Fleas?? UGH!

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Hi Fiona (& Bella)

My mum swears buy garlic for getting rid of fleas, her dog becky has a garlic chicken each weekend as a treat and she has no fleas.

You could use garlic powder as an ulternative.

Good luck

with love
Maria

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Hi Fiona and Bella,

My experience with fleas is VERY limited - once about twenty years ago!! I'd guess that it's not fleas since you don't say you've been bitten, the time I encountered them I hoovered a dog's bedding and was bitten to death!! In light of that experience I'd guess that if it was fleas they'd have got you as you 're in such close contact.
I've had a look at my natural dog books for you and there seem to be a few things can cause what you describe and various remedies! They do say an anti-parastic shampoo will kill fleas so if you can get to a pet shop that's a possibility. Books indicate that fleas would cause a lot if scratching. I hesitate to reccommend any particular remedy but if it was my dog I'd probably put some sudocreme on the sore bits as it's soothing till I knew for sure what it is( for babies bums, nappy rash etc, fairly widely available hopefully even in the wilds of Skye!!)
As Maria says, Garlic is wonderful - it's anti parasitic, anti- inflammatory,anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, a great all-rounder and is a tonic for the whole heart and circulatory system so you should be safe giving Bella that. I give my dog -a Weimaraner 1 capsule daily, for a dog as small as Bella I'd either put a little powder or a little fresh garlic in her food if you want to try it.
Sorry I can't be more help, hope you get her sorted out soon, would you like some Reiki for her?
Muriel

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Hello All

The garlic thing sounds good. Pet shop treatments don't tend to work very well in my opinion. They are a bit weak. Best stuff for killing the little black thingys, now, is called FRONTLINE. Little capsule of liquid that you put on the skin on the back of the dogs neck. Goes into their bloodstream and soon as a pesky little invader bites the dog, they get a dose of the good stuff and keel over.

What we do to stop fleas (Shh!) even starting in the first place is to have our complete house sprayed by an insect guy once every year. That way, if your dog brings any fleas in from outside, when the flea drops onto the carpet, as they all do when the dogs sit/lie down, their breeding cycle is stopped by the sprayed carpet and they die. That way, no fleas.

We have a dog and a cat and ever since we started doing this annually about 4 years ago, we've never had a problem since.

Our insect guy comes round in a van that doesn't have any signwriting on it, so no-one knows who he is or what he is for unless we tell them. So if you are worried that everyone in your neighbourhood will think you must be dirty if the insect guy comes round, no-one ever need know. By the way, fleas live and bread better in cleaner houses, so the insect guy tells me, so it's a backhanded compliment to have them, not a slur on your living standards.

Good luck[sm=hidesbehindsofa.gif]

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

You could always try hitting them with a hammer or shooting them:D Ha only joking. To be honest I have no idea what to suggest but I will be studying the replies with interest as I am now itching from head to foot after reading your posting.

Hope you find a solution which is quick and inexpensive .Cheers for now Derek.

PS No animals were harmed in the making of this message:)

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Hi Maria,

Thanks for the info on the garlic, last night when i was looking online for info on what it could be (before i posted here) i noticed that in the 'skin section' i was looking at garlic powder for dogs could be bought and the one review that a pet owner had written couldn't praise it enough. I will definitely be getting some. Though ... must admit Bella would much rather have the garlic chicken lol

Muriel,

Aww thank you so much, that would be so kind if you could send Bella some Reiki healing, Thank you. I will probably sound crazy, but i think she's actually feeling a little down about the whole 'flea' (shh) thing.

Thank you for going to so much trouble in looking up your books, all the info is very appreciated. What you have said has made a very good point, apart from the fact bella isn't scratching (well no more than normal) i have not been bitten. Since moving back into my parents home when i came back to skye Bellas very friendly with my Dads Jack Russell's.

My parents are away on their holidays with their dogs so called them to get them to check the dogs skin and apparently they are fine. I also checked the two cats this morning and they also show no signs of having any fleas (shhh!) I would have thought if it was fleas they would all have them by now? I found some 'soothing skin dog cream' in the cupboard, which is still in date. My dads dog is a real scratcher, he has allergies the poor wee thing, but im sure he wont mind if Bella and i borrow some of his cream. Hopefully it will calm the redness.

