Best Flea Medication For Goldendoodles – Most Effective Treatments

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Fleas and ticks are an occupational hazard when it comes to dog ownership. 

These parasites bite dogs and other pets, sometimes causing skin irritation that can lead to scratching and hair loss. In severe cases, skin allergies can develop, making your beloved Goldendoodle’s life a misery.

Did you know that dog and cat fleas can also bite humans? Well, they can. So, you need to know how to make sure that your dog doesn’t infest your home with these biting pests.

So, what’s the best flea medication for a Goldendoodle?

Read this guide to find out. 

Comparison Table of the 5 Best Flea Medications For Goldendoodles

IMAGE

Capstar Fast-Acting Oral Flea Treatment for Dogs

BRAND

Novartis Capstar Green for Dogs

DETAILS

  • Best-seller
  • Treats dogs up to 125 pounds
  • Palatable tablet form

Pricing

K9 Advantix II Flea and Tick Prevention for Large Dogs

BRAND

K9 Advantix II Flea and Tick Prevention

DETAILS

  • Convenient topical treatment
  • For Medium to large-sized dogs 
  • Highly effective and safe
Advantus (Imidacloprid) Flea Chews for Dogs

BRAND

Advantus (Imidacloprid) Flea Chewable Flea Treatment

DETAILS

  • For dogs from 4 to 110 pounds
  • Palatable chewable tablets
  • Kills fleas within 24 hours
Advantage II Flea and Lice Treatment for Extra Large Dogs

BRAND

Advantage II Flea and Lice Treatment

DETAILS

  • Ideal for dogs weighing up to 55 pounds
  • Suitable for Goldendoodles of all ages
  • Kills flea adults, larvae, and eggs
Vet's Best Flea and Tick Home Spray

BRAND

Vet’s Best Flea and Tick Home Spray

DETAILS

  • Formulated using natural oils
  • Kills fleas and ticks on contact
  • Made in the USA

What Are Dog Fleas?

Fleas are tiny creatures that belong to the insect family. 

Fleas feed on the blood of mammals, for example, dogs and cats, although they can sometimes bite people, too. Amazingly, a flea can survive for a few months without feeding. However, female fleas must have a meal of mammalian blood before they are able to reproduce and lay eggs. 

A single flea can lay as many as 4,000 eggs on the host animal’s fur, so you can see just how quickly an infestation can take hold.

Flea eggs go through four lifecycle stages:

  • Embryo
  • Larva
  • Pupa
  • Imago (adult)

The flea’s lifecycle generally takes between two to three weeks, although that can take longer if conditions are cool.

Adult fleas are a reddish-brown color with long, flat bodies that measure only a millimeter or so in length. Fleas can’t fly, but they move around easily enough by vertically jumping up to eight inches! That enables a minuscule flea to leap onto a passing dog or cat (or person) for a meal.

What Do Fleas Eat?

Closeup of mite and fleas infected on dog fur

As mentioned above, fleas feed on blood. A female flea can consume an incredible 15 times her body weight in blood every single day!

The fleas deposit partially digested blood on the skin of their host, which you might notice as “flea dirt.” The dirt is used as food by developing flea larvae but is also a clear sign of fleas, making it easy for you to spot a flea infestation.

Can Fleas Cause Diseases?

Yes! Not only can fleas make your Doodle’s life a misery by constantly biting him, but they can also present a serious health threat.

General Discomfort

Flea bites and their activity on the dog’s skin make your pet itch. As a result, your dog will constantly scratch himself, damaging the hair follicles.

Some pets even chew and bite themselves in an attempt to remove the irritation that the fleas cause, tending the skin towards infection.

Allergies

Goldendoodles can have sensitive or dry skin, and some suffer from allergies and dermatitis that causes long-term damage to the dog’s hair follicles, leading to bald patches. FAD (Flea Allergy Dermatitis) is a very common skin condition that the chemicals in flea saliva can cause.

Anemia

Sleeping Goldendoodle puppy

If a very severe, continuous flea infestation occurs, your dog could develop anemia. That’s especially common in puppies that have come from puppy mills, where no parasite prevention program is in place.

Tapeworm

Fleas can carry tapeworm eggs, passing them onto the animal they bite in residual blood. Tapeworm can be a serious problem for dogs that are not dewormed regularly.

What Happens When A Flea Bites A Human?

Although fleas don’t live on humans (not enough fur!), you can still be bitten by fleas if your home is infested. That can put you at risk of some nasty health problems, including:

Allergies

Just like your Goldendoodle, you can suffer an allergic reaction if you’re bitten by fleas. Generally, you’ll notice tiny red or purple raised lumps called papules on your skin. Often, the bites are very itchy and uncomfortable, and there’s the risk of infection if you scratch them.

Tapeworm

Tapeworm (Dipylidium caninum) can be spread through flea bites but is more commonly suffered by children if they swallow a flea and ingest it.

