Fleas attack any mammal available, if there is blood they will feed. This means that your tiny little dog is not an exception. It will fall prey to any flea around.
For people who consider dogs family it can be heartbreaking to see your precious puppy suffering from painful itchiness and in severe cases anemia, you are left with no choice but to look for the best treatment options available that will bring relief to your pet fast.
You cannot administer just any drug; remember the weight and age of your puppy matters.
Appropriate age for a puppy to get treated for fleas
If your puppy is younger than six weeks, the only thing you can do is to use a flea comb to pick out the insects from its fur. If the puppy is older than six weeks, there are some drugs you can administer that will not end up being fatal.
Ensure that the bedding and surroundings are treated also otherwise your puppy will keep on suffering from fleas.
Fleas don’t just cause itching, their bites can transmit diseases to your pet, so while you remove fleas inspect its stool for rice-like tapeworms and check if the puppy’s gum is pale. Paleness means that it has become anemic due to the feeding habits of fleas. Rush your pet to the veterinarian if it becomes anemic for immediate treatment.
Categories of flea treatment products for puppies
- Products that affect larvae and eggs. (Insect growth regulators)
- Products that eliminate adult fleas.
When you kill off adult fleas, chances are that they will leave behind larvae and eggs, IGRs will take care of that problem permanently cutting short their life cycle and prevent re-infestation.
Products for 6 – 7 week old puppies
Revolution is a professionally recommended product for six week old puppies, their weight does not matter.
Seven week old puppies can be treated with Advantage II but make sure that your pet weighs at least three pounds.
K9 Advantix II is suitable for puppies weighing four pounds.
Also available are flea collars, but the most popular product is the Seresto Collar suitable for seven week old puppies.
Products for eight-thirteen week old puppies
There are more products available for older puppies obviously because they are bigger. Frontline plus and Activyl are the recommended topical treatments and you can administer Trifexis or Nexgard orally.
Products for fourteen week old puppies
If your puppy is fourteen weeks old and a little above three pounds, you can administer Comfort is, a preventative that it can chew monthly.
Once your pet clocks six months, you can start treating with Simparica or Bravecto.