For one thing, you can check the rear end of your dog & see if there are fleas there....you will be able to see all those little black things crawling through the fur....can't miss seeing them.

I have started using the Revolution which is applied to the back of the neck.....it is a systemic treatment for flees, ticks, & all other biting bugs. The systemic treatment goes into the blood system & the bugs somehow can tell & not bite. I used the revolution just before taking Leo back to KY & I gave it the perfect test. I have overgrown woods on my farm & he was with me most of the time.....never came up with a tick nor even 1 flea. I was completely impressed with that. The revolution product is supposed to be good for keeping the mosquitoes away that carry the heart worm....& since the moving to Kentucky...that has become an important part of my treatment for them. I was surprised that my vet in KY suggested only using Frontline + because is does nothing about the heartworm. I think is must also work for the chiggars because when I was eaten alive by them, he didn't have an itch....(I had over 50 bites one weekend & it made me sick).

The location in California I have been living (Mojave desert) doesn't have fleas which has been a blessing....only one year was I infested with fleas because I brought them back from my Mothers house...I had several older cats & then had a litter of white american eskimo puppies.....they all ended up with fleas. It was funny watching the fleas on the puppies however....they were easy to spot on the baby fur....but I couldn't use any flea treatment, so had to use mouthwash (anything with high alchohol content). The blue mouthwash turned them blue which was really funny to see....nothing like blue American Eskimo dogs.

Luckily as soon as I killed the fleas, they never came back & haven't had a problem since then.

I am lucky in the Leo didn't have a bad reaction to the Revolution or Frontline.....but I have 11 more doggies that will go onto the treatment before moving there & hope it works for all of them.....that is going to be an expensive addition to my monthly expenses, but it is worth it when it works so well.

Debbie