12 week old puppy has fleas AND worms, please help!

[Rafferty]

H there,

Earlier this week I bought a Yorkshire Terrier puppy. He is 12 weeks old. When I got him home I noticed him scratching a lot so as a precaution I purchased some Stronghold treatment (Also known as Revolution i think??). When i got him home I saw a flea for the first time and subsquently administered the Stronghold. How long should the product take to work? If he carries on scratching, how long should I wait before treating him again? My apartment has absolutely no carpets and he has basically stayed in one room almost the entire time - my bedroom. I have bleached the floors today. Is there a product I should get to treat the floors? I know fleas can live in carpets, but whats the deal with houses with no carpet or rugs or anything at all? What do I do with his bed and the linen off my bed as he's been up here with me too? I've read washing it at a high temperature kills fleas and larvae, is this true? Do I need to wash any clothes I've been wearing with him at a high temperature too??

Secondly, not only does he have fleas, I also looked in his poo last night and found a dead worm. It was very long and looked almost like Spaghetti. I've researched on the internet and from what I can see, I think it was a roundworm?? He is due to go to the vets on Tuesday for his second batch of vaccinations. I can't take him any earlier as I am actually living in Spain and it is a bank holiday on Monday. Is there anything I can do in the meantime? I tried to buy something over the counter today in a pet shop but they told me I had to go to the vet.

I feel so sorry for the little tyke, I just want to do whatever I can to help.

Many thanks to all
Rafferty and little Benji!

[RATTER15]

Treat your puppy with one of the flea treatments from the vet. As you have no carpets don't worry about treating the house, they will not be in your bedding or your clothing so don't worry about.

Ex Pest Controller of 13 years.

[boxtops]

Stronghold is only to be used once a month and does have effect against fleas and worms (although not all worms). Don't use it more frequently, especially as he is only 12 weeks ago. Yes - wash everything washable, get a flea spray from the supermarket and spray sofas, anywhere the fleas might have hopped off and laid eggs. A couple of days won't make any difference to the worms - you need a vet to diagnose the sort of worm and to prescribe for him as he's so little. See if you can take some poo with worm in when you go on Tuesday, so the vet can see the sort of worm it is.

[boxtops]

Ratter, I know you have professional experience but I beg to differ, when my cat left home there were fleas in the sofa where she used to sit, so I had to spray everything.

[RATTER15]

if you think pup is suffering from fleas and scratching a lot and you want to help before Tuesday, wash your pup with a little conditioner in the water and use a flea comb to get out any fleas in his coat while he is still wet, be sure to keep him warm as the water could go cold on him..

[RATTER15]

boxtops, Yes they can get onto the furniture but they will not survive, the problem is actually a lot more difficult and the treatment is different with no host in the house to treat.

[boxtops]

Ah I see - I was unlucky then, pesky little things were mostly living in the carpet which Rafferty doesn't have.
I have heard that dilute tea tree oil can also be effective in treating the itching - it stinks but can be effective.

[Rafferty]

Thank you both for your answers. I actually bathed him today in puppy shampoo, then put the treatment on this evening. He's still scratching like mad. When should the scratching stop? When will I know if the stronghold has/hasn't been effective?

I've had dogs all my life in the UK and none of them have ever had fleas! The pet shop where I bought him from must be infested with fleas and worms. I feel sorry for the poor little dogs still in there.

[boxtops]

Rafferty - make sure you tell them. Ratter could the worm be inherited? I'm been lucky with my pets so have no experience with worm.

[Rafferty]

It would seem I've been lucky with mine too - I've never experienced fleas or worms so I'm at a complete loss here! The worm was awful. Reading up on the internet leads me to think it is a roundworm. It also says that they can travel up to the lungs and to watch out for coughing. This evening he's started sneezing/coughing a little and I'm starting to worry! I know it's easily treated by a vet but it can't be comfortable for him.

[RATTER15]

I really don't think you need to worry unduly about waiting until Tuesday to treat your pup, your pup could well be itching for a few days, the fleas may die but the bites will still irritate for a few days.

[lankeela]

Sorry but that is what you get for buying a puppy from a pet shop. ALL puppies have worm which they get from their mothers (roundworms) but a decent breeder would have wormed the mother and the pups at 2, 4, 8 weeks and they need doing at 12 weeks, then monthly till 6 months and thereafter twice a year. Flea infestation in puppies that small can debilitate them and should only be treated with a special one for puppies from the vet. Fleas can lay their eggs in floor board cracks, under skirting, anywhere they can get so you need to spray everywhere although it might be better to wait a while then get one of those flea 'bombs' which you let off in a room and then leave it closed up. Flea eggs can live for two years and then hatch out when it gets warm.

[wildwood]

If the seller is prepared to sell animals in such a state, goodness knows what else could be wrong with the pup. If it was in fact a petshop or backyard breeder you should take some action in a non-aggressive way, if only for the benefit of subsequent animals they sell or have.