Our poor 5 month old huskey has a few fleas. Let's rewind.. a few months ago I had him around my friends dog. Her dog had fleas; I was completely unaware of this. So you can guess, he contracted the fleas. Apparently her dog was c ompletely INFESTED with fleas; like BAD! We have had Dash on Frontline plus since he was 3 months old, via recommendation from his vet. We got him when he was 2 months and initially started him on a Adams brand from walmart (apparently a crappy brand.) Never the less, he contracted the fleas. The frontline was NOT working to kill them so I called the vet, they recommended a dose of capstar. It worked for the adult fleas on him. A week later they recommended another dose of capstar. I didn't want to pump my poor puppy with meds and chemicals, so we paid close attention to vacuum daily,bathe often and even tried tea-tree oil shampoo (which I read was ok...and am now reading can be toxic to dogs!) GREAT! Any light at the end of this tunnel?
We have now moved out of our apartment, as we are pcsing with the military. So he is out of that environment. The problem did get better but was never 100% resolved. I assumed we hadn't stopped the life cycle as we did not want to use chemicals in the house. So the problem persisted. Now that we are out of that apartment, he stayed in a VERY nice pet lodge in Tennessee for 10 days as we visited family who could not have pets at their apartment complex. I noticed a few days in he had a flea or two on him, which I removed. We are now staying at my parents house. I noticed a day ago he was scratching and biting his fur on his back. I checked him but didn't see any fleas. Tonight, the same biting and scratching. We bought a flea comb at the local pet store and went to work brushing his fur. I found 1 living flea and many spots of flea dirtt, which I put onto a wet soapy paper towel and noticed they turned red, determining they were indeed fleas/flea dirt.

OMG! So we are moving soon, pcsing with the military, and in order for him to fly and enter the state (Hawaii) he has to be treated with Frontline, which we have to purchase tomorrow for his helth certificate. Frontline is NOT WORKING but they require that one. I have been reading about K9 Advantix II, and definitely want to switch him. I wish I could find an all-natural route, but I hear the fleas and mosquitos are just awful in Hawaii, and want something that also prevents, not just kills the fleas, ticks, mosquitos, etc.

What do all of you use on your huskeys? Any and all help would be amazing and very appreciated!

Thanks,
nervous huskey mommy! lol

I've used First Shield on my 2 during the summer months. It says it kills the eggs and adults for fleas, ticks, lice and I think mosquitos. Ginger had head lice (for pets) when we just adopted her. These pet lice will die if they fall off their host, so it's a little different than fleas, but First Shield took care of her head lice real fast.

AWW We are definitely concerned about the fleas because we don't want him to have them, or be bothered by them. I know they are irritating him and his coat is getting longer and fluffier, I assumed because he is 1. growing and b. it's winter here. I heard comfortis is really good but has also caused many seizures in dogs. I do not want to use any chemical on him but fleas are frustrating.

I also meant to add that because his coat is getting longer, it's ALOT harder to find the fleas on him than it was before. Also with the flea comb, he acts like anytime I pul back his fur, or use the comb, he is bothered by it. We could pet him and scratch his belly all day but once he knows I am "looking" at his skin, he starts to nip at me or roll over and run away. lol...like he doesn't want me to rid him of his pesky little friends.

The capstar has been the only thing that has worked for Keimo. Frontline works great on my dad's golden retriever.... doesn't do a darn thing for Keimo. I think it's because his coat is too thick. Unless I am mistaken, it is supposed to soak through the skin and get into the bloodstream, then when pests bite, it kills them.If it can't get to the skin, it can't get into the bloodstream. I'll be interested to see what others recommend, but I'd be willing to bet that none of the topical meds will help much on a husky.

Well the capstar they say can be given daily but I'd rather he be on a long-term preventative, ya know? It's all very frustrating and I ended up feeling a little resentful toward my friend because she had told me the dog didn't have fleas any longer and I wasn't that educated about fleas, as this is our first dog. Now I just feel upset for Dash because it seems like the problem is still lingering.

Don't be too upset with your friend.... she probably thought they were gone. Sometimes the little boogers are hard to spot. I agree with you about the long term thing, but it hasn't worked for us. Unfortunately, we usually have to wait until the signs are there then give the meds. :-(

I use advantage on Kale during the spring and fall when the fleas are at their worst, during the winter I use Confortis or Sentinel, depending on how much he's scratching. Haven't had a problem. I use Advantage and Sentinel on my Doxie, and Advantage Multi on my cats. We also spray our yard and house with an IGR (insect growth regulator). It's called Nylar and it's non-toxic and safe around pets.

We use revolution. It's great for fleas, ticks, and heart worm too!

I've been using the advantage II. I've had a few problems with Indy and fleas (he had flea bite dermatitis and will react to the slightest contact of a flea) and they were very hard to get rid of! I had to stop taking him over to my friend's house as his weekly play date with her dog because that's where he was getting them from. I tried Frontline and Capstar and Comfortis but none of them worked until I was using Advantage II. I had been using Advantage on my other husky and I never saw one flea or egg or tick.

Comfortis works for us. Frontline stopped working months ago. Advantix worked but burned through the finish on our hardwood floors when hubby applied it wrong (ugh!) - so I thought twice about putting it back on them. Revolution blows - it's so hard to apply perfectly with thick husky fur, and even when I did they BOTH got fleas!

hollywoodhuskies wrote:

Comfortis works for us. Frontline stopped working months ago. Advantix worked but burned through the finish on our hardwood floors when hubby applied it wrong (ugh!) - so I thought twice about putting it back on them. Revolution blows - it's so hard to apply perfectly with thick husky fur, and even when I did they BOTH got fleas!

