My Dog Never Gets Fleas....

[pastafreak]

Well...mine does...but I know people who say their dogs never get the little horrors.... and they don't bother with flea treatments unless they have to.
Can that be true ? Are some animals more susceptible than others?

[lankeela]

Depends on where they go, and if the owners have cats or hedgehogs that come into their gardens, or exercise them where there are rabbits etc. Mind haven't had any for a couple of years now. I use Frontline Spray from the vet (better than spot on) but only use it if I see evidence of them as I don't like putting chemicals into them unnecessarily.

[pastafreak]

My dog lives in a flat...gets walked in a park,and not in long grass. She gets fleas each summer. My cat is an indoor cat....so he can't bring them in.

[Sir Alec]

My dog rarely got fleas, but when he did it was a 'free for all' banquet. I tried shampoos and all sorts, but eventually had to take him to the vet, so it cost a fortune in Advance/frontline medicines. He used to cringe and try to hide every time he saw the bottle, bless him, but it had to be done.

[woofgang]

None of our dogshave ever been infested with fleas while they were ours (current boys came to us at 7 weeks with fleas, we treated them and the house and had no recurrence) huge touching wood as I say this. All our dogs get regular preventative tick treatment which also gives some flea protection.
We have twice had fleas in the house, once brought in by DH from an infested cab (driver, who we knew rang and apologised) and once by me in the course of my work for the nhs.
One of our dogs got a skin condition once. When we took him to the vet, she said it would be flea allergy and was dubious when we said he hadn't got/didn't get them. She combed through his coat expecting to find them but nada, she was most surprised.
Btw dogs are country dogs, run in the forest every day, have opportunities to get fleas but don't seem to.

[Ratty2E]

I can honestly say my two have never had fleas, they do get treated with a spot on during tick season but not all year. I think possibly fleas are more attacted to some dogs than others just as some people always get eaten alive by midges and other don't.

[B00]

I don't think my dog does either, least ive never seen any on her, and she doesn't scratch any more than usual.

I feed her a garlic tablet about once a month- i honestly think that might help on that score.

The (evil spawn of Satan) cat is an indoor one so that's not a problem either, I daren't try her on the garlic tablets, doubt she'll willingly scoff them like the dog does and i certainly don't fancy forcing them down her, I like my limbs too much.

[fairycakes69]

My dog is coming up for 10 and has never had fleas, treated him in the first few years, but not fot a long time, just lucky I guess.

[chaptazbru]

I can honestly say my dog (now 14) never gets fleas. He never scratches and I check his skin regularly by brushing his fur the wrong way, and it's always clear of fleas and flea dirt. I walk him everywhere including long grass and he meets lots of other dogs on these walks.

[Frank97]

<< Has never had them either, touch wood!

[chaptazbru]

Maybe it's like us - some humans are more susceptible to gnat bites than others, all to do with the blood I think.

[jan01]

good advice lankeela

[pastafreak]

I agree with what some have said about some dogs being more inclined to attract fleas...wish mine didn't! She has very little fur-and the pink belly of a puppy...so the fleas can't hide any where...;-(
I'm curious about the garlic tablets...are these specifically for dogs?

[BreamReaper]

I have 4 dogs. All of them are indoor/outdoor animals. 3 of them don't seem to have a problem with fleas. 1 has a big problem with them. The 1 with the big problem is very small, about 11 pounds, with hair about 1.5 inches long. I give him Frontline Tritak every month on the 1st , and Comfortis every month on the 15th. One medication alone is not enough, and the 2 combined still is not enough. I have to bathe the poor dog on the 8th and the 22nd. 2 different medications every month and a bath every other week, and the poor dog still has fleas within a couple days of each treatment/bath. He is not suffering from an allergy. I can see the fleas on him. The other 3 dogs only get the Frontline Tritak once a month, and an occasional bath, and they don't seem to have any fleas. I don't see fleas anywhere other than the small dog. So, in answer to your question, YES, some animals are more susceptible to fleas than others.

[BreamReaper]

I used the garlic tabs last year and did not notice any difference in the fleas. I have stopped using the garlic tabs, but now I put real garlic in their food. I don't know if it is helping, but it doesn't seem to be harming. We have to be careful with the garlic, though, it can cause anemia.