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Why is my dog still scratching after multiple flea treatments?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Large (61lb +) | Male | unneutered | 1 year and 11 months old | 75 lbs

My dog has caught a bad case of the fleas!!! Last week I bathed him 2 different times with Dawn dish soap, still had fleas. Last weekend I bought Raid Flea Fogger and the Seresto flea collar. And he still has fleas. This past week at PetSmart I bought the HomeMD home and carpet spray, HomeMD flea and tick carpet powder, and Sentry Pro flea and tick Shampoo. After washing him and everything else, including using 2 more flea flogger bombs... My pup is still biting and scratching!!! Please help?!!

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Summer Walker, DVM, MS

Veterinarian

Published on September 28th, 2018

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It sounds as if Blitz is becoming re-infested with fleas even after applying appropriate flea preventative measures (i.e. Seresto collar). I would suspect that the environmental control has not yet been adequate to appropriate kill the fleas. I would recommend to my clients to hire a professional parasite control company to perform a treatment for the area (inside and outside). It can take as long as 3 months to adequately control all life stages of the flea life cycle. It is also possible that even though the fleas have been controlled (if you are no longer seeing live adult fleas), that Blitz suffers from a flea allergy. In these cases the itch can last long after the flea is gone. You can continue to bathe Blitz in a soothing shampoo, but if the itch does not resolve it is best to have him seen by his veterinarian to determine what additional anti-pruritic (anti-itch) medication may be needed. It is not uncommon for us to also see secondary bacterial infections (pyoderma) happen due to chronic itching, and a topical medicated shampoo may also be required from his veterinarian.

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    Answered By Lindsey Edwards MVB, BSc, IVCA

    Veterinarian

    Published on September 30th, 2017

    Only about 5% of fleas are on a pet at anyone time - the remaining 95% are eggs and larvae in the environment which will keep hatching and reinfesting your pet! A household insecticidal spray is vital at this stage to break the flea lifecycle. It is also quite likely that all the shampooing has washed off/inactivated the flea treatment and I recommend you give an oral flea treatment such as bravecto/comfortis after 14days to provide cover for Lony

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