Puppy is constantly shaking out his fur as if he is wet but he isnt.

by Nakeeta
(Modesto, CA)

Hi, My 7 month old puppy was recently neutered and the vet discovered that he had fleas (it was just a few so I hadn't seen them yet). I wanted to nip the flea problem in the bud so I went and got some sentry pro spot treatment, I wasn't sure about applying it so soon after surgery but the instructions didn't say not too and neither did the post op instructions.

He was kind of shaking before hand because of the collar, shaking like when dogs get a bath and shake to get the water off, but when i would take the collar off he was fine. after i put the treatment on he would shake but I figured it was because the stuff was wet on his skin so he was trying to get it off. it's been 2 days now and he still keeps shaking everyone once in a while even when he doesn't have the collar on and im sure the stuff has dried now.

I checked his ears to see if maybe he had something in there but he wasn't actually shaking his head he shakes his whole body and there was nothing in his ears.

So I was wondering if this is normal and if he will stop eventually or if I should get it checked out.





Hi Nakeeta
It's quite possible that what you're noticing is a reaction to the ingredients in the flea treatment. I always advise not to use over-the-counter flea medications as they can have unwanted, sometimes dangerous, side effects.

It could be that this medication has affected his nervous system in some way, and that is what is causing the shaking. It's very important to make sure that you use the right strength of product and don't overdose accidentally, as that can cause severe reactions. A flea collar PLUS a topical treatment would be too much.

I would definitely advise you to have your pup thoroughly checked out by your veterinarian so that he can make sure there's no treatment needed and no long term damage done.

Of course, I'm not a vet myself, and it's possible that these symptoms are not related to the flea product, but only your vet can make a proper diagnosis either way. It is important to prevent, and treat, fleas and ticks but to also be very careful about the products you choose. Your vet can advise you on what to do in the future.

I wish you the best of luck and hope your pup gets over this problem and is back to normal soon.