Which flea treatment is best for dogs

If that's the boat you currently find yourself in, you'll want to consider a good flea medications for dogs. Most of them come in tablet form and some get to work in as little as 30 minutes, clearing away the vast majority of fleas within four hours.

There are also a variety of shampoos and sprays available, but these are best used in conjunction with a harder-hitting flea treatment. Whatever method feels right for you, we've rounded up a selection of flea treatments for dogs to suit every furkid from collars and topicals to medications and shampoos. And if you're still not sure, we recommend having a chat with your vet who will be able to offer plenty of advice and help guide you in the right direction. Usually effective against both fleas and ticks, their efficacy and how well they are tolerated by dogs depends on the active ingredients.

Frontline Plus is our pick for best flea treatment for dogs because it is easy to use, safe for dogs of almost all sizes, effective at killing both fleas and ticks at all stages of life, and waterproof after 24 hours. While some flea treatments are either effective or easy to use, Frontline Plus has been a veterinarian-recommended flea and tick treatment for years for its combination of effectiveness, ease of use and being well-tolerated by dogs. Frontline Plus contains two separate active ingredients that, combined, kill fleas and ticks and their eggs and larvae for up to 30 days with one application.

Whether that extra coverage is worth it to you will depend largely on your environment and the likelihood that your dog will encounter mosquitos or lice often enough to warrant the prevention. Flea collars offer a more budget-friendly way to protect your pup against flea infestations.

Our pick for best flea collar, the Seresto Flea and Tick Collar by Bayer, offers eight months of protection with one application. And at a cost close to that of six months of topical treatments, Seresto can save you money. Applying it is as easy as putting the collar on your dog and leaving it there.

Seresto differs from most flea collars in its design. Made from a unique polymer matrix, it releases low levels of its active ingredients over long periods of time, maintaining its effectiveness for up to eight months. It starts killing fleas within 24 hours and controls them at all stages of its lifecycle.

Seresto is water-resistant, so it can be worn during baths or for swimming, although frequent exposure to water can reduce its length of effectiveness. Dog owners worried that a collar might catch or choke their pup will be pleased to know that Seresto features a two-way release safety feature.

It also features visibility reflectors to help keep your dog safe at night. With a little extra vigilance or at least a note on your calendar , a flea collar is an excellent, budget-friendly way to keep your dog flea-free. Designed for sensitive skin but suitable for all skin types, it has a rich and creamy texture for the perfect lather and it comes packed full of aloe vera, lanolin, and oatmeal to soothe the skin. We love that this shampoo is safe for use on both dogs and cats great if you have a multi-pet household!

Chewable flea treatments for dogs provide a mess-free option that your dog will genuinely enjoy and can last as long as or longer than other treatments.

The downside is they can be expensive and can have more frequent side effects than other types of flea medications. Our pick for the best chewable flea treatment is NexGard. NexGard is effective at killing adult fleas before they can lay eggs and it comes in a beef flavor that most dogs seem to like, making it one of the easiest flea treatments to apply.

The trade-off for that ease of use is a laundry list of possible side-effects. Whilst collars have their place, especially for repelling ticks, spot-on and oral medications are generally best at providing a quick kill.

Don't wonder. Get a vet's opinion — for free. Flea and tick shampoo works by killing the insects that are already on the dog. And, whilst shampoo will indeed kill fleas it comes into contact with, it only treats the fleas currently living on your pet — which is a very small proportion of the population. Stay up to date on the latest from Pawp vets with informative pet content.

Vanessa Armstrong 14 min. Aly Walansky 11 min. As pet owners you will know that unfortunately, fleas are an extremely common and annoying occurrence and it is important to treat your dogs and cats for worms and fleas on a regular basis. They are flat-bodied, dark brown or black in color unless they are full of blood in which case they can be lighter and usually less than an eighth of an inch big. However, typical behavioral symptoms include restlessness, and chewing, scratching or licking certain parts of his body more often than usual.

