The Complete Guide to How Does Dog Flea Treatment Work

Fleas are a major nuisance for dogs, causing discomfort, itching, and even health issues.

Fleas are tiny insects that feed on a dog's blood, and their bites can trigger allergic reactions.

There are several types of flea treatments available, including topical creams, shampoos, and oral medications.

These treatments work by either killing the adult fleas, preventing egg-laying, or both.

Advantage dog flea treatment is an easy-to-apply product that kills fleas on your dog.

This type of treatment also helps to protect your home from a flea infestation by killing the larvae and preventing them from developing into adult fleas.

The double action of Advantage breaks the flea life cycle, so fleas cannot multiply and develop into an infestation.

Monthly subscription boxes, starting from £6.49 with free delivery, provide a simple way to guard against pet parasites.

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Additional reading: Flea Infestation on Dog

Flea treatments work by targeting the flea's nervous system, causing paralysis and death. This is achieved through the use of insect neurotoxins found in topical flea preventatives.

Some flea treatments, like Advantage Spot-on, work by remaining on the surface of the skin, where the active ingredient Imidacloprid acts on the flea's central nervous system.

Other flea treatments, such as topical flea preventatives, spread via the hair and skin's natural body oils, killing fleas on contact. This means fleas don't need to bite your pet to die.

Topical flea preventatives can be applied in one spot between the shoulders for cats and small dogs, or evenly along the upper spine for dogs. For accurate dosing, they must be applied directly to the skin, not on the hair.

The active ingredient in Advantage Spot-on, Imidacloprid, is also shed into your pet's environment as they naturally shed their skin and fur, killing flea larvae and preventing infestations.

Monthly dosing is required for most topical flea preventatives, except for Bravecto, which provides up to 12 weeks of protection.

Additional reading: Can a Dog Flea Live in Human Hair

Advantage dog flea treatment is an easy to apply product that kills fleas on your dog within 24 hours of application. It also helps to protect your home from a flea infestation by killing the larvae and preventing them from developing into adult fleas.

Frontline Plus contains a combination of two active ingredients, Fipronil and S-methoprene, that target different stages of the flea life cycle. This combination improves efficacy in killing fleas and ticks within 24 hours of contact with a treated pet.

Advantage Spot-on for dogs is applied topically to the back of your pet's neck on a monthly basis, and all products kill fleas within 24 hours of application. Advantage for dogs also treats biting lice.

Advantage Spot-on is a flea treatment applied topically to the back of your dog's neck on a monthly basis.

The active ingredient imidacloprid acts on the central nervous system of the flea, causing paralysis and death.

Kills fleas within 24 hours of application, and also treats biting lice.

Advantage Spot-on for dogs is used to protect and treat flea infestations, with separate products recommended for each animal based on the weight of your pet.

The product distributes across the whole pet after being applied, and instead of being absorbed into the skin, it remains on the surface.

Advantage contains the same active ingredient as the Seresto collar, imidacloprid, and has the same feature of protecting the environment from flea infestations.

As your dog naturally sheds their skin and fur, the active ingredient imidacloprid is also shed into your dog's environment, killing flea larvae.

This double action breaks the flea life cycle, so fleas cannot multiply and develop into an infestation.

Advantage also contains a second ingredient, moxidectin, which protects your dog from additional parasites such as intestinal worms, heartworm disease, lungworms, oesophageal worm, mites, and biting lice.

Oral Treatments offer a convenient way to protect your dog from parasites.

The newer oral flea preventatives, like Credelio PLUS, are safe and effective. They fall into the isoxazoline class, providing long-acting protection from fleas and other parasites like ticks and mites.

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Credelio PLUS contains a second ingredient called milbemycin that is highly effective against intestinal worms. It also protects against heartworm disease when given monthly.

These oral treats are extremely effective against fleas, starting to kill them within 2 hours of dosing. They kill all fleas on your dog by 12 hours after dosing.

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The Seresto collar for dogs and cats is a great example of how flea collars work. It contains active ingredients imidacloprid against fleas and flumethrin against ticks.

Imidacloprid has a clever extra feature: it kills flea larva found in the pet's environment through the natural shedding of hair and skin. This helps to treat and prevent flea infestations in your house and your pet's environment.

The Seresto collar releases ingredients continuously into your pet's skin layer over a period of 8 months, providing long-lasting protection against fleas and ticks.

Check this out: Seresto Dog Flea Collar