Fleas!!!! How do you deal with them?

I have had to groom some extremely flea infested dogs in the last few days and I was wondering how you all deal with it. Do you immediately put them in the bath and flea rinse them? I have been doing that but the fleas just aren't dying and I am then grooming a dog with fleas crawling and jumping off it. I did a bichon today that was terribly infested and this afternoon when I went back to my grooming room there were fleas jumping on me everywhere. I just got my flea RAID spray and sprayed thoroughly and closed the door, I will vacuum tomorrow hopefully when the fleas are all dead. The thing I am worried about is transferring fleas to other dogs that have none (not to mention my dogs who I treated with advantage today cause they are bound to have some now).
What do you do to control fleas in a salon situation?

I try and bath most dogs before clipping now as i was having the same problem with fleas and im also finding it quicker only clipping the dog once ,i use the fidos concentrate and ive started to add a little extra to the bath as i found the dogs still had fleas on them i make sure i rinse them for atleast 5minutes or until i see they are dead.
Sometimes you have to pre clip if the dog is really matted and alot of the time you find fleas i bag it straight away and throw it straight out and spray around the table etc..
I know the previous lady used capstar in the salon and it knocks the fleas off in 20 minutes,dont know alot about the product and how safe it is but its worth looking into i guess.
I cant tell you the amount of times i bring fleas home and give them to my own dogs,oh the joys of the job!!

I tell my customers I dont do dogs with fleas. They have to be on a regular flea treatment. But Im now finding that they are giving the dog a Capstar tablet before bringing it. Capstar tablets are only good for the dog that goes for a walk in the park for instance and picks up a flea on the way. You give him a capstar tablet and it knocks the flea over before it gets a chance to lay eggs on the dog. Thats how it was explained to me.
The dogs that are full of fleas and have a capstar tablet are only getting the fleas off, but they still have the flea eggs and larvae on them.
You can usually tell when the owner has given it a capstar tablet because when you put him in the tub all the dead fleas float out. My dogs usually end up with fleas about 2 weeks after.
I am now going to have to say that I dont do dogs with fleas, they have to be on a regular flea treatment, and a Capstar tablet is not good enough.
If I give a flea treatment I use Fidos natural and I charge them $10 extra. Maybe we need to charge more for flea treatments.

I use good old flea shampoo from Woolworths. It works for me so i haven't been tempted to try anything else. Sometimes picking them up in the first place is the challenge. Usually the dogs are in there trying to itch when you're washing them (I wash by hand so I don't know if it's any different with a hydrobath). So I get about 95% of them then. (the other 5% who didn't show signs I get while clipping the dog and seeing them then, then they're straight back in the bath with flea shampoo and the room gets bombed with flea powder/spray after) I always look first until I physically see the fleas so I can confirm the need for the flea wash plus feel comfortable with charging the owner the extra $10 I charge, because it could also be a skin condition and no need for the above. I give the flea wash about 2 minutes soaking time and have never had the fleas still alive once I've done the flea wash. When i first started and was unaware of the problem as much, my own little dog was getting fleas often even with her regular flea treatment so i'm much more onto it now, and what scares me more is the chance of the next dog getting it who otherwise didn't have them. It's easier for me as I only have one dog at a time but I still take all precautions of cleaning up properly after any flea infestation.

I might try your way peke-lover. Mine is not working very well. Its just a nuisance when I have bathed, and blowdried, and half finished a clip, and then find it has a flea on him. A lot of work goes down the drain if you have to rebath that dog.

I also have a couple of flea infested dogs. I've even pulled owners out to trailer to show them the severity of condition.
The last time I did this particular dog before Chrissy it was over the top.
I use Fido's Flea Concentrate however after two separate soakings in it in bath I felt the fleas were thriving on the stuff like good drugs. I just couldn't budge the little mights unless picking off and squeezing in nail to make sure dead. Just too many so I trialled a new flea shampoo from Plush Puppy called Plush Pet Flea shampoo. This was amazing. One good lather and massage in coat, then rinse. The fleas just hated it and were dropping like flies. Beautiful smell to it and left coat flea free. I was impressed.

In future I'll use this first on really bad flea infestation instead of the Fido's.
I know I got this bottle to trial so I'm not sure if it has been realeased on market yet but I encourage all to speak to Plush Puppy about it. Give it a go you've got nothing to lose

I must try this Plush Puppy one. I sent Plush Puppy an email to see if its for sale yet.

i bet PP will be pricey!

I use Cotex multi -purpose insecticidal shampoo....but i dont see many fleas ! i think its even too hot here for them

Tammy the fleas must have all migrated to a more comfortable area.

sensible fleas !

I can't remember how much I paid for PP Product however I do use several of there shampoo's & conditioners.

The products more likely used by show people can be a little pricey, but I do find products go a long way.

They have recently had a price increase on some items though.

i like some PP products and cant stand others.
I have not been happy with the shampoos ,i have tried the ginseng whitening (i think?) and the salon one. YUK to the smell pewwee.
i do like the reviva foam and the sea breeze oil

i'd like to try more of their stuff but its too pricey for the salon situation.

