bathing newborn puppies

by Ona
(Kansas, USA)

ok my female husky gave birth to 7 puppies on the 26th of October. we noticed that shortly after momma and the puppies had REALLY BAD fleas.

what can I do to treat momma and the puppies to help get rid of them???

I'm not sure how old a puppy has to be before you can give them a bath and what I can use to give them a bath?

Thanks



Hi Ona
It's best not to bathe a puppy until it's about 7 weeks old, and even at that age you can't use flea shampoos.

The best way to treat fleas in this situation, is to treat the momma dog with a good, topical (or spot-on) treatment such as Frontline Plus.

This will kill any fleas that jump onto her, and as fleas tend to jump on and off their 'hosts' all the time, you will get most of them that way. I would also suggest washing all bedding that is in contact with the momma and puppies in very hot water and detergent.

Spraying the area where they are with a flea-killing product (check with your vet to make sure the one you pick is safe to be around puppies) or 'bombing' your house with a can of flea-killing chemicals (you can find these at Petsmart and other similar stores) will also help.

Best of luck with your pups.