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There are a LOT of different flea treatments for dogs, and sometimes one will work better with one dog vs another. However, Fipronil is a generic of Frontline. In many areas, it's stopped working as efficiently, as fleas and ticks have grown resistant to it. This seems to be especially true of New England, from what I've heard. Some of my favorite alternatives are: Seresto Collars: Unlike the old types of flea collars, these ones don't have any weird powders or smells-it's very low odor, and the odor isn't offensive to most. It lasts 8 months, which is practically unbeatable. Also, if your dog has a bad reaction to it (highly unlikely but possible) it's easy enough to just take it off, and it's supposed to leave the bloodstream fairly quickly. I've heard nothing but good things about them from the customers at my store. One downside is that it can take a week or two to work at full strength, as it enters the bloodstream a little slower than the liquid topicals. https://www.amazon.com/Bayer-Serest...sto+flea+collar Advantix: A topical like Frontline, however the active ingredient is Permethrin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permethrin Upside is it seems to work a lot better than Fipronil, downside is you cannot have it around cats-Permethrin is toxic to them. It is, however, quite safe for humans. If you have cats, try Advantage instead-same company. https://www.amazon.com/Advantix-Med...ywords=advantix aTobiko Topical Flea and Tick: If you're all nutty about organic/non-gmo/etc, you could try this https://atobiko.com/organic-dog-care/skin-topical-flea-tick/ I really can't vouch for its efficacy, though. Smells better I suppose. You could probably use this, or other similar organic oil topicals, in addition to a human-designed chemical treatment, but I am NOT a vet so I cannot promise anything. I work at a specialty pet store and my recommendations are based on the feedback I get from my customers, as well as what is available for us to sell without a prescription-you may be interested in an edible pill as well, but you'd have to ask your vet. Absolutely DO NOT add another topical to your dog without some serious research. Most of these treatments work through the bloodstream, and you may kill your dog trying to "double down" on flea meds. I don't mean to infer you are dumb; but I like to cover my rear end all the same. In the meantime, I advise you to vacuum the everloving poo poo out of your house, wash all your fabrics on the same day if possible (and don't bring the clean stuff out until EVERYTHING is washed-put it in a trash bag or something), and consider a household flea killer. I like diatomaceous earth (all natural, food safe-you can literally eat it, and it's a natural de-wormer) but some have pointed out that it is, in fact, a powder. So if it gets wet you will have mud. I don't recommend dumping it in big piles all over your carpet, but I've had someone get salty about it to me before. Flea bombs can work if you calculate your space correctly, but you need to be 100% about following the directions or you will literally poison yourself. There are sprays, too, but they are super toxic to pretty much everything, so although they can work well they smell awful and leave a light shine of poison over your house for a while. Soooo I know that's a very long answer to a simple question, but after you get fleas knocked off the list (it can be VERY difficult to get rid of fleas unless you are militant about it) you could move on to allergies, stress, etc. For stress, Rescue Remedy is a godsend https://www.amazon.com/Bach-Rescue-Remedy-Pet-20/dp/B00JU3CZRY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1471820017&sr=8-2&keywords=rescue+remedy+for+dogs. For allergies, it's MUCH trickier. He could be reacting to an environmental allergen, or has developed an allergy to his food. If he is not just scratching himself, but licking his paws, shaking his head, or having what I call "sad poops" it may very well be an allergy to food. In this case, your most affordable choice would probably be to try cutting everything out of his diet but his food and 1-2 kinds of treat. If there is no change, consider a limited ingredient diet to try and pinpoint the problem ingredient. Grains, chicken, and beef seem to be the most popular food allergies for dogs. It is quite expensive to get an allergy panel done for your dog, so if you do the legwork now you could save yourself some future cash. For limited ingredient diets, Natural Balance, Canidae Pure, Wellness Core, and Zignature are some popular brands. I prefer the latter, myself. Good luck with your pup! He is one handsome fella 
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Aug 22, 2016 00:08
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Wow! You've done a lot of legwork, and you're doing everything right. Some dogs are just more allergic to fleas than others-I know my cat got bit like, 3 times and clawed all the hair off his rear end. Keep rocking it and I'm sure he'll feel better soon! He looks goddamn adorable in his inflatable cone though
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Aug 24, 2016 00:31
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Itchy Itchiford posted:Things started getting better, then the fleas reared their ugly heads again Good job on the vet appointment. Definitely ask about the edible flea meds. Also, is there any possible way you could speak to the neighbors if you seriously think they're a big part of the problem? I completely understand if you don't want to go that route but if their flea-ridden cats are tromping all over your property you'll be fighting an uphill battle pretty much any time it's not winter, if it even gets cold enough where you are to kill outdoor fleas. Just a thought.
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Aug 26, 2016 18:58
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