My dog has flea allergy itching. Will Benadryl work & how to treat fleas?

Question

My dog has a flea allergy. She was originally prescribed prednisone. Right now she doesn’t have a vet because we relocated and my local vet isn’t taking new patients. I’m just curious if I can give her Benadryl at night for it until we exterminate the fleas. She is a border collie/ Australian Shepherd weighting approx 35 pounds. She’s got medium length hair, do you think it would help if I shaved her? She’s ripping her hair out. Pet's info: Dog | Border Collie | Female | unspayed | 1 year and 6 months old | 35 lbs

Andrea M. Brodie, DVM · Accepted Answer

Try to get a Capstar or Comfortis tablet in your local pet shop. This will kill all the fleas that are on her. I doubt Benadryl is strong enough to alleviate the itching. You can also try to bathe her with an anti-itch shampoo. Another alternative is to take her to a pet ER or an out of hours vet near you for an exam and an injection that will make her stop itching. As for fleas, here is how to get rid of them: 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 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) House spray: Indorex

My dog has flea allergy itching. Will Benadryl work & how to treat fleas?

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