Recommendation on flea control for pup's under 8 weeks

[RastaPitLover]

I totally understand what you're saying. I've raised 2 pup's under the 8 weeks before and i never had any behavior issues with either one. every PB i've had (thats every dog i've had...) i raised from weeks till they passed. Like i mentioned in my other thread, my brother & cousin are my mentors when it comes to raising pup's under 8 weeks as they've done it way more then i have. My brother's PB Tiger was raised @ 5 weeks and he's now 8 yrs and is the all around perfect PB. I'm not saying it won't be a problem but i'm confident i can handle him. He's already got the basics down and i haven't had a single issue with him so far. Today i spoke to a local vet (and a PB Lover) who's a regular customer at my shop & he said it's fine. I'm bringing Dub to him next week for a check up and if he feels Dub needs to go back to mom, then i'll bring him back & he can spend the last 3 weeks.

I thank you for advice though . It crossed my mind earlier and i'm glad i ran into the Vet while it was fresh in my mind.

[mnp13]

I hope he does well, and though there are TONS of people who will tell you that "it's just fine" for a puppy to be away from mom and litter mates as young as 4 weeks old, there is a reason that nature makes litters of puppies - the very very best way for a puppy to grow up is with a litter of puppies. Period.

Sure, lots of dogs come through it just fine, but many do not. Since there is a possibility for the puppy to be back with mom and litter mates why not give your dog the very best start in life possible??

On another note... you'll probably want to talk to your mentors about their experiences with fleas and other common puppy ailments, this kind of stuff comes up all the time!

[Malli]

again, the fleas live in the ENVIRONMENT, it would be highly unlikely that a dog would "bring" a whole infestation of fleas with it from somewhere else. At any rate, I'm glad they are getting treatment.


From someone who has a dog that left his mother and litter at 6.5 weeks, I implore you to leave the puppy with his brothers and sisters and mother for another few weeks. Although my dog has really done remarkably well, he has THE worst communication skills with other dogs. In all honesty, while in a regular dog this is a minor thing, it's fairly major for the Breed, the more dog appropriate Pit Bulls that are out there, the better. So, even if this is the only thing that Dub will benefit from, from being with his mum (and he WILL benefit from nursing from her, no question there), then I think it is very important; and as mentioned, there are many other issues that can come up with a hand raised puppy.

[pitbullmamaliz]

I have to agree with the others here - my pit bull was separated from her mum at 4 or 5 weeks, and her only sibling died at 10 weeks. Because of this, she doesn't know how to "speak dog." She ignores signals from other dogs (even signals saying, "I will kill you") and has no concept of polite introductions. Like Malli said, though this may not be a crisis in other breeds, with this breed we need as many ambassadors as possible. Go and visit your pup every day, but let it stay with its mom and siblings.

[katiek0417]

Today i spoke to a local vet (and a PB Lover) who's a regular customer at my shop & he said it's fine.

I'm frankly shocked that a vet would say this is okay! My vet was doing everything in his power to keep Drusilla alive, not only for me because he knew I loved her, but from the start he wanted her to be able to interact with her puppies. It was only when her interaction with them could harm them that he said she wasn't allowed to be with them.

I was lucky enough to have another female in the house who took over the mothering role (everything but nursing) and lucky enough to have fosters who also had a female that was able to play "mom."

And because I know what can potentially go wrong with a single handraised pup, one condition I had for anyone who fostered my pups is that they take more than 1 or 2 (they had offered to take 4, which was half the litter), and an adult dog to play "mom"...and I was apprehensive even with that.

I'll move away from that, though...I wholeheartedly agree with what Liz and Malli are saying. You own a pit bull. And even though those of us on this board love the breed, and know otherwise, the general public has a perception that these dogs are maneaters and vicious. You say you've had experience with this before, and you have mentors who also have this experience (although, for the life of me, I can't figure out why, with all that experience, you had to come here to learn what to do about a flea infestation...is it that uncommon), but WHAT IF this one time it's different? WHAT IF this is the puppy that does develop behavioral problems because he was separated from his litter too early? WHAT IF your dog does develop the other issues I already mentioned (which are VERY common in a single handraised pup)? Are you really willing to take that chance? Are you really willing to add to people's prejudice against the breed?

[RastaPitLover]

*sigh*, i didn't wanna turn this into a debate. You guys (gals) might be 100% right. I didn't mean for this to turn into what it is now.

