6 tips to get your dog through 24-hour topical flea treatment
When one dog cannot be around another dog post-topical application
I only have one dog. That wasn’t something I had to remind myself of until I was staying with family over the holidays and realized I would have to apply topical flea and tick treatment on my dog. The only problem with that was the instructions for the topical ointment required staying away from other dogs for 24 hours. And the family I was staying with had a dog who just loved to leap onto my own dog’s back or randomly try to nibble on her ear.
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Both of those actions could severely injure the mischievous dog if she ingested the topical ointment (on top of annoying my dog). I ended up waiting a few extra days until I got home, so my dog could safely isolate in peace. But for pet owners (with and without multiple pets) who prefer topical ointment over oral flea and tick treatment, here are six tips to both follow the instructions while not making your dog feel like she’s being punished once a month.
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1. If your dog loves dog parks, re-route your walk.
Don’t even bother tempting your dog by walking in the direction of a neighborhood dog park. “Spot-on treatment,” which is applied onto a dog’s skin and between the shoulder blades, targets fleas’ nervous systems to kill them on contact or as soon as they bite your pet. As long as it doesn’t cause mild skin irritation in your dog, topical flea treatment has enough time to spread across the dog’s skin and fur through natural oils. But if other dogs are sniffing, licking and making contact with the treated area at a dog park, not only would it put other pups at risk for ingestion but also be a waste of money for your 30-day supply.
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2. Warn other pet owners that dodging dogs isn’t personal.
As I was walking across the street, I saw one of those dogs who flops down to greet other dogs. This is usually met with my dog staring curiously at the nosy dog, the two smelling each other, my dog barking a couple of times to get a rise out of the other dog, losing interest in more peaceful dogs and then a bunch of sniffing. But as I got closer to this dog, I recalled that my own dog had the topical ointment on. I yelled out to the other dog owner how cute his dog was, but I explained why he’d have to move his dog along. Once he heard my reason for saying so, he promptly jiggled the leash, forcing his dog to look away from my own dog and grudgingly walk across the street.
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3. After a fresh application, watch your dog around human and dog furniture.
Whether it’s a yoga mat, a dog couch or a dog bed, it’s very important for your dog to not roll over onto furniture to rub off the topical flea treatment.