Weddingbee boards

I realize this is wedding board, but I don't have anyone else to talk to at the moment (my husband is deployed - grrrrr).

I'm devestated. When I came home from my three-week trip, my puppy Bella was scratching a little, but not anything to be overly concerned. But in the past couple days it's gotten worse and worse to the point where I can't even sleep now, because she's up scratching and shaking her head—and that's just at night.

I feel SO bad for her. I called the vet, but they're not open for another three hours. I hate seeing her like this and knowing there's nothing to do.

UGH! And they must be all over our house since she's mostly an inside dog. What am I going to do? I'm freaking out a little bit over here and refusing—as hard as this is—to look anything up online about it, because then I'll freak out even more. (I did look up enough online to know that I'm 99% sure it's fleas and the stuff I read—signs that we have them—makes me sick a little that I didn't catch it earlier.)

Has anyone had this problem? What's going to happen to my puppy and what will I have to do to my house to get rid of these things? I grew up with dogs and never had a problem back in New Mexico, I guess Georgia has fleas?

Ugggggh and of course this happens just days before my husband gets back.

awe, u get him back in days,.... i just got jealous. mine isnt back for a few mos :( anyhow, when u get to the vet in a few hours it will be ok. after this, try frontline to prevent them from coming back. i do this to my pup(keeps em away), and yes, they r rampant in the south.... to know if it fleas flip ole pup over and seperate his hair and look. its ok, if they r in the house, a simple flea bomb will rid u of them, its not like roaches where they take like 3 bombs to get rid of em, its not too bad if u caught it early, and trust me...they havent been there long or u would have know it...its fine...i promise.... ask for frontline(i sound like a commercial...lol)

oh p.s. if she is scrathing her eats and shaking her head...its highly possible its just an ear infection...again, will be fine. doc will give pup drop that will clear it up within days

Thanks girls, this helps so far. So do they get them from being outside? I originally thought she was just getting bit by mosquitos or fire ants since I'm covered in bites (again, thank you very much, Georgia!).

I just want time to hurry by so I can go to the vet already! I feel like my house is infected, which is grossing me out!

yeah she is right, a simple flea bath will kill em.... then wash stuff and dead they r...and the vet will help u alot...again, they r not hard to kill like damn ole roaches. and yeah even if doggie goes out for a quick tee, he can get em...... but if u are seeing fleas it might not be them...could be ear infection. i promise its fine...there are sprays, specially if he is an inside dog, it will be easy to take em out. then grab u up some front line in a few hrs (most vets will let u buy pill by pill if u r strapped for cash) spray some doggie safe spray,bam...good to go

Thank you all for your help! She's sleeping right now (which means she's not scratching!), so I'm not going to wake her to see if I see anything. I'm hoping the vet can see us earlier rather than later.

...I get really, really grossed out with bugs, but it's comforting to know this can be treated, even if it takes a while.

And like teamjax13 said, maybe it's not even fleas!

:) well i hate buggies too ,girl, but fleas are easily treatable and love to die.... u can wash stuff, treat her...and they will be gone gone..... and front line is a god send...my puppers never gets fleas cause of it.... i think that the brand is front like but its a lil drop they put on pups back..they will know. and girl...never a prob and my pup goes for his tee tee for about 30 min or so so run and stuff...and yeah, get them ears checked, could be that. i promise by night fall u will feel alot better about the sitation, and im willing to bet totally gone by the time sweetie arrives

Borox ~ yes the laundry booster type ~ in the carpet.  All of  the carpet.  It's okay for pets and will dry the flea eggs and kill the existing fleas and eggs.  You will need to repeat about once.

true @menobride i agree...... handle things and the are gone...front line,washing,bombing,spray... and they r gone gone. best thing is u caught is early, if its eve fleas at all.... i aint gonna lie...ear scratching, head shaking, no sign of a flea....my vote is ear infection, keep us updated.....what kind of pooch is it??

oooo good one @maggie... i do this for roaches but fleas could work too...good

@teamajax13: She has had an ear infection again, but she's not scratching her ears the way she was before, and she's scratching around her collar area and the rest of her body. She's a beagle/shephard mix. I'll definitely report back when I find out what's up.

The reason I think it's fleas is because I went online and looked it up it mentioned worm-like larve that crawl around and I've been killing something like that for the past three days. It also said that flea fece are teeny tiny red-looking things (kinds looks like a tiny piece of redish rice), and I've seen those aroudn the house. BUT, that's all just from the internet!

Edit: silly internet...now i'm reading something and it's saying flea feces are black and then turn red. I found a vet that opens at 8. T-minus 40 minutes. I'm exchausted and wanna go back to sleep!

sounds like a flee.... make sure u are killing these things with home flea spray and no just smashing them or soemthing cause that doesnt get rid of em. go get #1 spray from either doc or walkmart,#2 frontline,#3 shampoo for fleas and wash pup and every thing washable in it. if u see a flea or anything wormlike....spray that mug. then if they r still a prob, go stay with someone for a day and bomb it,....simple walmart treatment...then all shall be fine. as far as pups comfort, a lil scratching wont bother him...scrathing is what they do...until u see boo boos....but for now he is fine....he can last a few hrs....if u wanna try and help him and happen to have shampoo, even some dandruff shampoo will help, go wash him...... and mix it with dawn.....or better yet flea shampoo...with a rinse...then some dawn....and rinse....careful around the ears in case thats the prob

Have you vet give you Comfortis. It is a pill they take once a month and is the best flea prevention I've found. My dogs never had a flea again.

Okay - the flea dirt you have been describing is actually flea feces. Fleas bite your pet and ingest some of their blood and this is why the flea dirt may be any color from reddish to brownish depending on how dried out the feces has become.

Your animal needs a flea bath to immediately get rid of the fleas that are on it. Then you need to start a preventative treatment

-Frontline: it works; but some owners who have indoor dogs do not care for it because it is a topical application and if the dog rubs on you or on your furniture it will get all over the place.

-Revolution: works; but again is topically appliedd

-Capstar: capstar is given orally and works quite quickly. I do like it but I have found that in areas where the fleas are heavy that the topicals are a better option.

Your home

-Immediately wash in the hottest setting possible - any bedding - yours and his!, any stuffed toys, etc. Bleach out any kennels/crates if possible.

-Vacuum your carpet areas really really well

-Use a flea bomb.

-Contact a pest control company if this does not help.

Why you must get rid of the fleas ASAP:

Fleas esp in the south can carry Dipylidium caninum - the canine tapeworm.

-Now the tape worm larvae will look like little grains of rices that are stuck to your animals rear around his anus.

-Tapeworms are not fun to treat. And in little puppies can become a severe issue quickly.

All of the medications I listed are only available by prescription.

As well as flea preventative you MUST also have a heart worm preventative if you live in the South and you need to have your animal on preventative year round.

Heartworms can be deadly in severe infections. And treatment can be extremely expensive.

Thanks ya'll! It turns out that she has an ear infection and fleas (poor puppy!). The vet gave us Comfortis, so I'm starting her on that today. I'm also getting in touch with an exterminator to come kill everything in the yard and I'm on my way to get something to clean my house.

The vet I saw was beyond nice and amazing! I felt terrible and told her over and over that I haven't been neglecting my dog - I seriously feel awful - and she said that it happens here, especially in the south and in wooded areas (we practically live in a forrest). Here's hoping we can get this under control!