Typhus

Typhus is a group of diseases that can cause a range of symptoms, including headaches, fever, rashes, and confusion. There are two strains of typhus that you can contract from flea bites:

  • Murine typhus: A form of bacterial typhus that can be spread by rodents but also by the common flea types that are found on dogs and cats.
  • Flea typhus: This form of typhus is caused by Rickettsia felis and is only spread by the fleas that are found on cats.

Bubonic Plague

Although bubonic plague (Yersinia pestis) is usually associated with diseases of the Middle Ages, rodent fleas can sometimes make the leap onto dogs and cats in some regions. Potentially, these types of fleas can be vectors of the plague if they bite humans.

How Do Fleas Spread?

Fleas spread in several ways:

Pet-To-Pet Transfer

The most common method of infestation is between animals. 

So, if your Goldendoodle mixes with other dogs at the dog park that are carrying fleas, the chances are that the parasites will simply jump onto your dog. It then follows that every other dog and cat your dog socializes with will also pick up a flea or two. Before you know it, an infestation has broken out!

Wildlife

Wildlife, including foxes, deer, possums, and raccoons, can pass fleas onto your dog. 

So, if you live in a rural area where your Doodle enjoys going hunting with you, there’s a good chance he might pick up some fleas through interaction with wildlife.

Pet Bedding

If your dog has fleas, it’s pretty much a certainty that they will find their way into his bedding (and potentially into your bed and furniture too!) Also, if your dog has a soft dog crate, there’s a good chance that fleas will be deposited in the soft lining.

How Can You Prevent Your Goldendoodle From Getting Fleas?

Happy Goldendoodle

Once fleas get into your home, they can be extremely difficult to eradicate. So, you need to know how to prevent that from happening.

Discourage Wildlife

Discouraging raccoons and other wildlife from invading your garden and garage where they could potentially pass on fleas to your Goldendoodle can lead to a reduction in fleas on your property.

So, avoid leaving out food and rubbish that might attract pests.

Protect Your Home!

If you have friends who bring their pets to your home, politely ask that they have their animals treated with a flea prevention product before they visit. That will stop fleas from getting into your home in the first place.

Remember that fleas can break into your home on rodents, so if you have an issue with mice or rats around your home or garden, take action to get rid of them.

Be Disruptive!

If you discover fleas in your home, take action to disrupt the fleas’ lifecycle.

  • Wash all your pets’ bedding in hot water to kill flea eggs and adults.
  • Vacuum all your carpets and floor coverings thoroughly to remove flea eggs that might have fallen there. Empty the vacuum cleaner outside your home and burn the contents.
  • In cases of severe infestation, have your carpets steam-cleaned.
  • Put soft dog toys or kids’ plushy toys in a sealed bag in your freezer for 24 hours. Fleas thrive on heat and humidity, and a day in the deep freeze will almost certainly kill them off. 

If your home is very severely infested with fleas, we recommend that you ask a good pest control company for advice. It could be necessary to have your home professionally treated to see a substantial reduction in fleas.

Flea Prevention Treatment

The most effective way to prevent your Doodle from picking up fleas from other animals or infested bedding is to treat your pet regularly with a flea prevention treatment product. You’ll need to treat all the pets in your household at the same time to ensure that the preventative treatment remains effective.

5 Best Flea Medication For Goldendoodles

In the next section of our guide, we’ve reviewed five of the best flea prevention products currently on the market.

1. Novartis Capstar Green for Dogs

Capstar Fast-Acting Oral Flea Treatment for Dogs

Best-seller

Treats dogs up to 125 pounds

Palatable tablet form

Novartis Capstar is a best-selling effective flea treatment product that’s recommended by vets. This is a Nitenpyram-based drug that you administer via a tablet. Although the tablets are palatable, the easiest way to persuade your pet to eat the pill is to hide the tablet in food.

You can use this category of flea treatment to wipe out adult fleas on your Goldendoodle super-fast. Capstar can also be used on dogs with flea allergies and that are suffering from severe flea infestation. Capstar maintains that their product is effective at eliminating up to 90% of adult fleas on dogs, working in as little as 30 minutes. After 24 hours, Nitenpyram kills 100% of all adult fleas on Goldendoodles.

Nitenpyram is extremely safe for your dog and causes very few side effects. You can use the tablets to provide relief from fleas for nursing mothers, pregnant Goldendoodles, and puppies as young as four weeks old, alongside regular flea prevention treatments. The treatment can be used for dogs from 25 to 125 pounds in weight

PROS

  • Capstar provides rapid, effective relief from fleas
  • Treatment is delivered in one palatable tablet
  • Capstar can be safely used alongside preventative treatments

CONS

  • The treatment is only suitable for the treatment of established flea infestations rather than as a preventative measure

2. K9 Advantix II Flea and Tick Prevention

K9 Advantix II Flea and Tick Prevention for Large Dogs

Convenient topical treatment

For Medium to large-sized dogs

Highly effective and safe

Bayer makes a broad range of veterinary medicines, including this spot-on prevention treatment for dogs. Note that you can’t use this treatment on your cat.