Thanks Steve lol - phew... feeling a bit better now about the who flea (shh) thing!!

Had a VERY busy morning, ive never cleaned so much in my life and i didn't see one flea!!? - Didn't even see any on the bedding. From what ive read online and from what Muriel has said i was expecting to see them jumping about.

Really not sure now if its fleas or not, im leaning towards not but i think i will still treat it as fleas.Shes been out in the garden so much the last few weeks with the good weather it could be anything i suppose. Shes also been a great help in doing the garden so perhaps it could be something from the soil or the flowers? ~ Thanks for the info on the frontline, i saw that on tv just a few days ago and actually thought it looked great and was going to get her some. Typical!

Thanks again everyone for all the help, its really rally appreciated.

Love Fiona and Bella

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Derek [sm=rollaugh.gif][sm=rollaugh.gif]

Any info you find will be very welcome lol

Thanks very much
Fiona & Bella

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Hi Fiona and Bella,

Glad you found the info (such as it was) useful. From what you've said now, I doubt it's fleas after all. 🙂 I know humans can get allergic reactions to some plants with skin contact so as you say, that's a possibility. Your dad's cream sounds great. Rather you than me with all that cleaning!!:):) I think any fleas will have run a mile by now!!
Are you both on for garlic chicken tonight then??
Reiki on its way.

All the best, Muriel

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

OOPS, sorry, should have said, yes, I think if it was fleas the cats would have them too by now, probably you too!

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Hi Muriel 🙂

Thanks very much. I also thought with bella being a maltese and pure white surely i would see some moving?? 😮 - although the speks on her do sound like flea 'stuff' lol from what i read online it also said i could brush them off but these marks actually seem to be her skin, even tried to rub then off but they wouldnt move, i just made her cross [:@] and her skin more red [&:] oops.
I also found some flea spray for dogs so have given her a good spray with that, although with her long coat it wasnt easy to get the skin so not sure how much the spray would help [>:]

Never seen such a clean house in my life, and didnt find one single flea!

Yep garlic chicken tonight lol 😉 - Good job my boyfirends away![sm=1syellow1.gif]

Thanks again
Fiona & Bella xx

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Hiya
simple test for fleas,
brush your dog onto paper A4 or packing paper when the dust and debris come off if you add a minute spec of water to the dirt if it is fleas poo it will turn red with the blood....

T
x

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Hey T 🙂

Thanks for that. Well got the paper like you said and started brushing...... and brushing.....and brushing..... and brushing and nothing! Finally a little fluff fell off lol and some speks so checked them but nothing happened when i put the water on them.

In the end i had to scratch the little specks off (only got one off) but it didnt change when i put the water on it. Im wondering if she could of been bitten by something or if its maybe a heat rash? Can dogs get them?[&:]

The skin area is very very red and dry and the speks are like tiny pin pricks but a brownish colour. (looks a little like dirt)

Thanks again for the test advice 🙂 If anyone has any other ideas what it could be that would be great.

Fiona & Bella 🙂

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Hi Fiona

I haven't read all the posts on here so im not sure if anyone has already mentioned it but it could be fur mites? There are lots of different types of mites but the most common are the "walking dandruff" which are very hard to spot.

You are right you do normally see fleas especially on white dogs.. or she may have had an allergic reaction to something.. is the skin flakey? could be Eczema?

Your best bet is to take her to the vet you dont want to aggrivate her skin more than needs be. If it is creepy crawlys there is a new type of frontline out that kills fleas, ticks, mites and even helps fight Mange.

Hope she gets better soon

XF x

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Hi Fiona

Is Bella scratching the red areas alot? It could be that she has eczema as XF says. The brown dots could be hair follicles that are sore and swollen. Its very common in this heat, especially with long haired dogs.

You could try giving her a gentle wash with something like Aloe Vera shampoo (something very mild so it doesnt aggrivate the condition) but it might be worth popping her along to the vets if it doesnt clear up in the next few days.

Let us know how she gets on, Reiki on its way.

