Flea treatment for Dobermann puppy 16 weeks

Before anything else — treating fleas properly means tackling both your dog and your home at the same time. Around 95% of fleas live in your carpets, bedding and furniture, not on the dog itself, so a single product almost never clears an infestation on its own. To point you in the right direction: what breed and size is your dog, how bad does the infestation look, and have you treated the home yet?

Good that you caught it early. A Dobermann at 16 weeks is typically somewhere between 12 and 18 kg depending on the individual pup — do you have a recent weight for him? That's the key number here, because flea spot-on products are dosed by weight band, not age, and a fast-growing large breed like a Dobe can jump a band within a few weeks.

At 14 kg and growing, he's already at the top of the medium-dog band (10–20 kg) and will likely cross into the large-dog band (20–40 kg) within the next month or two. My recommendation is Frontline Plus Spot-On for Medium Dogs (10–20 kg) for this dose, but buy the large-dog pack (20–40 kg) ready for next time — don't wait until he's clearly over 20 kg before switching, because under-dosing on a big dog is one of the main reasons treatments fail. Frontline Plus kills both adult fleas and flea eggs and larvae, which matters when you're also treating the environment.

Use an indoor flea spray that contains both an adulticide and an insect growth regulator — the IGR stops eggs and larvae developing, which is where most people go wrong. Indorex Defence Household Flea Spray is the one I'd recommend: one can treats up to 100 square metres, it's effective for up to 12 months, and it's safe once dry. Vacuum thoroughly before you spray, and wash his bedding on a hot wash the same day. Do every room he has access to, not just where you've seen fleas.

Frontline Plus is applied every four weeks regardless of size. The main thing to stay on top of is his weight — weigh him monthly, and as soon as he hits 20 kg switch straight to the large-dog (20–40 kg) pack. At his current growth rate that could be as soon as his next dose. Set a reminder now to weigh him just before each treatment so you're always in the right band. Once you're through this initial infestation and the home treatment has had a couple of weeks to work, monthly spot-on plus the Indorex lasting in the background should keep you clear.