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My dog still has fleas after treatment. What should I do next?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Goldendoodle | Male | neutered | 1 year and 1 month old | 35 lbs

I administered capstar last night. Today I vaccumed and sprayed with sentry. Just an hour ago, I found another flea on my dog. What should I do next?

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on June 26th, 2018

Capstar will only kill those fleas that are on the dog and sucking blood once. Getting rid of fleas is relatively easy but entails work for a few months: Unfortunately fleas only hop on the body of your pet when they want to feed, then they hop off again and stay in your pet's environment. So you need to treat all pets in the household as well as the environment (which contains the fleas, their eggs and larvae). Flea treatment:  1) Get some flea medication such as a Flea spray or a spot on from a pet shop or your veterinarian and apply monthly )Bravecto/Nexgard/Seresto will last longer) 2) get flea powder, put some in your vacuum cleaner bag and vacuum your house and furniture and also non-carpeted areas frequently to remove flea larvae and eggs which live off house dust., Dispose of the bag in the trash outside. Hot-wash all the pet's bedding, If you do this diligently for a few months you will get rid of the fleas. Flea products: Spot-ons: Advantage, Advantix Advantage Multi (Advocate in the UK) Frontline (ticks as well) Bravecto/Nexgard spot on (ticks as well) - for cats, in tablet form for dogs Revolution (stronghold in the UK) Tablets: comfortis (will only kill fleas once) Collar: Seresto (ticks as well) House spray: Indoorex Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you so much!

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on October 5th, 2018

    You will have to keep up the topicals and you will need to do the cleaning for a few months. At this time I wouldl not change the topical. This is a way of getting rid of the fleas: Unfortunately fleas only hop on the body of your pet when they want to feed, then they hop off again and stay in your pet's environment as will their eggs and their larvae. So you need to treat all pets in the household as well as the environment (which contains the fleas, their eggs and larvae). Flea treatment:  1) Get some flea medication such as a Flea spray or a spot on from a pet shop or your veterinarian and apply monthly ( the Sentry is fine)2) get flea powder, put some in your vacuum cleaner bag and vacuum your house and furniture and also non-carpeted areas frequently to remove flea larvae and eggs which live off house dust., Dispose of the bag in the trash outside. Hot-wash all the pet's bedding, If you do this diligently for a few months you will get rid of the fleas. Flea products: Spot-ons and/or chews Advantage, Advantix Advantage Multi (Advocate in the UK) Frontline (ticks as well) Bravecto spot on (ticks as well) - for cats, in tablet form for dogs Simparica, Nexgard Revolution (stronghold in the UK) Tablets: comfortis (will only kill fleas once) Collar: Seresto (ticks as well)

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    Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on November 15th, 2019

    I suggest you take Stormi to one of our VETCO clinics inside Petco to consult with the vet there. If the Seresto collar is not working he probably needs something stronger like one of the new oral flea pills (Bravecto, Nexgard or Simparica). ( vetcoclinics.com/services-and-clinics/clinic-locations-and-schedules/?zip=70808 ) As for treating the house, I don't know what product you used but I suggest using Knockout Spray E.S. It is the only one I think really works. ( https://www.allivet.com/p-1389-knockout-es-area-treatment.aspx?SearchTerm=knockou+Auto ) If you have a yard I suggest you treat the yard too. ( https://www.allivet.com/p-9065-vet-kem-yard-spray-32-oz.aspx?SearchTerm=yard%20spray+Auto )

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    Answered By Stephanie Echols, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on October 29th, 2017

    Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Fleas are a very difficult parasite to deal with. You must treat all the dogs and cats in the home at least every 30 days for at least three months. You may even want to apply the topical product every 21 days. I would also make sure you are getting a topical product from a veterinarian as things over the counter don’t always work. Flea baths also only work for about 24 hours. I would then treat your home with a product called Knockout spray and then vacuum. Also be sure to wash all bedding in hot water. After you are done vacuuming throw out the bag or rinse the canister if bagless. Fleas not only live on carpet but also hardwood floors. So be sure to treat the entire home. As long as you are treating the hosts (the pets in the home) you will take care of your problem. Good luck!

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