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Hi XF, Hey Doogle,

Thanks to you both for the posts 🙂

This 'skin problem' is really starting to drive me crazy.
I just can’t work out what it could be. [&:]

I’ve ruled fleas out, apart from the fact she’s not scratching
(Well no more than most dog’s lol) I’ve not seen anything, not been bitten myself, didn’t find anything when I cleaned the house from top to bottom and when I tried the test that tigerbee told me about nothing happened. The other thing that made me feel it wasn’t fleas is that the other dogs don’t have it and neither do the cats. The cats often like to sleep in Bella’s bed so I would think they would have them too.

I had a good look again today and its on 2 different parts of her skin,
It looks very red and the brown marks really are really tiny tiny.
Smaller than a full stop lol they almost look like little bits of dirt, but aren’t.
The skin doesn’t really look flaky, just angry (if that makes sense lol)

I tried to brush them off but they don’t seem to be coming of, it actually seems to be her skin.[&o]

She doesn’t seem to be bothered by it now, at first she seemed a little down, but I think that was just all the pulling and poking I was doing at her to try and find fleas, and lets me honest that would upset anyone! She’s eating normally, playing normally etc.:D

XF, I had a look for fur mites online but couldn’t find much info. Did find a lot on ear mites in dog though – Bella actually had these when I first got her but that’s the only experience I’ve had with anything like that.

Do you by any change know much about fur mites?:eek:

I don’t have any transport until the 22nd, that’s the only reason she’s not been at the vets before now, I think though if it doesn’t clear in the next few days I will have to find a way to take her to the vets and see what he thinks.

Thanks again to both of you for all your help, and thank you very much doogle for the reiki
Love Fiona & Bella

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Whereabouts on her body are the red bits?

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Hi

One red patch is on her left side, half way down and more to the front of her body, the other red part is on the right hand side, again half way down but closer to her back legs, Its also around her.... um 'private' areas (sorry bella!) and a tiny bit on her chest which i only noticed just now.

I have had all my dog books out and i still cant work out what it is, the tiny speks do sound as if they could be from fleas but then none of the other information the books giveabout 'fleas and how to spot them' seems Relevant. [&:]

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Hmmmmm, do the patches appear to be getting bigger? Are they quite circular? Has she lost her hair in the red patches? Could she of rolled in something (like a poisonous plant?) on her walk or come into contact with another animal in the last few weeks that was displaying similar symptoms?

Sorry about the millions of questions!

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Hiya
this poor dog....i would say stop brushing her! you are probably exfoliating her to within an inch of her life!!!! no seriously though def. does not sound like fleas....
It could be if she rolls or sits outside a reaction from say an ant bite....they can be quite vicious.....as you say the marks tend to be her skin this could just be her equivalent of moles.....keep an eye on them if she is happy and not paying them any attention then see if the redness goes down....also did you consider ticks?

T
xx

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

[:'(][:'(]uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh [:'(][:'(]

I just did tigerbees test again and some of them went red!!! [:@]

My baby has fleas:(:( my poor little fluffy baby has fleas :(:(
Oh the shame of it all!! [:o][&o][:o][&o]

I dont know what to do? I dont have any flea shampoo?
I dont have spray for my house. Someone help! lol [&o]

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Fiona dont sound so down about it, nearly all animals get fleas or parasites of some kind!

Would you like to treat them with traditional methods (eg Frontline) or natural remedies?

You dont necessarily have to fumigate your house, you can buy flea powder which you put down on fabrics/carpets and then hoover up.

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Hi again,

It just sounds so dirty! 'Fleas' UGH!!!! [:'(] and she has no idea. [&o]

Ive gathered up all her blankets etc and given them a hoover then put them in the washing machine, ive also got her cat carrier and disinfected it!

(yes, shes a dog but shes only 4lbs 8 and when we go on long trips she always like to sleep in there) she saw me getting the carried and go soooooo excited as she thought we must be going out somewhere.[&o]

Being from skye the closest shop is 7 miles away and i dont have transport at the moment. Am going to order some flea products online in a wee while, but would be grateful if someone could offer some more natural remedies for her and the house, i read somewhere that salt works on the carpet, anyone know if this is true??:eek:
I also have lots of essential oils in if any of them may help??

