Cindy Rosenfeld, DVM
Community Veterinary Services
P.O. Box 358002 Gainesville, Florida 32635
352 485-2520
SPRING 2010 NEWSLETTER
Thank you to everyone who has helped make the clinics such a success. I truly enjoy meeting everyone and am so impressed at how good all your pets look!
With the warm weather and blossoming plants comes every dog and cats’ arch enemy: FLEAS! I just don’t think its possible to never get a flea but here are a few tips to keep your pets as flea free as we possibly can.
Use Advantage or Frontline every 30 days. Be sure your pet is dry when you put it on. Try to bathe them as little as possible over the 30 days. Use ONLY tearless soap free shampoo. Never use flea shampoo or dish soap during the 30 days – it will take off your Advantage or Frontline. I buy tearless baby shampoo at the Dollar Store for my dog.
More: Advantage and Frontline do not get absorbed into the body. They sit on top of the skin and should stay there for 30 days if you take good care. Frontline does get into the oil layer of the skin. So if you have a dog with dry skin Frontline may not work as well for them. Also, it is not true that you have to wait 2 days after a bath to put this on. With Revolution the flea part still only sits on top of the skin while the heartworm prevention in Revolution does get absorbed systemically. Advantage and Frontline have no heartworm protection.
Flea Shampoo is great but it does not last more than the one day of the bath. You will only dry your dog’s skin out if you keep bathing over and over with flea shampoo. Dry skin can make a dog itchy.
Dr Cindy’s Dry Skin Equation:
Dry skin + repeat flea bites = allergic dermatitis (itchy skin infection)
Go ahead and give your dog a fish oil capsule very day. It has omega 3 fatty acid in it and will help that dry skin problem.
Get some flea and tick spray too. I like Adams brand but anything with pyrethrin (made from crysanthemum flowers) is fine. Mist your pet lightly every day, especially before they go outside. It repels fleas and ticks and will not interfere with Advantage or Frontline.
If you cannot afford Advantage or Frontline – get some flea spray. It is about $10 at WalMart and will last you a long time.
Don’t waste your money on cheap flea stuff like Hartz Control, BioSpot or Zodiac. They don’t last and can actually be harmful to the little pets. Buy a bottle of Adams Flea Spray instead if that’s all you can afford.
How about Comfortis? People tell me it works great. It’s a monthly pill that kills fleas.
You can get any of these flea products at local pet stores (Puppy Luv in Lake Butler has Advantage!) or feed stores. It is also available at the on line pharmacy I use:
VetCentric.com or 1-866-838-2368.
Veterinarians are well trained in flea prevention and I really want to help! Call or e-mail me with questions!
A current schedule of the clinics is posted to Craigs List in Gainesville every Friday under Pets.
If you have any cute photos of your pets, I would like to start a picture board in the clinic. Send them by mail or e-mail!