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Can you vacuum your dog’s coat with a vacuum cleaner to get rid of fleas?

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My dog has fleas despite the fact that I treat him with flea medication, give him garlic pills, and regularly vacuum the house to break the flea cycle. Can I vacuum his coat with a vacuum cleaner? Did anybody try that on their dogs? Will the fleas be gone? Would vacuuming the dog’s coat hurt him?
The dog medication I use is Advantage.

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This entry was posted on March 28, 2010 at 2:17 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in FAQ by Allan 16 Comments

16 Responses to "Can you vacuum your dog’s coat with a vacuum cleaner to get rid of fleas?"

  • Elaine M says:
    March 28, 2010 at 2:29 am

    It won’t hurt him, but it may bother his ears or freak him out if he’s not taking to the feeling of the stuff on his skin.

    You can try it if he’s ok with it. Fleas going through a vacuum are supposed to die 95% of the time, so it can’t hurt!

  • T.D says:
    March 28, 2010 at 3:23 am

    I dont think it would get rid of them completely, because for one youd probably just get rid of the ones you can see, and two some fleas lay eggs within the skin of your dog. The best way to get him treated is through medications.

  • Pam says:
    March 28, 2010 at 3:51 am

    NO! Take him to the vet for a flea dip and clean your entire house (sheets, furniture, floors, etc) with flea cleaner that you can buy at any pet store.

  • regwoman123 says:
    March 28, 2010 at 4:44 am

    Hey A, NO! I wouldn’t do that. Many dogs have fleas this time of year, although I don’t know why. Bathe the dog each week, vacuum YOUR HOME every few days. You could put down flea powder over everything, plus the medication on the dog.

  • TKS says:
    March 28, 2010 at 5:02 am

    You can vacuum him, but it won’t take off all the fleas. When you do the house, do you take the bag outside or take the trashbag you emptied the bagless vaccuum into? There are several stages of fleas and some are small enough to crawl out of the bag. you have to use a good quality flea prevention like frontline or advantage for 3-4 months in a row, every 3-4 weeks or you won’t break the cycle. Use house sprays with an IGR and spray under things, cushions, end tables, throw rugs, etc. Fleas like dark quiet places.

  • Margret =] says:
    March 28, 2010 at 5:06 am

    well, thats soudns , well, weird, but, um…. i think it does work, i mean really, THINK About it!!……

    so…. yeah i think it would work!

  • wyrdrose says:
    March 28, 2010 at 6:04 am

    It won’t hurt him a bit. Some vacuum cleaners even come with special attachments for this. My Golden/Rottie loves it. My German Shep hates it and my Lab was terrified of it so you should see how your dog reacts first. Just make sure you change the bag or empty and clean out the compartment because eggs can hatch in there and the fleas crawl out.

  • Faze H says:
    March 28, 2010 at 6:10 am

    get a better flea medication.

  • anita_06_05 says:
    March 28, 2010 at 6:53 am

    No!!! Vacuuming the dogs coat isn’t going to help and vacuuming your house is not going to break the cycle. What you have to do is you have to bomb the house to break the cycle and use topical medication for your dog to protect him from fleas.

  • ltlbpv says:
    March 28, 2010 at 7:40 am

    mayb but i think it might be dangerous. it may hurt the dog. plus fleas are down at the bottom of the fur so it might be hard to get them out like that. i would try a flea shampoo

  • sydney says:
    March 28, 2010 at 7:56 am

    NO. I think that’s stupid. Bring your dog to the vet and give it baths.

  • rescue member says:
    March 28, 2010 at 8:07 am

    No, that won’t work, and neither will garlic or cheap flea meds.

    The ONLY thing that works absolutely is a topical flea liquid like Frontline or Advantage put on the back of his neck every single month.

    Don’t even waste time and money on anything else, flea collars, cheap flea liquid, flea shampoo, etc. only remove some adult fleas, the eggs and larvae aren’t removed and soon hatch into more fleas.

    Get a good product like Advantage or Frontline – period.

    By the way, garlic and onions can do some serious damage to your dog’s blood count – that is an old wive’s tail about it preventing fleas and vacuuming is what you do to the rugs, sofas, wherever you see fleas. You also need to wash all the dogs bedding – get rid of the fleas in your house, vacumm and throw away the bag – then put Frontline or Advantage on your dog – end problem.

  • Marti C says:
    March 28, 2010 at 8:10 am

    You can, but it won’t get rid of the fleas!
    Fleas jump off the dog to lay their eggs, in your carpets, furniture, pets beds etc..
    Fleas will live through the vacuuming, jump out of the bag and right back in your house or on your dog.
    You need to break the cycle with a good flea bomb that breaks down the enzymes in the eggs. Ciphotrol is one, as is Adams, most feed stores, pet stores and or Vets carry one or the other of these.
    Flea eggs are VERY difficult to vacuum out of fur or fabric because they are really sticky, and adhere to whatever they are laid on.
    FYI the black specks fleas leave on the dog are droppings, not eggs, flea eggs are whitish and opaque.

  • Bngfan says:
    March 28, 2010 at 9:07 am

    Vacuuming your dog, if he’ll allow it, won’t hurt him, but won’t necessarily get rid of your flea problem.

    What type of flea medication are you using for your dog? If it’s an over-the-counter one, about 99% of them don’t work and some can cause allergic reactions (sometimes life threatening) in some dogs.

    One of the best types of flea medications is a product called Advantage. It’s a topical medication that you apply to the SKIN at the base of the neck once monthly. If there is a bad infestation of fleas, I would recommend treating ALL pets in the house for at least 2 months – whether you’re seeing fleas on all of them or not.

    When cleaning the house, be sure to vacuum everywhere. If you have a bagged vacuum, take the bag out, place it in a garbage bag, tie up the garbage bag & put the bag outside – fleas have been known to climb back out of the bag as vacuuming them does not kill them. If you have a canister vacuum, empty the canister immediately after vacuuming into a garbage bag, tie up the bag & put it outside.

    Wash all bedding that the dog comes into contact with (yours and his).

    Use a flea treatment for the house – Siphotrol Spray is one such type available at vet clinics – and be sure to follow the directions.

    I would also recommend repeating the house treatment in 2 – 3 weeks time to be sure to kill all the new, hatching fleas (there is one stage in the flea life cycle that you can not kill no matter what you use).

    Good luck! :)

  • Caninelegion says:
    March 28, 2010 at 9:09 am

    Let’s just say that is not the best idea you’ve ever had and leave it at that.

  • Chalice says:
    March 28, 2010 at 10:05 am

    No it won’t – don’t do that to the dog! Scary for him, and possibly painful if you’ve got a Dyson or something! The fleas will just cling on, and as for their eggs – well, most of them are in your house anyway. That’s most likely the problem you’re having; you need to treat your house, and I don’t mean vacuuming. I mean get a proper house spray from a vets, not a pet store.

    About the Advantage; it’s good stuff, but make sure it’s getting on your dog’s skin, not his fur. Also don’t bath him within 48 hours of applying it. If you’ve been using Advantage for a long time, it might be time to switch to one of the other veterinary spot-ons in case the fleas have built up resistance.

    Also, lose the garlic pills and witness the difference they’re NOT making.

    Chalice

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