Bugs on Dog

[GeoPom]

My dog has these little bugs on her belly...they don't jump and they don't look like any of the pictures I've seen on fleas. They look like a grain of rice in size, are brown & black, are impossible to squish unless you use your fingernails, and they don't burrow...they just scurry really fast into thicker hair. We've tried to bathe her in flea shampoo, we've tried to douse her in flea and tick repellant; however, nothing is working/killing these things AND you can only use them once a week. PLEASE HELP!

[tjhulligan]

I was always under the impression that Fleas move BY jumping and not by simply "runningaround"?! plus fleas have a distinctive body shape-not unlike a minature shrimp!!

[vallieanne]

They sound like fleas from the description. Have you seen a brownish red color on the dogs belly, that would be the flea droppings. You've used a lot of pesticide on the dog already, so I really think it's time to go off to the vet. He can diagnose exactly what the dog has, determine if the dog has been affected in any way, and give you the correct medicine that will kill the bugs and not get the dog sick.
He can also give you something for the house that's not as toxic to you and the dog.

[haidee]

Hi,

It def sounds like fleas dog fleas are quite docile so you might not see them move as much as you would a cat flea you get different types of fleas on dogs like hedgehog fleas which rarely jump shampoo and spray doesnt really work as you need to stop them breeding you can get a tablet or liquid capsule from your vet which is designed to make the flea infertile they dont live for very long and if you stop them breeding you solve the flea problem the flea will only live for 20 to 30 days you also need to treat your house too you can get a spray from your vets for that too its very good