Flea collar didn't work; why is my dog still scratching and losing fur?

Question

So my dog had fleas and my mom put a flea collar on her 2 days ago, she had the flea collar on her for 10 mins before my dog ripped it off. Now under her neck area she has been scratching non stop and her fur is coming off. I'm also seeing a good amount of fleas on her body that I have never noticed she is very itchy and seems irritated.

Lauren Jones VMD · Accepted Answer

Poor pup! It's possible that her scratching may be a result of irritation from the fleas and from the flea collar. In general, flea collars tend to be ineffective against fleas. As a starting point, you can give your dog a bath in original blue Dawn dish soap both to kill adult fleas and to remove any residue remaining from the flea collar. Be sure to start a high quality flea preventative, such as Nexgard, Bravecto, or K9 Advantix II regularly. Some dogs can develop bacterial skin infections from excessive itching, so if your dog's skin is red and irritated with scabs or pimple-like lesions, she should go to her vet because antibiotics or medicated shampoos may be indicated. Be sure to wash her bedding in the hottest water allowable for the material and vacuum your house daily, taking care to either throw away the vacuum bag or clean the canister regularly to prevent flea eggs from hatching and coming out. I hope this helps and that all goes well!

Flea collar didn't work; why is my dog still scratching and losing fur?

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