Most people who have dogs have had trouble with fleas at least once. There are a lot of gimmicks out there that claim to kill fleas. Since spring we’ve been battling fleas on both of our dogs, even though I’ve been using Frontline regularly, It has been a nightmare to say the least. All my dogs have done has been dig.
My dogs have been treated with Frontline, but they still have fleas. It’s not from lack of treating both dogs regularly. The veterinarian suggested I use a stronger dose of Frontline, but I don’t like the idea since both of my dogs are seniors. He mentioned I might be applying the medication wrong so I tried following his advice, but it didn’t help. I have been using Frontline for years. After getting desperate, I started scouring the internet for inexpensive ways to kill fleas then I remembered we used dish soap on our dogs when I was a kid. There are flea collars, but they do not work well since they only killed the fleas around the neck.
I did an experiment after learning that dish soap may kill fleas. I poured water into two plastic containers and added a little dish soap to one of the dishes. Do the fleas sink or swim? The Fleas drowned in the soapy water and swam in the clear water. The fleas stayed on top in the soapless water, which enabled them to climb up the edge and climb out of the plastic container. After my experiment, I flushed the water down the drain.
How to Give a Dish Soap Dip on your dog:
1. Fill tub with warm water. Test the water’s temperature with inside of wrist or elbow. It should be tolerable to touch.
2. Pour a few drops of dish soap under faucet and swish soapy water with hand.
3. Place dog into bath tub.
4. Work soap into a lather from top of head to tail avoiding eyes. Use baby shampoo on eyes. Pay special attention to their belly and butt.
5. Let dish soap sit on dog for ten to fifteen minutes.
6. Comb hair out with flea comb to remove dead fleas and flea eggs.
7. Drain water from bathtub.
8. Rinse dog’s fur from top of head to end of tail, avoid eyes and inside of ears.
9. Comb hair again with flea comb.
In full disclosure, I only use the dish soap when the fleas are really bad on both of my dogs. I’ve treated the yard which does help for a short time. Next year, I am looking into something else besides Frontline to use on my dogs.
Do not use on dogs with sensitive skin and always check with a vet.
What Do You Use on your Dogs to Prevent Fleas?