How to Give a Flea Bath with Dawn

Giving a dog (or cat) a bath is hard enough without having to worry about fleas. Additionally, flea baths are not the ideal way to control fleas as the shampoo is harsh and will cause drying. Therefore, it is best to give your pet some form of daily flea treatment.

If your dog or house cat is covered in fleas, then immediate action is needed. This is when flea baths should be used. In this article, we discuss how to use Dawn as a Flea Bath.  If you wish to give your pet a regular bath read either How to Give Your Cat a Bath or How to Give Your Dog a Bath.

1) Prepare the Bath Tub (Dog/Cat Bath Tub)

Fill the Tub with Warm Water

Add enough Dawn to the tub to create bubbles. (Imagine you are doing the dishes.)

2) Prepare the Dog or Cat for the Flea Bath

Before you place the dog or cat in the water, take a capful of Dawn and some water. Use this to create a flea barrier around the dog’s or cat’s head. It has to be done super quick otherwise the fleas will crawl into the dog/cat’s ears, eyes and nose to escape their death.

3) Begin the Flea Bath

Place your dog or cat into the water. Then use the soapy water to lather up the entire coat. If needed, add more Dawn to completely coat your pet. Completely saturate your pet and do not rinse. Always taking extra caution around the eyes and ears of your cat or dog.

4) Let the Dawn Flea Bath Sit

For the ultimate in effectiveness, let the dog or cat sit completely covered in lather. The Dawn needs to remain on the dog or cat for a full 5 minutes to be effective.

5) Finishing the Flea Bath

Rinse your dog or cat off completely. You do not want to leave any soap on the dog or cat. This will cause the dog or cat’s coat to dry. Then pat dry your pet.

Finally, use a flea comb to comb through the hair. The comb will remove dead fleas and capture any fleas which remained alive. If you do find a live flea, dip the flea comb in a concentrated cup of Dawn to kill the flea.