Thanks for any help.
Fleas! UGH![:'(]:(

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Im still not that convinced that its fleas so be careful what products you use on her and try and get her checked out asap.

It doesnt sound like fur mites as these are normally on the face, spine or ears.. so you can probably rule that one out..

you could try ordering off thats where i get my products from if i cant get to the shops.

Some aloe vera or tea tree doggy skin creams would probably make her feel a bit better...

XF x

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Hiya

Im not even sure now that it is fleas either XF!! [:@]
After cleaning the whole house again and changing the beds i gave bella a bath with some doggy tea tree shampoo, paying extra attention to the red areas.

Strange thing was they didnt look red with the water on them and also they wouldnt come off? I was almost scrubbing at one point but they werent moving, also i didnt notice any insects etc in her coat when i was washing her and nothing fell out her coat. From what id read online i thought the water would be a little red and also got the feeling i was going to see the fleas falling off and that the flea dirt would wash off 😮

After when i was drying her on the low setting (i use the dog hair dryer, its just not an option not to with her coat being sooo long) you can see her coat blowing around and can clearly see her skin and there was def no insects there. Shes more or less dry now (looking a little mad[:@] although i think the chicken i gave her is helping!) and although the skins looking much calmer it is still a little red and the marks are still there!!!!!!

I also checked her hair brushes and there was no sign of any insects or dirt in them [&:]

Thanks for the link btw, i often shop there, its really good and they are very fast. 🙂

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Hi Fiona, I'm with Tigerbee on this one, stop brushing,bathing etc, it sounds as if you're probably irritating her skin even more (and Bella!!lol) Until next week when you can get to the vet, I'd just put some of that soothing skin cream for dogs you mentioned on it daily, or arnica cream or sudocreme, whatever you have available. As Bella isn't bothered about it, it's probably nothing too bad.

You could phone the vet, describe it and they could maybe post you something.

Sounds as though it could be an allergy, have you got any new flooring, carpets,etc? Ticks you would see lumps so that sounds unlikely, probably something outside irritating her.

Try not to worry so much, when the dog isn't worried, we don't usually need too! Also she'll pick up on your worries and worry about why you're upset!!

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Hi Fiona & Bella

Yes me too, Pet Planet is great for pets christmas presents 😀

I agree with Murial and Tigerbe you have done what you can now so book her in with the vets and just keep an eye on her to make sure it doesnt get any worse. I wouldnt give her anymore baths and limit the amount of brushing you do to her coat.. the body is a great healer so leaving it alone may help alot.

Make sure you let us know what the vets says.

XF x

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

just for Bella
[sm=hug.gif]

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

and from us all [sm=grouphug.gif].

Good luck[sm=dogrun.gif]

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Hi All [sm=wave.gif]

Awwww Thanks for ALL the message everyone. You are all so great!! [sm=hug.gif]
I think you are right, probably best to stop annoying her now..
(Funnily enough she is getting a little touchy about me checking her coat every few minutes!!)

I did look again today when I was brushing her and the rash is still there but not as red, her skin does look a little flaky today though. [&:]
I did the water test (again) and today they didn’t turn red so maybe its just my imagination now LOL Really not sure, but it doesn’t seem to be bothering her at all.

Also checked the cats today ~ as Bella’s been ‘playing’ i.e. chasing them around the house a lot lately! [sm=hidesbehindsofa.gif] And they were both fine, I really think if it was fleas everyone would have them by now.

I have another bone scan on the 22nd in dingwall so going to go down on Saturday and have a few days away. The scans on Tuesday and will come home Tuesday night so hope to be able to get her to the vet on wed/thu if the rash hasn’t improved.

Thanks again everyone! [sm=grouphug.gif]

Love
Fiona & Bella [sm=dogrun.gif]

RE: Fleas?? UGH!

Hi Fiona, it might be that the brown splodges that you though were flea droppings could be just dried blood from the pores in her skin. It sounds as though shes had a reaction to something (it could be just the heat that we are having at the moment).

Let us know how you and Bella get on!