Pet Pampering

Being a long time pet owner and a pet sitter, I’d like to talk about  flea control .  With my pet sitting business I find many first time pet owners concerned about fleas and how to control them.

Many customer’s have never owned a pet and go to their local Walmart or some other big store and buy some things they think they’ll need for their new puppy when they bring him home.  Besides a bed, some dog treats, and pet food, one of the things they end up buying is a flea collar.  Now, everyone who’s owned pets for a while, knows that flea collars are old school. They simply don’t work. 

So when a first time pet owner needed someone to care for his puppy called me,  besides the usual questions, I just asked if he had any fleas and when he said no,  I had him bring his puppy right over to my house.  When he arrived I noticed he had a flea collar on his puppy, but since he didn’t have any fleas, I never gave it much thought.

Then shortly after the puppy’s owner left, I noticed that just wouldn’t stop scratching his neck. I checked him several times to see if he perhaps he did have fleas, but I couldn’t find any.  As the day progressed, I noticed it was really hard for him to play without his continually stopping to scratch his neck. It obviously was a problem that was really making him and me crazy.

I decided that perhaps it was the flea collar that was irritating his neck and took it off. The next day came and I noticed he hardly scratched at all and by the time he went back home three days later he was not scratching his neck at all anymore.

I am convinced  flea collars are simply skin irritants and I find it comical that you can find dozens of web sites that warn you of the danger of flea collars on humans, (it seems solders in Iraq were using this unconventional method to repel the desert sand flea,) but you should not feel apprehensive putting it on your dog.

In fact I found this press release dated April 16, 2003 from the Pentagon advising service members that flea collars are not for humans, and good intention family members should not send any family members any flea collars with any care package to their loved ones.

 They may have been the best thing available 20 years ago, but today there are better and less irritating products for your pets.

So what are these products you ask? I personally find over 95% of my pet sitting customers including myself use Front Line Plus.  Sure I’d prefer a natural product but since I watch pets at my house I must have something that is very effective. I simply can’t afford to have any problem with fleas with my business.

I live in Ohio, so fleas are only a problem in the late Summer and Fall.  Sure the vets tell you that you’ll need year round protection but maybe the only protection they’re worrying about is their wallet.   Naturally, there are certainly conditions that will warrant year round protection such as if you live where ticks are prominent or where the climate is much warmer and you find fleas year round.

In Ohio I never see fleas until August, that’s when I start to treat my 3 Pomeranians.  I continue to treat them usually until October or November.   Naturally if any pets come to my house with fleas during the year I will have to treat them no matter what time of the year it is.  I do try to take precautions against this by making sure all the dogs that come to my house during these months have been treated with Front Line Plus.

Front Line Plus is suppose to last a month but last year with all the rain and other weather conditions I did notice fleas reappearing after around 25 days.  If I see even one flea it’s like having a panic attack, I just don’t want them on my baby’s.  It was then my vet told me that I didn’t need to wait until the 30 days are up to treat them again, but always check with your vet before making any changes for your pet.

Front Line Plus is really a great product but like everything else there are dangers. It is a pesticide and I do wish I could be flea free with more natural methods.  I have tried many other products through the last 30 years but Front Line Plus works the best for me.

Front Line Plus can be a little expensive purchased at the vet,  but if you look online you will find many places where it is less expensive.