We have an Alaskan Malamute, and we also have a cat. Somehow, one of them contracted fleas, and unfortunately, we didn't catch it until way later on. Both pets are completely infested, as well as the house. After much fighting with my mother, I finally got her to get the animals some topical treatment from the vet. I couldn't believe how much I had to fight with her to take care of the flea problem, she simply didn't care. I've been reading things online and it says you have to treat the house as well. I've been furiously vacuuming my own room and vacuuming the living room where the dog sleeps and the cat sleeps as well. The cat seems to be okay. We gave the dog Vectra 3d for dogs over 95 lbs because I think my dog weighs somewhere around 150lbs. I believe we gave it to him about two days ago. He still goes outside and lays out there, but it's been about 30 degrees outside, so the fleas either should have died, or he shouldn't be getting re-infested, especially with the stuff we put on him. I looked through his fur and he still has a few fleas (I've seen about two or three on him) and a bunch of the flea crap. Shouldn't they be dead/dying? Doesn't that stuff on him kill him? I'm worried because he has a lot of fur, maybe it didn't work correctly. I believe malamutes have 3 layers of fur, but my mom said she got the stuff on him right on his skin. He's also old. I noticed that on the back of one of his legs, on the "knee/elbow" area, there's raw skin, looks like he bit it. I don't want to bother my mom anymore unless completely necessary. The fight with her just to get her to do something for the animals was brutal, lots of swearing and her threatening to kick me out of the house. I don't have any money, and I don't have transportation. I just really want to know if I should wait it out and give the treatment a couple of more days, or if I should go after my mom to actually bring him to the vet. Thanks.

(Sorry for the wall of text, it's 530am, I haven't slept, and I'm worried)

If your house is entirely infested with fleas. . .there may be a problem. Furiously vacuuming may get rid of the fleas, but as far as I know, serious infestations need the Orkin Man. Remember that fleas are annoying little suckers and they can live in upholstery on couches, beddings and of course flooring (carpets). Make sure to get everything like curtains, bedding, etc. from the ENTIRE house (not just where the dogs and cats sleep) and wash them in soapy water and vacuum carpets and ALL flooring and then immediately dump everything from the vacuum in a zip loc bag (so the fleas don't crawl out of the bag and re-infest your house). Keep the vacuum bag in the freezer before the next use.

As for your dog. . .for the next application, I would recommended that you bathe your dog with some anti-flea shampoo to get rid of the eggs and some of the fleas before applying the topical medical to him. Please don't use anything with DEET, this will cause serious harm to your animals. Also, for Vectra 3D on large dogs. . .you have to put it on three different spots on the dog's back (be careful, I've read some instances where the dog can actually reach and lick the medicated area). It should work if you did it correctly, just give it some time. Remember to part the fur as far down as possible and apply it to skin!

If you are still worried, try and somehow get a flea comb and you can try (I know this might be useless since malamute fur is extremely thick) and try to comb some of the fleas out. Remember to dip the comb in soapy water to kill the fleas. If by the second application you still see fleas, then maybe it is because the infestation in your house is so bad that it's reinfesting your dog, or it might be because vectra 3D is not working for your pet and I'd recommend switching brands to Frontline. I know it's hard since you don't have a car or any money, but maybe you can scrounge up some money and get a friend to take you to a store so you can get these items.

Hope this helps and Good luck!

I'm sorry you're having such a difficult time with your mother, and her lack of caring. I wish I could give her a few fleas and see how SHE likes it!

If you're only seeing a few fleas on your dog, the product is probably working. Healthy fleas are difficult to find, dying fleas, on the other hand, can't run and hide, and are pretty easy to see.

The vacuuming will help. Be sure to empty the bag every time, or the fleas will just crawl back out again. And if you can get some borax (it's not expensive, you can get it in the laundry section at the grocery store), sprinkle that on the floor at night, then vacuum in the morning. Borax will kill adult fleas and flea larvae. You'll have to continue the borax and vacuuming for a couple of weeks.