Bayer K9 Advantix II comes in a handy 2-pack, which is ideal if you have two dogs. This veterinarian-recommended flea treatment has an added bonus in that the treatment also repels and kills mosquitoes, which is important for you if you live in an area where these biting insects are a problem. That’s a real plus point of this product, as very few others offer that.

Unlike many other products that need the tick or flea to actually bite your Goldendoodle before the drug becomes effective, K9 Advantix II is a topical formula, meaning that it works on contact. That’s great, as it means that your dog won’t need to endure irritating flea bites before the pests die. 

The drug works for up to 30 days, killing ticks and fleas within 12 hours, and providing long-lasting defense against parasites. After 24 hours, the treatment is waterproof, so your dog can go swimming or have a bath without losing the protection given by the drug. 

PROS

  • Kills pests on contact without the need for your pet to be bitten first
  • Effective flea, tick, and mosquito control for dogs, cats, and other pets
  • The drug remains effective after 24 hours if your dog gets wet 
  • Powerful defense against fleas 

CONS

  • Some dogs have a bad skin reaction to the drug

3. Advantus (Imidacloprid) Flea Chewable Flea Treatment

Advantus (Imidacloprid) Flea Chews for Dogs

For dogs from 4 to 110 pounds

Palatable chewable tablets

Kills fleas within 24 hours

Advantus Dog Flea Chewables are designed to kill existing flea infestations in dogs. 

This is a fast-acting treatment that starts working within one hour of the dog taking one dose of the drug. If the infestation is severe and continues, it’s safe to repeat the treatment as frequently as once a day, as the formula is designed so that the active ingredient in the chew dissipates rapidly in your dog’s system.

You can use the treatment on adult dogs and on puppies from ten weeks of age. Start treatment immediately you discover fleas on your dog. The chews are suitable for dogs that have food allergies to beef or chicken, as the ingredients don’t include any animal proteins. As an added bonus, you can use Advantus flea treatment with dewormers, antibiotics, shampoos, and heartworm preventative drugs. 

PROS

  • Fast-acting treatment for fleas delivered in a palatable chew
  • For use on an active infestation
  • Can be given daily in case of severe flea infestations
  • Suitable for puppies from ten weeks of age 
  • Disrupts the flea life cycle

CONS

  • Not a preventative treatment

4. Advantage II Flea and Lice Treatment

Advantage II Flea and Lice Treatment for Extra Large Dogs

Ideal for dogs weighing up to 55 pounds

Suitable for Goldendoodles of all ages

Kills flea adults, larvae, and eggs

This product from pet medication giant, Bayer, is highly effective in the treatment of fleas and ticks at all life stages, breaking the parasites’ lifecycle and stopping the infestation in its tracks.

The treatment works at skin level when the flea or tick comes into contact with the product, so the pests don’t need to bite your pet to get a dose of the drug.

Once applied, a single application of Advantage II begins working within 12 hours and is effective for up to 30 days. After 24 hours, your dog can be bathed or go swimming without washing the product off or reducing its efficacy against fleas and ticks.

PROS

  • Treats both fleas and ticks at all their life stages
  • Protection against future infestations of fleas for dogs of all ages

CONS

  • Some users report that the product is not 100% effective

5. Vet’s Best Flea and Tick Home Spray

Vet's Best Flea and Tick Home Spray

Formulated using natural oils

Kills fleas and ticks on contact

Made in the USA

This spray is made using certified natural ingredients and kills adult fleas and ticks and flea eggs on contact. The steam-distilled natural oils that are used to make the spray are proven to be effective against parasites but safe and gentle enough to be used around your home, family, and other pets.

To protect your home from invasion by ticks and fleas that could bite your family as well as your Doodle and the family cat, simply spray the product onto dog bedding, dog crates, furniture, carpets, and upholstery. You can also safely apply the product directly onto your dog and puppies 12 weeks of age and over.

PROS

  • Made in the USA
  • Spray onto surfaces, carpeting, upholstery, etc within your home to protect your pets and family from fleas
  • Kills fleas and ticks on contact
  • Provides tick prevention for small dogs and Goldendoodles

CONS

  • Can leave a residue on some surfaces and on pets’ fur

In Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed our guide to the most effective treatments for fleas on dogs and the best flea medication for Goldendoodles. Please go ahead and share the article if you find it helpful.

Our favorite product of those we reviewed is Bayer K9 Advantix II preventative flea and tick treatment. We love this product for several key reasons:

  • The product also kills and repels mosquitoes
  • The product is veterinarian-recommended
  • The drug works on contact, so your dog doesn’t need to get bitten for the parasites to be killed off
  • After 24 hours, your dog can go swimming have a bath without losing the protection given by the drug.

Does your Doodle have allergies to fleas? How do you plan for the infestation in the future? Tell us in the comments box below.

Meet our writer

Alison Page was brought up with dogs and various other pets! For a few years, Alison worked as a Practice Manager in a small animal veterinary clinic. Alison is now a full-time writer, specializing in creating articles on the care and training of dogs, cats, and fish.

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