Message from discussion Giving big dog (Muttley) a bath

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From: shelly <she...@cat-sidh.net>
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Subject: Re: Giving big dog (Muttley) a bath
Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2006 10:38:36 -0400
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Amy Dahl wrote:

> I have heard this said many times since I first started taking
> responsibility for dog and cat care.  While eggs, pupae, and
> larvae live elsewhere than on the dog, I don't believe in the
> "jump on, bite the dog, jump off" scenario.  My observations
> suggest fleas spend a lot of time on the animal (dog or cat).
> Infested or "weakened" individuals can have clusters of fleas
> that seem to stay in a small area.

I've seen infestations of fleas where you could actually them 
hopping around on the furniture and carpets.  With that sort of 
infestation, there's no way that the number of fleas in the 
environment could possibly spend most of their time on the animal.

> Since the advent of Frontline, however, I have quit treating
> the house and kennel.  We just have no fleas.  

That has been my experience.  I haven't seen a flea since Elliott 
was a puppy (~12 years ago).  He came to me infested.  After that 
initial problem was taken care of, fleas have been a non-issue on 
all of my dogs and cats.

One thing my former vet advised, once the flea infestation was under 
control, was to rotate the application of flea topicals from one pet 
to the next.  Her opinion was that treating just one pet in the home 
at a time was enough to keep everyone protected.  And, the rotation 
meant that no single animal was getting treated month after month.

> My vet contends
> that there is no benefit of the "Plus" ingredients, since they act
> on larvae which are not on the dog or cat.   She sells the plain
> Frontline; I use it, and it's extremely effective.

I haven't even used Frontline in, I think, 5 years.  The only 
product I've used lately is amitraz collars for the dog(s).  And, 
not even that this past year, as it's easy to spot the little SOBs 
on a nekkid dog and pluck them off before they've had a chance to 
get comfortable.

> My vet also says it's better *not* to bathe a dog prior to applying
> Frontline, as it will remove most of the oil which helps the
> product spread.  

That is my understanding.  They need sufficient coat oil in order to 
work.

> One of the keys to effectiveness, I have found,
> is to put the stuff on slowly, so that as much as possible goes
> on the skin rather than forming a big pool of liquid that wets
> the hair.

I was advised by my vet to apply it to short-haired dogs (Harriet is 
a Boxer) in a stripe from between the shoulders to the base of the 
tail.  I don't know whether that would have affected it's efficacy 
against fleas, as I was using it solely for tick control at that point.

-- 
Shelly (Warning:  see label for details)
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)