As for the sore on his leg, it's probably from chewing, or it could be a pressure sore. If it's moist and oozing, dab some mouthwash (Listerine works wonders) or rubbing alcohol on it to dry it up. Yes, it will sting at first. Another option is vinegar, or really strong tea. If it's dry and looks like a callus, apply something like Vasoline or Bag Balm. If that doesn't help, it could be something more serious; a tumor. In that case, you'll have to fight with your mother some more.

Thank you soo much for your reply. I think after letting him outside, the fleas were hitching a ride on his outer layer of fur and getting into the house. I'm not letting him outside anymore, at all. Today we finally gave Rango a bath in flea bathing crap, sprayed the whole house with Zodiac furniture spray crap (I dont konw the name.. whatever lol) and I bought Capstar for him to kill whatever was on him. The house still seems like there's quite a few fleas, but it's not nearly as bad as it was. I'm going to vacuum the hell out of it on a daily basis though. It's very reassuring that he's not being bit and the stuff is working. That makes me feel much better, thank you so much for that. Seriously, this has been making me lose sleep. I'm afraid to go outside of my room and get fleas all over me, because they are in the carpet regardless of how much crap we've sprayed (it's been a lot, of a lot of different stuff) We don't use a bag, we have a bagless vacuum, but I sprayed the Zodiac stuff in there and emptied it outside in the big thing we put at the end of the drive way. It's not a tumor, it's not oozing either. It just looks raw. I feel bad for my baby because he's almost 9 years old and he's a giant malamute, I heard they don't last much longer than this. We've only had him since he was about 4 years old but he is a huge part of the family. My mom was even talking about getting rid of him, and that had me in tears. I couldn't picture giving away my dog. I'd love to give her fleas, and I hope she gets some, but her and her boyfriend are going away for 4 days and leaving me with the house and the animals, on top of her 15 hour work days. Sorry for the rambling... 5AM and no sleep again.

Anyway thank you ma'am/sir! I will get the Borax crap... is it safe for my dog to lay on it? And can I put it on furniture? Rango likes to lay on the furniture and all over the carpet.

Borax is about as toxic as table salt. In fact, you can mix salt with the borax to increase the effectiveness; 8 parts borax, 1 part salt.

Sprinkle the borax over all carpeted surfaces and work it in with a broom. If you have hard word floors, you need to work it into any cracks between the boards. Vacuum in the morning. Repeat once a week. Borax does work, but it takes time to eliminate all of the fleas.

If you can afford it, there is a once a month pill called Comfortis that will quickly and effectively deal with your flea problem. You must get it from a vet. You can't give it to cats, but if you use it for your dog, it will eventually eliminate the flea problem in your house anyway. Comfortis is the only FDA licensed flea control pill currently available, and the active ingredient is unique amongst all the various flea control products. The cost is comparable to Frontline or Advantage.

I started using Comfortis for my own dogs 3 months ago, and we are now free of fleas completely. I won't need to dose them again until next year, should they pick up a few when spring rolls around, and the new batch of fleas starts hatching outside.

thank you so much... thankfully though our flea problem isn't that bad anymore since we used all sorts of crazy chemicals, and I've only seen about one or two today, even with white socks on. Seems as though they've decided to stay off my dog (I've looked in his fur) and we've been super cautious about him being outside. At the moment we're pretty much flea free, thanks to this crap sitting in the carpet all day while I wasn't home. Thank you so much for your help. I'm going to make sure myself that Rango is fully flea treated next year. We've actually never had flea problems before, this is the first year, and we've never given them any sort of those drops before. Guess we were lucky.

Since the Borax, I've only seen maybe one or two fleas, and since I've sprinkled it again, the only time I've seen a flea is when it was either dead, somewhere I didn't get (by the door, it may have come from outside), or in the sink when I was trying to wash it down and drown it. Are we all in the clear? Animals are completely flea free. Or should I expect to see them pop up again in a few weeks, despite my avid vacuuming and dousing everything in the borax?