I have gone back to Petway Supergroom as the price of my beloved Best Shot is going to skyrocket on the next shipment. I'll still get the Ultra Mist spray,but i think the shampoo is going to be too expensive. it costs me nearly $10 /gallon just for freight on Best Shot ,when i can pick up the Petway about 40 km's from home,for $50/gallon....just around the corner !

Capstar is safe for use on all dogs as it only affects the fleas. Its designed to be a fast killer of live fleas only and is not a flea prevention product. It works within 30 minutes. We give all dogs with fleas a capstar tablet, which they get charged for, kennel them for 30 mins and then groom as usual. We no longer use any flea shampoos.

petgroomaustralia wrote:Capstar is safe for use on all dogs as it only affects the fleas. Its designed to be a fast killer of live fleas only and is not a flea prevention product. It works within 30 minutes. We give all dogs with fleas a capstar tablet, which they get charged for, kennel them for 30 mins and then groom as usual. We no longer use any flea shampoos.

Can I ask why not?

i guess all the live fleas drop off dead from the capstar eliminating the need for shampoos'

fortunately i just dont see many fleas. 5 litres of flea shampoo went out of date before i could use it all !

Somehow I think the shampoo would be a lot cheaper than the Capstar.

peke-lover wrote:

petgroomaustralia wrote:Capstar is safe for use on all dogs as it only affects the fleas. Its designed to be a fast killer of live fleas only and is not a flea prevention product. It works within 30 minutes. We give all dogs with fleas a capstar tablet, which they get charged for, kennel them for 30 mins and then groom as usual. We no longer use any flea shampoos.

Can I ask why not?

Its not necessary because we use Capstar.

Destiny wrote:Somehow I think the shampoo would be a lot cheaper than the Capstar.

The clients are charged for the Capstar, its not an expense that either the vets or I have to pay for. Certainly not me, I get to raid the vet's supply. These clients will generally buy Advocate or Frontline when picking up their dog. I dont see fleas all that often, we are on top of the clients when it comes to flea prevention.

petgroomaustralia wrote:Capstar is safe for use on all dogs as it only affects the fleas. Its designed to be a fast killer of live fleas only and is not a flea prevention product. It works within 30 minutes. We give all dogs with fleas a capstar tablet, which they get charged for, kennel them for 30 mins and then groom as usual. We no longer use any flea shampoos.

I don't think Capstar would work for me. i don't have the luxury of waiting 30 mins as I only do one dog at a time. Think I will have to stick to the shampoo. Lisa.

Actually I was looking at Capstar the other day and decided against buying, because I don't have the luxury of waiting the 30 minutes either as I groom on a one on one basis.

Yeah so do I.

Capstar is great. You could use a dose at begginning of groom when fleas first spotted , even straight after bath if not found till then. Stops little buggers going anywhere else as sometimes there are so many It is safe with all other flea treatments except proban!. I saw the capstar in exelpet in Woolies the other day . Cheaper than pack from pet shop...must check active ingredients and strength. Its graet to advise customers to use in conjunction with the topical applications when they are washing dogs all the time... Advantage , and therefore I guess the other brands recommend not washing for 5 days before or after using product and comb through with flea comb daily to help with heavy infestations. As our vet advises it takes at least 6 weeks of dilligent use of capstar twice weekly and topical fortnightly and flea combing etc. to break the cycle and reduce the numbers when the infestations are plague proportions... I have seen some dramatic improvements in some animals when the fleas have gotten out of control. Most peaople are more than happy to do the right thing for the home and the animals well being. Hope you havent been bored to death after reading this mammoth post. I use the fidos shampoo ,put onto a dry coat (diluted a little) if the dog has a few fleas and I use the concentrate (diluted) sprayed on a dry coat when the dog is badly infested. capstar and then into hydrobath. The dry coat spray is effective esp. using a shampoo as it breaks the " air bubble" that fleas can surround themselves with when wetted in the bath.... Think this is the pricipal behind the "dawn" dishwashing liquid killing fleas easily.....Hope this helps!!

Hi All,

If you use capstar, what do you charge the customer and do you get them to sign anything to cover yourselves? I have never used it but I'm thinking about it as I'm just so sick of fleas running up my arms after 20 years of grooming they are getting the better of me not a good day !!!!!!!

I use Capstar and do not charge the client. I groom on a one-on-one basis too.

Dog goes straight onto table. If it has fleas, it's pretty easy to spot them quickly, so dog gets a capstar while on grooming table. By the time i've done first clip, then bathed it with flea shampoo (just to be extra sure), the fleas are gone coz it's about 30 mins now. Then into cage to dry off a bit. By now it's well and truly over 30 mins and no fleas.

I don't charge the client as it's not often i get flea ridden dogs, not even once a week, and i charge $55 per groom (only do small fluffies) so i just include it in my regular costs and shame them into buying frontline or whatever. I am also happy to use capstar at my expense as i groom from home and DO NOT want the little buggers on my property or my dogs.

If a client were to come with a continual untreated flea problem, then I'd charge them extra for not listening to me!! But luckily, thiis hasn't happened.

When I worked at vet clinics, we used capstar on grooms AND patients and would charge the client with the reasoning that this is a high risk environment and we can't have fleas breeding or transferring. No client ever declined.

Its between $7 and $12 for a capstar tablet depending on which clinic it is.