fleas and the plague...help me be realistic

[cofo]

hi again
so, my dog itches all the time. she always has since we got her 4 years ago, and i always think she has fleas. she is on nexgard for fleas right now and has always been on something for the fleas. we switched from the topical to the pill last year. it drives me crazy. i haven't seen any fleas. she's half poodle and she's black so finding a flea on her would be hard. i have spent so much time flea combing and inspecting her, and her bedding and have found nothing.
i have quarterly pest control. we treat our yard as well.

finally i convinced my husband for us to bathe her on Saturday in Dawn, which i read will kill fleas on the animal. we bathed her and i looked and looked in the water and we didn't find any fleas.

so, my main issue is that we are going out of town for a few days and she will go to boarding. i have heard that when the dog and people leave the house for a few days, then come back, that all the flea eggs will hatch when you get back.

so, i'm terrified of that. my bug guy is coming today, for our regular service, so i'm hoping that will take care of any fleas too.
i am vacuuming every day.
i'm going crazy....LOL
so, here it is....the main thing that i'm afraid of, besides just the infestastion....is the plague.
yep. there was at least one case of it a few years ago in colorado, and it is from fleas. and i'm terrified that we might have it now in georgia.
i don't google....so i just keep telling myself that it's not in georgia.
but, well....

anyway, i've gone on long enough...it was helpful just to write it all down.
HA.

thanks for any reassurance

[Ellient]

You haven't found any fleas but you are worried about fleas? Most dogs itch because of grass and irritation to the skin and my dogs had fleas (extremely gross) but I can't say the plague crossed my mind and it shouldn't even cross yours.

If the dog seems to irritated google stuff you can do for the dog, I bathed my dog with some oatmeal a year or two ago and it really helped.




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[swgrl09]

I wouldn't even be worried that the dog has fleas at this point if she has been on a preventive and you haven't found any.. When my cat had fleas, when we combed her we pulled them off and it was obvious. There are tons of reasons dogs itch like dry skin, allergies, etc. I agree that a soothing oatmeal bath might be nice. You could also ask the vet for suggestions.

[Annaboodle]

Loads of dogs have sensitive skin and skin irritation problems. Certain breeds more than others - my dog is a West Highland Terrier X and they are prone to them, particularly in Summer (I'm in the UK in Scotland though, so it's Summer but not as you know it!). A vet might prescribe anti-histamines or other allergy meds. I would see your vet again for advice.

I'm not going to go there with your plague question because you know from how you asked it that it's just ridiculous and just no.

[cofo]

thanks. we do use oatmeal bath shampoo on her, but nothing seems to help too much. she has seen the vet over the years, but rather than figure out the real issue, she just said give her benadryl. which we don't do, because it makes her lethargic.
she's not constanstly scratching, and she doesn't have any hot spots or hair loss in spots...just some flakiness.
anyway, i guess i'll just have to pull up the big girl panties and see what happens on saturday...i can do that as long as i know that i'm not gonna get the plague! that's what's scaring me :)

[Fishmanpa]

First off, connecting fleas on a dog with the plague in this day and age is extremely irrational. At worst, you'd have to give the dog a bath and sprinkle some flea powder around.

So yeah... totally unwarranted, frankly ridiculous worry IMO.

Positive thoughts

[au Lait]

Don't worry, there is 0 chance of you contracting the plague from a flea bite in this day and age. As long as you are giving the Nexgard monthly your dog should be flea free. It's possible that your dog is itching due to some kind of allergy (maybe inhaled or diet related). Have you talked to your vet about your dog's itchiness? They can help you figure out what is causing the itch. There are many other harmless and treatable things that can cause a dog to itch aside from fleas.

[cofo]

irrational fear. yep. but, isn't that why we are all here, mostly? :)
but, there was a case of the plague in colorado a few years ago, because of fleas, i think, on a farm.
not gonna look it up, don't need a refresher.
i have talked to my vet about her itchiness before, but will again to see if maybe fish oil pills or something will help. i'm not totally insensitive, i hate that she itches... :)

i am trying not to worry about it too much, busy with the holiday and going to enjoy it! i'll face things saturday. and i'll remember y'alls responses, so i can calm myself down. :)