I tried googling it and I got the same answer, but I wonder if any of you have had this problem. I may have put the flea treatment on too late this year. My dog stays in an outdoor pen when the weather is nice while I am at work. I noticed last week that there were some ants and little winged insects in a corner of the pen. I did not put her in that day. The next day they appeared to be gone so I did put her in the pen. Now she is scratching a lot so I assume fleas. However I can't find any on her. She has white fur so it should be pretty easy to see them. I have not done the wet paper towel on her fur test yet so I could be wrong. Tonight I noticed some blood on her rawhide and my quilt so I looked to see if it was a tooth. I noticed it was coming from her chin. She has 3 or 4 small bumps that have scabbed around her mouth and it looks like her mouth may be slightly swollen. Could these bumps be allergic reactions to something that bit her? She loves to chew so I know it could easily be something she wasn't supposed to be chewing on that poked her. I do my best to keep my eyes on her, but I am one person and she has the energy of 3 dogs. :arg They don't seem to bother her because she is acting normal. I hate fleas! :vent

We had really bad fleas in my house when I was growing up (this was before Frontline and all those flea treatments, and thank god for them), but I've never seen fleas with wings. I know some types of ants have wings. Your dog might have cut herself on the rawhide? Those flea treatments kill within 18 hours, so as long as the brand you bought is a good one, and the amount you used was enough, I don't think its fleas. Maybe allergies? It is that time of year. Or maybe she pissed off the ants (sat in them or something) and they bit her?

We had really bad fleas in my house when I was growing up (this was before Frontline and all those flea treatments, and thank god for them), but I've never seen fleas with wings. I know some types of ants have wings. Your dog might have cut herself on the rawhide? Those flea treatments kill within 18 hours, so as long as the brand you bought is a good one, and the amount you used was enough, I don't think its fleas. Maybe allergies? It is that time of year. Or maybe she pissed off the ants (sat in them or something) and they bit her?

I wondered if she cut herself as well. The bumps look weird, but she is still a puppy (just turned 1) and loves to get into stuff still. I couldn't tell what these insects were, but they were crawling around with the ants. The ants were black and she could have pissed them off. Knowing her she probably tried to bite at them. Plus they were crawling around one of her favorite digging holes. I did buy a top of the line flea treatment from the vet and I put the recommended amount on last Saturday. :dunno

Thanks for your help! I appreciate the input.

Flea shampoo definitely does not help her situation. That stuff is down right caustic sometimes. That could be what is causing her skin reaction. Flea shampoo is meant to make the fleas seizure and die when they come into contact with your animal. Sometimes flea shampoo has this kind of affect or a more milder affect on the animal that is treated with it. Flea shampoo is also very irritating to the skin. That can definitely cause her itching because her skin is probably super dry now. The swelling around her chin could probably be a bite of some sort. The scabs/blood on her skin can be from that bite, or from your dog constantly scratching that area, or it can be a version of canine acne from plastic food and water bowls. I would stop using the flea shampoo and go ahead with some advantage or frontline topical flea control that you only have to use once a month. It is definitely worth it in the end. Plus if you buy the product from your veterinarian, that product whether it be frontline or advantage, is guaranteed by that company that makes it in the case if your animal has a reaction to it.

Oh. I just re-read your post. You didn't say anything about flea shampoo even though I thought I read that, so... all my good advice doesn't really pertain to you. :) Lol. So disregard that. Your puppy may just be itchy from the weather possibly? Maybe you can try bathing him/her in an oatmeal based shampoo to help hydrate the skin.

Flea shampoo definitely does not help her situation. That stuff is down right caustic sometimes. That could be what is causing her skin reaction. Flea shampoo is meant to make the fleas seizure and die when they come into contact with your animal. Sometimes flea shampoo has this kind of affect or a more milder affect on the animal that is treated with it. Flea shampoo is also very irritating to the skin. That can definitely cause her itching because her skin is probably super dry now. The swelling around her chin could probably be a bite of some sort. The scabs/blood on her skin can be from that bite, or from your dog constantly scratching that area, or it can be a version of canine acne from plastic food and water bowls. I would stop using the flea shampoo and go ahead with some advantage or frontline topical flea control that you only have to use once a month. It is definitely worth it in the end. Plus if you buy the product from your veterinarian, that product whether it be frontline or advantage, is guaranteed by that company that makes it in the case if your animal has a reaction to it.

I don't use flea shampoo. I used the flea treatment like Frontline that I bought from my vet. She is bathed with a regular dog shampoo. She doesn't use plastic bowls for food or water. She chews them up. She uses metal bowls. I guess she probably chewed on her rawhide wrong or found something else to chew on that poked her.

I doens't sound like fleas...check out this website...it could be flies of no-see-ums

http://www.dogswigglesandgrins.com/insect_information/

Oh. I just re-read your post. You didn't say anything about flea shampoo even though I thought I read that, so... all my good advice doesn't really pertain to you. :) Lol. So disregard that. Your puppy may just be itchy from the weather possibly? Maybe you can try bathing him/her in an oatmeal based shampoo to help hydrate the skin.

lol It's okay. You can ignore my reply!

I read about the oatmeal. Would an aloe based shampoo work also? I think I have some that may have aloe in it, but I would have to check. The weather here is wacky. Hot and humid one day, dry and windy the next.

I doens't sound like fleas...check out this website...it could be flies of no-see-ums

http://www.dogswigglesandgrins.com/insect_information/

Eww! That website made my skin crawl. What is described does kind of look like what is on her mouth. They were crawling from a watery area. I guess it wouldn't hurt to clear the area and treat it. We have had a lot of rain recently also. Thanks for the info!

What was the treatment that the vet gave you? You said it was like frontline, but just wondering what it was exactly? :thinking

What was the treatment that the vet gave you? You said it was like frontline, but just wondering what it was exactly? :thinking

I checked the box. It is Frontline flea and tick treatment. You know the gel you squeeze onto the skin? It is that stuff.

Hmmm if it was administered correctly, you shouldn't be having this kind of problem if it is from fleas. Is it Frontline Plus by any chance?