lice comb over the puppies' bodies. It readily collects fleas/eggs/debris. With every hit, the comb is dipped into a bowl of hot water/Dawn & brushed clean w/ a toothbrush.
Though we have only ever reared 2 Puggle litters in the last 5 years, this regimen kept/keeps puppy mouths deep pink (no sign of anemia) & vet-checked health levels high.
As an aside, we just agreed to try Bravecto on the boys & just 12 hours after consumption, our Pug & his oldest son are already showing signs of relief. We are watching their health very closely & if they are A-Ok, we will start treating our Beagle (mom) once she weans the puppies. Yes, its *supposed* to be safe for nursing moms, but we don't want to subject the puppies to any potential complication from her consumption of chemicals.
Good luck!
Thanks that's what I used on their mother and father .I just didn't know about them.
Baby Magic is what we use on our husky pups. Its gentle on their skin, does not irritate their eyes and makes them smell wonderful! We also use Baby Magic and water and a comb in between baths.
But what about the soap when you comb them with it how do you get the soap out if you can't give them a bath
Dogs also get fleas from picking out stuff from trash cans which is why your dog should be well trained or try to make sure that garbage does not pile up around your house.
My six week old puppy has flea sores on her neck. She has long hair and I have been bathing her with Dawn soap. What should I do to help her with the sores? They are irritating her really badly and she is crying.
By H.Kiser
I would be careful not to use the Dawn soap very often. It really dries the skin which can cause more itching than fleas. Try some hydrocortisone cream from the store for the itchy spots.
The Dawn liquid is supposed to kill fleas, but it really dries out the skin. Kill the fleas then use baby oil or Skin So Soft on her ears. The dryness is making them worse.
I was advised to make a paste with baking soda and water and it cleared up the inflammation on the skin.
I have a puppy, 5 weeks old, that gets fleas really bad. How can I keep them off? I bathe her almost every day.
By Angela from Rock Hill, SC
Add some garlic powder to her food. Garlic is a natural flea repellent. There are several of the organic flea shampoos that may help, but you'd need to check with a professional to see if it's OK to use on such a young puppy.
Dawn dish soap will help if you are with a 2 month old pup.
Garlic and onion in any form will harm dogs will cause toxic buildup and heart failure
My 6 week old puppy recently got fleas, and I gave him a bath. Is it safe to de-flea my puppy? Also he is too small and I'm wondering if I can use vinegar on the dog?
On a pup that young, I would only use something the vet recommends. Be sure to follow their directions to rid the dog's bedding and the house if needed. Most will give free advice over the phone. Good luck and prayers for the pup!
You will have to do something about the fleas in your home (and yard) or they will just keep getting back on your puppy.
I have a miniature Pinscher, he is 10 weeks old and very tiny. I am looking for a safe affordable solution to get rid of his fleas. He only weighs about 1.5 lbs
By C. Wallace
I have a Rottweiler and she had 11 puppies. A week ago we found a flea's nest, really bad infestation. We tried not to bring it back to the house, but surely it happened. Today my daughter got send home for having fleas. My daughter is not so hard to clean up, but what worries me are the puppies, they are only 6 days old. What can I use on them? I have tried to get rid of the fleas, but they won't go away!
By Elizabeth
