# Pup on Sentinel, and now fleas!? (Question)



## StephWAII (Jan 27, 2011)

I live in Hawaii, so fleas here are a year round thing. I have an 8mo. old golden retriever, and he's had scabs near the back end of his tail for the past 2 months. He's been to the vet 3 times, and he's been put on 2 different antibiotics for dermatitis and itching. (non-specific, the vet found no evidence of fleas) Well, yesterday I found 3 fleas crawling on him after I noticed a terrible rash on his belly. I found the initial flea, and the other two after giving him a bath with Dawn dish soap. He's been on Sentinel since he was 8 weeks old, and I understand it makes the fleas sterile. I purchased Frontline Plus and a tablet of Capstar today, and gave him both, which was recommended to me at the vet. I've been looking at the hardwood floors very carefully, and I have yet to see any fleas/dead fleas. Capstar supposedly rids of fleas within 30 minutes, and Frontline Plus does within 12 hours. 

I pretty much have two questions. 
1) If I don't find any dead fleas after brushing him tomorrow, is there something else I should do to make sure he doesn't have any fleas left? (A bath is not possible because I would like to wait a few days since I just applied the topical Frontline Plus.) I'm super nervous, I've never had a dog with fleas before, and my dog IS an indoor dog. He goes outside for walks and to potty. And my husband and I are CLEAN people. (However, we live in condos so others may not be so clean.) 
2) What is the possibility of a flea infestation, taking into consideration that my dog is on Sentinel and that the fleas are said to be sterile? I understand that fleas=flea infestation in most cases, but does Sentinel prevent any/all flea infestations!? 

Please take all my my statements into consideration when answering!! Not all situations are the same, and I would like to hear any personal experiences you have had!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

> 2) What is the possibility of a flea infestation, taking into consideration that my dog is on Sentinel and that the fleas are said to be sterile? I understand that fleas=flea infestation in most cases, but does Sentinel prevent any/all flea infestations!?


If you are giving it to your dog monthly and it's from a legitimate source (from the vet), it should. We've been doing just sentinel for the past 15+ years or so and have never had a flea outbreak. 

But the fleas have to bite your dog first to become sterile. It doesn't prevent fleas from getting ON your dog. So if you have an underlining flea problem or your dog has gone someplace where there are a lot of fleas (like a boarding kennel), then your dog might become a temporary flea carrier.


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## NJgoldengirl (Jan 16, 2011)

I agree with the above in that Sentinel just makes them sterile once the fleas bite the dog - it doesn't prevent them from getting on your dog or killing the rest of the fleas in the dog's environment as well as your home. Fleas will also hitch a ride on your to get into your home to their preferred host the dog/cat.

In my experience with owning dogs and working in different animal clinics.....the best flea spot on medication is advantage. If your having problems with ticks as well as fleas then keep on using the Frontline (or Advantix - whatever is available to you from the vet). Capstar is a great product, but may become expensive if you plan on giving it on a daily basis. If you're still seeing fleas then you may want to do a good cleaning of the house (not that the house is dirty) - fleas hide everywhere and they are great at getting into every crack, crevis and deep down in the fibers of carpet. Your vet should also be able to recommend some safe product for treating the home. 

I hope this helps!


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

I would treat your carpets with Borax, too. Sprinkle it down, work it in with a broom and leave it down for 2-3 days before vacuuming it up. Apparently it dehydrates the fleas which kills them. You can repeat in a couple of days.


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## StephWAII (Jan 27, 2011)

Thank you all for replying! I checked the thread but didn't have time to reply right away!! It's really nerve-wrecking to know Champ's had fleas! (I think...) He was at the vet twice, and flea-combed over the scabs, he still has on his back, but they didn't suggest it was fleas. (This was prior to me finding 3 on him.) He orally was given a dose of Capstar, and I topically applied Frontline afterwards. I don't know if this was enough though; he's been scratching a lot again . And, when I came home today, the little stinker must have been on the couch (NAUGHTY!!!) scratching away. I'm pretty sure he scratched a scab off because I think I found a flea egg. I'm not a vet, but I'm assuming I found fleas before, and now this egg. 

Before I take him into the vet, I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions. I've been weary of buying the flea shampoo just because I don't know which ones are good for the pups, and which ones to stay away from. Are there certain ingredients to stay away from? Since we all have Goldens, I'm also wondering what you think is the best flea medication, and what's worked best for you. 

If you read this, Champ and I appreciate your time very much!! I just want what's best for the stinker. Thank you all, hopefully I can update you guys when I decide what to do!


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## StacieCado (Jan 25, 2017)

So my dog is also on Sentinel (not a golden, boxer/shepherd mix, but this struck my curiosity) and also apparently had fleas. I never found any on him but I found one on my bed. He had been scratching for a few days so I put two and two together. We just moved to a new apartment complex so I think he tracked something in around here as we've never had an issue before. I only ever saw the one but had my apartment sprayed for them. He also has been itching and has a spot under his tail that he scratched at and it turned into a dermatitis thing according to the vet whom we just saw yesterday. The vet did the comb thing through his fur and didn't pick up anything including flea poop which I guess they were very surprised by. So after seeing what Sentinel does with fleas, maybe it did do its job with those that bit him and prevented a big outbreak of them.


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