"Does this mean we have a flea problem? "


Yes, it does. What flea med is he on now?

(Fleas are enjoying a major surge, including resistance to preventives.)

If this is the whole issue (I mean besides the obvious present infection), then you have actually lucked out, because as much of a terrible pain as fleas are, there is no guessing, testing, diagnostic frustration, etc., etc. Flea hypersensitivity presents one challenge, which is not easy but is at least straightforward: removing fleas from the dog's environment.

I will look for a fairly recent thread Tracy started about fleas, which branched into how to treat the home, etc.

.... a fairly recent thread Tracy started about fleas, which branched into how to treat the home, etc.

I forgot to give a recap of the bath method for a flea-ish dog.

The SOBs are wily little %$#&+-ers, and they are very fast to get up on the dog's upper neck and head to escape the water.

Briefly, there are two big pointers: start with a wide band of suds and soakingness around the dog's upper neck, and when you rinse, rinse very thoroughly with clean water (not the bath water). If you don't have a hand-held hose or something like that, you can do what I do, which is to have a big plastic cup (or any plastic container) to use to pour clean faucet-water over the dog (in the armpits and legpits and undercarriage and tail, too).

I use the actual shower to rinse the big dog.

In hot summer, of course, the hose can work well.

Also, I have a terry washcloth for the dogs. That soaking washcloth squirted with dog shampoo (not people shampoo) and applied vigorously gives much less escape route for the horrible little bugs. (Wait until you see five or six black dots embedded in the terry loops after you scrub the neck and leg and rump areas. )

I also continuously wash dirty water down the drain if I am seeing fleas in it.

Then straight to the flea med.

Oh, and I vacuum the carpets just before the baths. And the dogs' blankets, etc., are in the washing machine.

Also, a very important thread:

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/341110/page/0/fpart/1

Don't forget to protect the inside of the ears from moisture being introduced.... and particularly when there is a yeast problem starting.

And anything that can't be washed (like pillows) can go in the dryer for a hot bake to kill fleas.