Postby Misskiwi67 » Sat Sep 26, 2009 4:33 pm
Do you have a flea comb, have your checked every animal in the household for flea dirt (black dandruff, its flea feces) and fleas from head to tail??? Even a single flea can cause itchiness in a dog, and even with bombing and topical treatment it can take 3 months to completely rid your house of fleas.
There are multiple life stages of fleas, one of them is a pupated stage (just like butterflies) where the flea pupae are TOTALLY unaffected by chemicals. No bomb, probably not even an atomic bomb, will kill them within their protective cases. Because of this life cycle, you cannot consider yourself 100% flea free until you have treated your pets with topical medication AND bombed, AND vacuumed, AND washed bedding thoroughly for a minimum of three months, just because thats how long it takes for the pupae to all hatch and be exposed to the chemicals.
If it weren't for the fleas, I would guess food first based on your dogs age alone... so a food trial (STRICT, no heartguard, no training treats, NOTHING) would still be a good alternative as well.