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What's safe for fleas on a nursing dog and her newborn puppies?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Pit Bull Terrier | Female | unspayed | 3 years old

My 3 yr old Pit Bull just gave birth to 8 puppies. She had fleas but by the time we noticed...She gave birth and pups have them too! What can we do?

5 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on July 11th, 2016

Revolution (a spot on treatment) and Capstar (a one time pill) are both approved for use in lactating dogs. I'd give Bella Capstar, which will start killing the fleas in 30 minutes, and then following up with Revolution. You cannot use any flea treatment on the puppies unfortunately, they are still too young. The only solution is to try to remove the fleas manually. Gently bathe the puppies in warm water, using your hand to support their heads and keeping them above water. Don't use any products, just warm water (at the same temperature you'd bathe a baby), and scoop water over their backs until wet. Then gently dry them with a soft towel. Use a flea comb to groom the puppies coats and remove fleas. Flea combs have teeth that are very close together and work by physically pulling fleas out of the fur. Start at the puppy's neck and part the fur, combing a section at a time until you have covered his whole body and removed all of the fleas. It's important to kill any fleas that you remove from the puppy's fur, otherwise they could find their way back and re-infest. You can kill the fleas by squishing them between your fingernails or by dropping them into a cup of boiling water. Wash their bedding in warm soapy water, and make sure all the laundry detergent is complete removed before giving it back to Bella and her pups. You will have to vacuum the furniture and carpet surfaces. Once the puppies are 4 weeks old and at least 2 pounds in weight, they can have Capstar to kill the fleas. They will have to be 8 weeks old before they can have Revolution spot on treatment.

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12Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Other Answers

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    Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

    Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

    Published on

    Most topical flea medications are not safe to use on nursing moms and newborn puppies because the chemicals are too harsh. I would recommend bathing mom and pups in diluted Dawn dish soap and warm water, then using a flea comb to remove any remaining fleas while they're still wet. You'll also need to wash all of the bedding that they've come into contact with, and you may need to repeat this a few times over the next few weeks if you see fleas again. Once the pups are weaned, you can apply a flea treatment to Bella and start the puppies on flea meds as well.

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    8Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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    Answered By Debi Matlack

    Veterinary Technician

    Published on September 12th, 2016

    You can give her a bath, certainly. Just make sure to rinse her completely and thoroughly, especially her belly and nipples. If the puppies taste shampoo it may put them off nursing. Also, ask you vet about what oral or spot-on flea treatment you can use. This will help keep the fleas off Mom and therrefore, the puppies. Puppies this young can easily get anemia and die if overrun with fleas.

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    12Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on March 12th, 2020

    PetArmour Plus isn't the best product, I would not use it on Delilah. I would use Revolution, which is testing to be safe on nursing dogs. Wash the puppies in warm water and Dawn dish soap, then use a flea comb to remove all the fleas. Wash their bedding in hot soapy water, and vacuum the furniture and carpet surfaces. You can use a spray to kill fleas in the house, such as Indorex, or a flea bomb would work well to kill the fleas in the home.

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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    Answered By Jessica Desrosiers

    Veterinary Technician

    Published on October 23rd, 2019

    If both mom and babies have fleas you can bathe them with Dawn/Fairy dish soap and then use a flea comb to remove the dead fleas from the body. You can also clean the environment to help reduce the number of fleas that may jump back on as well. Capstar is also safe to give to nursing dogs (an oral flea medication) and is available from your vet.

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    2Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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