Fleas -how long until dog not contagious for other dogs

copperlobo

my little schnauzer has somehow picked up what looks like a mild case of fleas. I treated him with Advocat spot on treatment that I bought from the vet. My question is, should I keep him away from other dogs to prevent him spreading the fleas, or is he safe to socialise again now that he had been treated? Thanks for any advice.

lorebringer

Most spot on treatments take at least 24 hours to kill fleas, some longer. However, it will not get rid of fleas in the environment (that is, the house!) and these will still bite (and then die!). The product leaflet will have the information on how long it takes to kill fleas/ticks etc. Please be aware though, that if there are live fleas on your dog (transferred from the environment) they can be spread to other dogs for a while after treatment.

Personally, I would wait a good few days to make sure there are no trace of fleas in the home or on the dog (and, if needs be, treat the areas the dog could potentially have spread fleas to in the house!) before allowing them to interact with other dogs.

tatli_lokma

Make sure you treat your house. You can get sprays and powders from the vet for your soft furnishings. Give everything regular vacuuming
Sessions until you are sure all the fleas and eggs are gone. This includes all soft furnishings including curtains and cushions, carpets, sofa, beds etc. Wash all blankets in a full wash cycle.

It might seem a bit OTT but it's worth it, otherwise every time you treat him the fleas will just come back from eggs in your home.

copperlobo

Thanks for the advice...

I've done the vacumming the spraying.. and now just hoping it was enough to get things under control.

tatli_lokma

copperlobo wrote: »

Thanks for the advice...

I've done the vacumming the spraying.. and now just hoping it was enough to get things under control.

You need to keep doing the vacuuming and spraying for at least a week to be sure you get all the eggs. Sorry I know it's a pain!

Karl Stein

I know for cats you're supposed to allow it access to everywhere it is used to - the reason being that any surviving fleas will jump onto the cat and be poisoned.

Senor Willy

Don`t forget to worm the dog at the same time.

Fleas also spread worms.