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My 7-week-old puppy has fleas. What safe treatment can I use?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Golden Retriever | Female | unspayed | 1 month and 23 days old | 10 lbs

I was just petting my new 7 week old puppy and I noticed she scratching one spot on her leg and I looked at it and there was a little bug crawling around but is was to fast for me to catch do you think she is old enough to get a flea bath to get it out?

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Rebecca, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on June 19th, 2017

Bailey is cute! Be sure to read any labels before using flea medications, many are not labeled for use in animals under 8 weeks. You can use plain blue dawn dish detergent to wash her. Let the lather soak a couple of minutes and that will kill any fleas she has. It does not repel fleas though so she could pick up new ones. Ideally I recommend seeing a vet to get her on a prescription flea prevention (much safer than many OTC options) as well as heartworm and intestinal parasite control. She also needs to see the vet monthly for vaccine boosters as a puppy.

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    Answered By Menolly Cote, DVM, CVA

    Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist

    Published on

    I would recommend getting a topical flea medication such as frontline or activyl as these are safer and more effective than flea shampoos. There is also a chewable tablet that is quite effective called Nexgard but you will need a prescription from your veterinarian for this

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