Can You Put Flea Medicine On A Dog After A Bath?

Fleas are an unusually common problem among dogs all over the world and thus, you must know how to treat this problem properly. That is to say, if you don’t treat this right, it will be extremely hard to get rid of fleas and that’s really impractical, to say the least. However, there seems to be a lot of confusion when it comes to the right treatment for fleas. One question, in particular, that’s asked a lot, can you put flea medicine on a dog after a bath? Keep reading to find out!

Can You Put Flea Medicine On A Dog After A Bath?

To answer the question rather shortly, no you can’t put flea medicine on a dog right after a bath. At least, not directly. Even more so, if you actually do treat your dog with flea medicine right after bathing your dog, you can be guaranteed that the flea medicine won’t work in the way that it should.

So, as a general rule of thumb, you should keep in mind that it’s recommended to wait at least two full days after you bath your dog before you treat it with flea medicine. Otherwise, you won'( get the results you aspired and that would be a real shame, for sure!

Dog taking flea treatment

Can You Give Your Dog A Bath Right After The Flea Treatment?

Now that it’s established that you shouldn’t put flea medicine on your dog right after bathing it, it could be beneficial to answer the question in the opposite direction. Namely, can you bath your dog right after the flea treatment?

Again, this answer is also a resounding no! Just as was the case with the other scenario, doing this would be very detrimental to the outcome of the treatment. The same recommended waiting time as mentioned above applies, so make sure to wait at least two full days after the flea treatment before you bathe your dog.

Should I give my dog a bath before flea treatment?

To recapitulate, please keep into account that you shouldn’t put flea treatment on your dog right before and after you bath your dog. Many dog owners don’t live by this rule, which is a real shame, seeing as it’s one of the main causes why fleas don’t go away and keep coming back.

Why Is This?

Dog taking flea treatment

To get a better understanding of why you can’t put flea medicine on your dog right after a bath, it’s necessary to dive a little deeper into the technical side of things. More concretely, it’s a must to gain insight into the way that flea medicine actually works.

To make this less abstract, the most common flea medicine is brought upon a dog’s skin with the help of a pipette. Once this action is fulfilled, the treatment works via the layers of fat and tallow on the dog’s skin and that’s precisely why you can’t bathe a dog right before or after giving it the flea treatment.

Concretely, when you wash your dog, you slightly damage these layers. As a result, flea medicine can’t do its work like it’s supposed to and that’s something to avoid at all costs. So, it’s better to be safe than sorry and to just wait a little while after washing your dog before you give it the flea medicine!

Other Common Mistakes

Because getting your dog’s flea treatment right is so crucial, it’s essential to shed some light on other common mistakes. Consequently, these mistakes often stand in the way of getting the desired results, and thus, they absolutely shouldn’t be underestimated!

Dog taking flea treatment

Not Treating Other Potential Pets In House

If there’s one thing that everyone knows about fleas, it’s that fleas are extremely contagious between pets. For example, if you have multiple dogs in your house and you encounter fleas with one dog, chances are high that the others will have to deal with fleas as well, sooner or later.

So, that’s why you should always treat all the pets in your house with flea medicine once you find fleas with one. Otherwise, you’ll never be able to get rid of the fleas in question and this can get really exhausting after a while.

Forgetting To Keep Treating Your Dog Repeatedly

Another thing you should know about flea treatments is that you need to treat your dog with the medicine multiple times. For example, you need to repeat the treatment every month with some flea medication, but it could just as easily be two or three weeks. It all depends on the specific type of flea treatment at hand.

So, don’t forget to treat your dog again after some time has passed. Otherwise, you risk again that you won’t get rid of your dog’s flea problems.

Dog eating flea treatment

Not Using The Right Product Or Medicine

Furthermore, there are a lot of different types of flea treatments available on the market right now, ranging from flea sprays and drops to actual pills.

While this definitely is a good thing, it also means that you can make a distinction between flea treatments when it comes to quality. Additionally, it’s not always easy to know which product is the right fit for you and your dog.

Consequently, you risk picking the wrong product and when this happens, your dog’s chance of getting an effective flea treatment decreases. However, if you really don’t know which specific flea medicine to pick, you could always consult a professional. They will be able to let you know what product is suitable and they will possibly give you insight into other tips and tricks as well, so that’s always something to strive for!

Dog taking flea treatment

Not Treating Your House

Finally, fleas not only jump from dog to dog, but they can also jump on the furniture in your house and such. Hence, that’s why it’s extremely important to treat your house with anti-fleas products as well. Otherwise, you risk the fleas spreading and you definitely don’t want that happening!

Conclusion

All in all, can you put flea medicine on a dog after a bath? if you keep the above-mentioned information in the back of your mind, you’ll not have any problem! Just bear in mind that the most important thing is that you remember to not wash your dog right before and after you give it its flea treatment. Also, please remember to be patient. Flea medication often needs some time to work properly and that’s definitely something to keep in the back of your mind!

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