If it is flea dirt, then it will turn a reddish brown as it will contain blood that the flea has ingested and then excreted. With so many different flea treatments available on the market, finding the right one can be tricky. We have put together this list of some of the best and most effective flea treatments for dogs and cats to get you started, but discovering which works best for you and your pets may require some trial and error.

It is also safe to use if you have kittens or puppies in your property, and is water-resistant so it is still effective even if you like in an area with a high rainfall. This helps to prevent re-infestation and keep your home clear of fleas for a month at a time.

These collars offer a much longer term solution to flea and pest problems. There are multiple varieties available that cater for either dogs or cats. It kills fleas and can be used in conjunction with other popular preventatives to help stop any future infestations.

These parasites can pose a threat to your dog's health. A severe flea infestation can seriously damage your dog's skin, induce an allergic reaction, or cause them to become anemic from blood loss.

Fleas are also responsible for transmitting parasites like tapeworms. Signs of fleas in dogs include scratching, skin irritation, and the presence of dark red or black specks on your dog's skin, fur, bedding, or furniture. These specks, about the size of grains of black pepper, are called "flea dirt" and are flea feces, or digested blood. Back when I worked in the veterinary hospital, I learned a handy trick to help find out if those little specks are regular dirt or flea dirt. Scoop some onto a damp paper towel.

If the paper towel turns red, it's flea dirt. To check your dog for fleas or flea dirt, run a flea comb a small, very fine-toothed comb through your dog's coat or part the hair with your fingers to examine the skin. If you find any live or dead fleas or flea dirt, your dog has a flea infestation. Some flea control products are sold over the counter.

Other products require your veterinarian to write a prescription. You can purchase prescription products directly from your veterinarian or from online pet pharmacies and certain pet supply stores like Chewy, Petco, and Petsmart. Prescription flea control products cost more than OTC products because they protect against more parasites, most importantly, deadly heartworms. Dogs must test negative for heartworms before starting a heartworm prevention product. Giving a heartworm-positive dog a prevention medication can cause rare but potentially very serious and sometimes fatal complications.

You also want to know if your dog has adult heartworms because the preventive medication will not kill them — it only kills the larval stages of the heartworm. You might be tempted to only use parasite preventives in spring and summer, but don't underestimate the resilience of fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, and intestinal parasites. Veterinarians recommend that all dogs stay on broad-spectrum parasite preventives all 12 months of the year.

Heartworm treatment is long, costly, and dangerous. Dogs with adult heartworms can die even if treatment is initiated. This is why veterinarians recommend using a year-round heartworm preventive for all dogs, regardless of what part of the country they live in.

Veterinarians also recommend year-round intestinal parasite prevention for all dogs. Decades ago, people might have just used a flea shampoo containing pesticides to kill fleas, but flea shampoos are no longer the gold standard.

Veterinarian-recommended topical and oral flea control products are far more effective than flea shampoos. The residual effect might last 24 or 48 hours at most, and then the nasties will be back. Lay notes that some pet owners want to use flea shampoos instead of veterinarian-approved oral or topical preventives because shampoos cost less. However, this approach could backfire. Both veterinarians we consulted do not recommend natural products in place of veterinarian-recommended topical and oral flea control products.

While they can deter fleas and ticks, they won't eliminate an infestation. If you also have cats at home, avoid natural flea control products containing essential oils as some of them can be toxic to cats. If you have cats as well as dogs, it's important to understand that any product labeled for use in only dogs should never be used on a cat.

Some ingredients that are well-tolerated by dogs can be toxic to cats. Any dog-only flea product can be harmful to cats, but they are especially sensitive to pyrethrins. If you're looking for a product that's safe for felines, read our guide to the best flea control products for cats. Sign up for Insider Reviews' weekly newsletter for more buying advice and great deals. You can purchase syndication rights to this story here.

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