Petco Text Logo
Petco Pet Logo

  • Two Easy Ways to Start Earning Rewards!

My dog is on Nexgard. Will flea shampoo cause a bad reaction?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Female | spayed | 4 years and 3 months old | 12 lbs

Layla came in the house smelling like a terrible odor from something outside. I had to give her a bath with the only shampoo I had, which is flea and tick shampoo (photo is attached). She is currently on nexguard. Will there be some sort of reaction?

This question includes photos that may contain sensitive content. Click to view.

View more to consider that the photos may include sensitive content.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Image profile

Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on October 11th, 2020

While it's not recommended to combine flea treatments, this should be ok. I'd just monitor Layla to be safe, but I would not expect a reaction. Next time she needs a bath and you don't have any dog shampoo, you can use Dawn dish soap. I hope this helps!

Vote icon

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Questions

Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
If my 72lb dog took nexgard 3-5 days ago is it safe to bathe her with flea shampoo or is it okay to use my L'OREAL Paris expert repair Shampoo? My beautiful girl usually gets a bath with Dawn but since the fleas were getting worse and fur was starti
Hello. Thank you for using Boop by Petco. You should not have to use any flea shampoo now that she is on the Nexgard. Those flea shampoos are harsh on their skin and full of chemicals. You can use the L'oreal but it is not really recommended. If you do use it, use it sparingly and don't make it a habit. Dog skin is a different pH than ours, therefore, our shampoos tend to dry them out and strip the natural oils from their coats. I suggest you use a calming dog shampoo like this one. It will not dry her out or strip the oils. You can bathe her frequently with this shampoo with no ill effects. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Veterinary-Formula-Clinical-Care-Oatmeal-and-Tea-Tree-Oil-Infuser-Shampoo-for-Dogs-16-fl-oz/24893174 Hope this helps. Best wishes!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Can Nexgard be used in addition to flea shampoo? (Dog has never had be4, was using Frontline. Found fleas and had pro shampooed; still fleas on him.)
If you wait 3-5 days after using flea shampoo, you can probably use NexGard safely. I have always had success in treating fleas using Frontline Plus. Frontline is very effective when used properly. Use the appropriate dose based on your pet's weight. Do not split doses between pets. It must be applied at least 3 days before or after a bath or grooming. It must be applied directly to the skin. This is accomplished by parting the fur with the applicator tip down to the skin. Treat ALL pets in the house for at least 3 consecutive months. The environment must also be treated. Vacuum all areas and dispose of the bag outdoors. Wash all fabrics and beddings that have had contact with any pet in the hottest water temp allowable. Knockout Area treatment (by Virbac) is just one very effective product. Lastly, treat all pets for tapeworm since fleas carry the risk of tapeworm infection. If you purchased your Frontline from your vet, you can contact Merial at www.frontline.com and take advantage o
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
First of all thank you for this app and your answers, this has been a life saver. I’m trying to find a flea/tick medication that agrees with Jack. He seems get lethargic and sick at his stomach on Simparica. I switched to Vectra3D and he seems to b
No worries. You can safely switch up flea medication every 2-4 weeks no problem. All flea prevention is labeled as safe for dogs but pets can have adverse reactions to just about any medication unfortunately. But these are not expected to happen. I have seen fewer reactions with Nexgard if that is any consolation. : ) Best wishes with your pet Jack moving forward and I hope that he tolerates Nexgard well! Take care.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hello I was wondering which would be better to use on my dog to kill her fleas while I'm treating my home flea and tick dog shampoo or dawn dish soap
The flea and tick shampoo is better than fish soap. BUT there are much better ways to treat fleas. So when you give Lunar Moon a bath, you are only killing the fleas that are currently on her and the ones that will jump on her within the next 24 hours, then it wears off. Female fleas lay 50 eggs every single day and these eggs will hatch in 3 to 6 months. So every day you have new fleas hatching out in the environment. A better method to get rid of the fleas are to treat every single pet in the house with a reputable flea product. I recommend Simparica or Nexgard for most dogs. If you want to stick with an over-the-counter product, stick with frontline. Keep in mind though that frontline is now an older product and fleas are developing an immunity to it which means it may not work as well. Environmental cleanup will help with the problem, but it will not illuminate every single flea egg. You must treat for a solid six months in order to get through the whole flea lifecycle. I hope this