Yea I'm not a fan of revolution either... works great for cats but not so much for dogs in my personal experience.

Been using Advantix seems for ever. Had a huge flea problem way back in the late 80's, vet prescribed I think it was just Advantage then but never had a flea on any of my Sibs since then. Hate the price but I guess I hate fleas even more.

I use comfortis . The first time I gave it Neo acted drunk for a bit, but no problems since. And it works!

Well, there is no "best" flea preventative. Different products work better or worse for varying individuals and locations.

I don't use chemical flea/tick preventatives anymore because I don't like giving them poison every month if I can help it...not to mention all the health problems that monthly dose of poison can cause down the road with short or long term use. Having said that though, before I put my dogs on a holistic track I used Advantix for a long time and was very happy with it. Revolution didn't do squat for fleas and for a number of reasons I don't ever recommend Revolution. I did have an incident with ticks in the summer of 2010 where Advantix didn't work. That's when I decided to research a safer, more natural alternative.

Since summer 2010 I've been using essential oils (Cedarwood oil for fleas & Rose Geranium oil for ticks), Apple cider vinegar, and garlic to prevent fleas and ticks and I've had excellent results. And I live in the south where those pests are a problem and our house backs to woods so that should give you an idea of how well it's working for us.

Val- I have a question about the essential oils... How often do you apply them? And where? I tried that for about a month but it seems to really have no effect..? Or maybe i'm just doing it wrong... I don't want to use topicals but the ticks/fleas are so bad here this year I just don't know what to do.

Kristina, I put one drop of each on their collars once a week normally. In the summer I sometimes put a second drop on their harnesses that we use for walking.

My mother in law lives in Orlando, FL and she's been having a bad time with fleas this year. She started using the oils I suggested on her dogs a few weeks ago. She uses more oils than I do and she applies hers a little more frequently than I do but so far her dogs have been flea free since she started the oils. I only use Cedarwood oil for fleas, but she uses all 3 that I recommended (Cedarwood, Lavender, and Tea tree oil). I'm not sure how many times a week she does hers but I know she does it more than once a week like I do.

Chaos and Storm both had a run in with fleas about 2 months ago. Our vet gave us Capstar, this kills any fleas on them within minutes and lasts about 24 hours, after that Frontline was given in one spot between their shoulders. This took care of their problem. The Capstar works great but it is not a flea preventer, just gets rid of whats on the dogs.

Val Where do you get these oils? Also you do not put this oil on the coats just the collars and harnesses? Wonder how it works since the legs and underbelly would be the first place the fleas and ticks would attach them selfs. Just asking. Cuz I would love to not put any posion on my new pups. I have used Advantix on my Rottwieler and Mixed breed and had great results with it.

Chaos & Storm What part of Michigan do you live in? Just wondering I Live in Westland!

rbrent wrote:

Val Where do you get these oils? Also you do not put this oil on the coats just the collars and harnesses? Wonder how it works since the legs and underbelly would be the first place the fleas and ticks would attach them selfs. Just asking. Cuz I would love to not put any posion on my new pups. I have used Advantix on my Rottwieler and Mixed breed and had great results with it.

I buy my oils online at Amazon, they're cheap and last a long time. You don't put it on the dog directly because the oils can irritate the skin. I believe it's the smell that repels the pests. All I know is it works for my dog's living near woods behind our house in the south where these pests are a real problem.

I just wanted to put my 0.2c in, I haven't read the whole thread so I apologize if I repeat anything. Bath him, comb as many out as posible and CRUSH the fleas as you take them out of the fur. They can swim and will come back up the plug hole! Use a flea shampoo if possible or some dog groomers do flea bath treatments.
I would use... Programme it's a pill you can get from the vet that makes the female flea infertile! That way if any do hatch, when they die the eggs will not hatch out!
I use advocate to kill the adult ones, I'm sorry but I don't rate frontline, it's been so over used the fleas have become imune to it! I also use another wormer every 3 months. I used to have a flea issue but since I moved house, I've never had one since. I dont' flea mine in the winter months, I start in Febuary (however I started early this year as my dogs are going to be kenneled for 2 nights in the middle of feb).
Casper pills work too, they make the fleas fall off the dog.
Hope that helps.

Lyrril wrote:

Casper pills work too, they make the fleas fall off the dog.

Do you mean Capstar? That product is amazing! lol

I've read that garlic can be toxic to dogs, I know its on the ASPCA's poison list. I use Advantix II and I love it. I live out in East Texas with plenty of trees around, with a total of 7 (yes 7) dogs on the property (not including mine). (I live with my boyfriend's family, they have over the years aquired dogs from other family members for the most part, 2 came from his grandmother that passed, 3 came from his aunt, one was a pup they had and kept, 1 was a shelter adoption) They don't always get the flea preventative they need(mine does), but I've NEVER had an issue with fleas or ticks on Diesel(And he stays outside during the day). As with starting any kind of new flea medicine though I do recommend keeping an extreme eye on your dog for 48 hours....

Kiyonai wrote:

I've read that garlic can be toxic to dogs, I know its on the ASPCA's poison list.

Garlic in high quantities can be toxic, but in smaller quantities is fine. It's actually in a lot of dog foods.