# 8 week-old standard is biting his legs/feet and scratching



## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Your pup most likely has fleas! I live in San Diego so We're neighbors and I gotta tell ya fleas this year are bad! They live in your yard so everytime your pup goes out there he's picking them up! Fleas don't live on your animal they just feed on them and jump back off into the environment so in order to get them under control you have to treat your home your yard and your dog! Get a flea comb and go thru his coat...if the comb is picking up little black specks....that's the flea dirt(excrement) Give your puppy a bath and use Dawn dish soap- the blue original kind- lather your puppy up and leave it on for about 5 mins ...this will smother the fleas and kill them . Make sure you rinse really well! I had Molly on Advantix but it stopped working, so now she is on Comfortis which is a once a month pill and it works! Ask your vet, don't use over the counter flea meds some are very harmful! 
Start with finding out if your problem is fleas 1st.............then go to allergies!


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## meredian (Nov 5, 2012)

Thanks so much for the info! We just ordered Advantix yesterday - ugh. Our breeder uses Comfortis on her adults but we thought we'd try a topical first. Maybe we'll ask our vet about getting Comfortis. Do you purchase it online? I know Comfortis can be a bit more expensive.


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

We live in Southern California as well and we use Comfortis. My daughter works as a vet tech and says the puppy has to be at least 12 weeks old for the Comfortis so you have about a month anyways. Are you feeding the same food as the breeder??? Also you may want to look at ingredients in any treats. I would take the collar off for a little while and see if that is part of the problem. I found with my dogs if they bite their paws/legs and base of tail it is often a wheat problem. The Dawn is great advice! That is what we use for puppies...don't want to put chemicals on them at this young age.


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## iuhippiechick (Jun 9, 2012)

For what it's worth, our breeder is into natural products. She highly recommends Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth. (It MUST be Food Grade) Rub a bit into the pups fur and it basically dries the fleas out. (Dries out their exoskeleton, so they die.) Since it's a Food Grade product, it's not a harmful product to be around kids and pets. (Just try to be careful not to breathe the dust...same as you would avoid baby powder.)


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## meredian (Nov 5, 2012)

Thanks all. Took him to the vet today. He said 90% chance it is fleas, 10% it is allergies. He couldn't find any fleas on him, but said that one could have jumped on, bit him, and jumped off, or he only has a couple that he couldn't see. 

We brought him home and bathed him with an antihistamine shampoo and we'll apply a topical flea treatment tomorrow. We are really hoping it is not allergies! 

Other possibility is that he is teething and taking it out on himself - is this a thing that anyone else has experienced? Biting their legs because of teething?

For now he's happy with a marrow bone.


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## meredian (Nov 5, 2012)

Oh and P.S. - vet said that Dawn would be too strong for him!


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Glad to hear you took him to the vet! RE Dawn, I don't know why he would say it is 'too strong' as I have used it on exotic birds for 20 years and they are a lot more delicate than a Spoo! Did he sell you the shampoo HEHEHEHE!!!!! But really, I'm just glad you're taking good care of your pup, cuz that's what matters! Let us know how he's doing,

p.s. teething does mean a lot of chewing but usually on 'things' not themselves


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

I agree re: the Dawn. My daughter works at a vet and they use Dawn on puppies that are just a few days old when they come in infested with fleas. Also when we have had oil spills off of our coasts, that is what they use on the wildlife that get coated in oil. But that's neither here nor there, I hope he is feeling better soon!


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## Ryker-&-Canyon (Dec 12, 2012)

Poor little guy! I hope he gets feeling better very soon.


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