I think my last post was a bit misunderstood.

1. Dub's fleas weren't severe. Myself, my brother & cousin haven't raised a pup in a good while. All of their pup's are now adult dogs. I'm the type of person that is open to other people's methods, hence why i posted. I was looking for a more natural way to get rid of them. I mean if you went to a doctor and he said you had a serious illness. Even though he's a professional, would it be uncommon to seek another opinion? That's all i did when posting this thread.
How ever he got the fleas is irreverent. I just typed what i was told. If i lived in the house with the mother & pup's, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I feel at ease if he's with me. If he has behavior issues, i feel that i can handle it....and i'm saying this 100% with Dub in mind.

2.The vet's advice was that it's not uncommon for a person to successfully raise a pup under 7-8 weeks. He's not doubting that there won't be any issues but the issue can be addressed.

3. Dub is not the only dog in my life and he will be around his brothers & sisters, other pup's around his age, a 3 yr old rednose female & Tiger. Soon as he gets his 1st round of shots the end of next week, he'll be able to run around the house with "Diva" (14 week old Shih Tzu). I just don't want him around another dog until then.

Again, forgive me for turning this into a debate & i value everyone opinions greatly but i'm 100% in that i can raise him. I've had PB with worse issues then mentioned and i've never given up on any of them.

[Marinepits]

Sounds like you have everything under control! Best of luck with Dub and please keep us updated (especially with pics).

[RastaPitLover]

Well its been awhile since i posted last.....

I've long since gotten rid of his fleas. I wound up doing what my brother told me to do. I used a natural flea spray and sprayed it on my hands and massaged it in then washed him using some Natural flea shampoo (2 drops to a Gal. of water & 2 drops of dish soap). Being that he was confined to my office downstairs, i sprayed the room down & allowed it to sit overnight. I was worried about his skin but he's totally fine. It's been 2 weeks and i haven't seen a single flea .

I started him on his worming (that the Vet gave me) and he's due for his 2nd dose this weekend. He's getting his first set of shots next Monday. He should've gotten them this week but we didn't wanna worm him & give him the shot in the same week.

He's been great. He barked for the first time yesterday! My neighbor bought over "Diva" (16 week old Shih Tzu) and he chased her around the house He should be ready to be around other dogs in a week or 2.

He's 80% house trained. I've been using wee wee pads and moving it away farther and father away from his crate yet still leave him enough space to get to it without having an accident along the way. He can go on command now too.


I've also talked to some people at the local shelter about me taking him at 3 weeks and they all told me that the method i plan on using is fine. As long as he gets some interaction with other dogs...which is is. He'll be almost 6 weeks and he's doing great. Very determined, very curious and always hungry . He's 7.5 lbs and eats 2 cups of soaked kibble a day (4x a day). I'm mixing it with Wellness grain-free canned food to stretch it out a bit.

I tried posting pic's but its telling me that they're to big

[Malli]

I'm glad to hear your puppy is doing well.

I'm sorry but if you didn't want a debate then why do you keep bringing it up? I still don't see how anything a human can do can replicate siblings and a mother, plain and simple, there is no complete substitute.

[Marinepits]

I tried posting pic's but its telling me that they're to big

Check here: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1536

Maximum width of pic that this forum will accept is 600.

Yay for happy puppy updates!

[RastaPitLover]

[RastaPitLover]

I'm glad to hear your puppy is doing well.

I'm sorry but if you didn't want a debate then why do you keep bringing it up? I still don't see how anything a human can do can replicate siblings and a mother, plain and simple, there is no complete substitute.

If you would've ignored that part of my last post, the topic would have been finished. My point was that there are other opinions out there. Like i said before, you're right. Nothing can replace the mother & litter mates but i choose to keep him. My choice. I'm not new at this. What if i said i got home from a shelter at 3 weeks. Would that make you feel better? Sorry if i keep dragging it out but i thought i made myself clear 2 post ago. He's now 6 weeks so there's no sense talking about what can't be changed. He's getting the next best thing to his mother & litter mates. He's healthy, getting great care from a family that loves him greatly, he's interacting like he's suppose to for a pup his age. Isn't that important at this point? He has the potential to be a well rounded PB. We love him to death!....I just have to teach him not to bite my feet & pull the blanket off me in the middle of the night