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hey, We recently purchased Sergeant Oatmeal puppy flea shampoo. I followed the guidelines on the bottle and rinsed the shampoo off. My dog started acting a bit weird, rubbing head into our pillows etc. I googled the brand and came across a lot of bad
Most of these flea shampoos often do more damage than good, i recommend not to use any of them, instead use high quality flea treatments such as Advantage spot on or Bravecto tablets. it doesn't sound like Archie got too bad of a reaction though, he should be fine.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hi. We noticed a week ago that our 12 year old doxie has fleas for the first time ever. We have bathed in with flea and tick shampoo twice, washed all the bedding, vacuumed, and treated him with a topical flea treatment made by Hartz. I ordered Nexga
Hartz does not make a topical that is in the same class of drugs as Nexgard so it should be safe to go ahead and give the Nexgard. If there is a major flea infestation you may need to treat the environment (house) as well - Advantage spray, Knockout spray or Fleabusters are what I typically recommend although your best bet is to use an exterminator. Nexgard kills fleas quickly so if you treat all pets in the home for three months it should take care of the environment.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Can you use a flea and tick shampoo along with a topical treatment for prevention?
I would recommend using caution if the flea/tick shampoo and the topical product both contain permethrins, particularly if you have a small dog. I recommend avoiding all over the counter products containing permethrins for cats since they are prone to toxicity. If you use a flea/tick shampoo with permethrin and a topical product that has a different active ingredient it should be safer. An even safer alternative would be to use blue Dawn dishsoap for bathing, followed by flea combing and then applying a topical product.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Can i give my dog nexguard and then take him to petsmart for an advantix flea bath?
Hi and thanks for using Boop by Petco! Not 100% sure what you mean by an Advantix flea bath. Advantix is a topical flea treatment applied on the skin of dogs. Yes you can use Nexgard along with Advantix. Great multimodal flea/tick strategy. After you have used both oral and topical treatments together for 3 months or so, any environmental problem inside the home should be addressed. That gives enough time for most if not all of the immature stages to mature and be killed by the products. After that time period, you may be able to drop back down to one product each month. Depends on your geographical location and your particular flea problem. Good luck
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I put on one frontline for puppys like 10 ago is it okay to now wash him with anti fleas shampoo.Can he get sick or something.Thanks
I never consider flea shampoo safe to use, so my answer is no, instead if he has fleas i would recommend using one of the followings (which you can use right away): Bravecto, Nexgard, Advantage, Comfortis.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My brother put Hartz topical flea treatment on my dog when I was out of town. I have an Rx for Nexgard, his fleas are horrible and he has a flea allergy. It's been 1 week and a half since the Hartz was applied. It is not doing anything for the flesh.
You can give him the Nexgard now. There is more you can do: 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 (Nexguard is great) 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.
Updated on September 24th, 2025

Related Searches

Flea & Tick Shampoos for Dogs Prescription Shampoo for Dogs Flea Shampoo for Cats Topical Flea & Tick Treatment for Dogs Flea & Tick Solutions for Dogs Dog Flea & Tick Pills & Chews Allergy & Itch Relief Dog Shampoos Antifungal & Medicated Dog Shampoos Flea & Tick Treatment Sprays for Dogs Dog Flea & Tick Combs NexGard Elanco Flea & Tick Shampoos for Dogs NEXGARD COMBO NexGard Prescription Flea & Tick Medicine NexGard Plus NexGard Flea & Tick Solutions for Dogs NexGard Dog Flea & Tick Pills & Chews NexGard Prescription Flea & Tick Medicine for Dogs NexGard Plus Dog Flea & Tick Pills & Chews NexGard Dog Medicine and Prescriptions
image
Have A Vet Question?

Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.

Book Now

Sponsored