Why would topical flea medicine work on one dog but not another?

Hi all,

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First time to this subreddit. I imagine a lot of flea questions get asked here, but I didn't see anything specifically about this topic.

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So I have two dogs and three cats--the dogs are a short-haired chihuahua mix and a long-haired yorkie/bichon. Fleas have been terrible where I live over this past Spring and Summer, and we are constantly battling them. We were struggling with having topical flea meds actually work, but we've gotten to a point where they are working--except on the yorkie mix. Obviously the cats and dogs have separate meds, but the cats and the chihuahuas all seem to be free of fleas. We're just not having any luck with the yorkie mix. We've tried a few different topical meds, flea shampoos, bathing him every few days, taking him to a professional groomer and getting his hair cut down to something much shorter, and a flea spray that you massage into the fur. We've gotten rid of the fleas (as far as we can tell) multiple times, but the second he goes outside, he picks them up again. The topical meds just don't seem to be having any effect on him, even the ones that are supposed to kill eggs and larva, as well as repelling fleas.

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We're doing our best to maintain the backyard by keeping the grass short, and we have considered a lawn pest treatment. We're also going to look into an oral flea treatment now that he's a little older. I don't expect to hear any remedies that I haven't already heard, but my question is, is it possible for topical flea medication to work on one dog but not another? And why would that be? I haven't been able to find answers online. The only thing I can come up with is perhaps his skin is too dry--maybe there isn't enough oil on his skin to transport the medicine over his body effectively. I haven't noticed anything signifying dry skin (flaking, dandruff, etc.), and we're always sure to hold off on bathing for a few days before and after topical med application.

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tl;dr Is it possible for topical flea medicine to have difference in effectiveness between two dogs in the same home, and why?

submitted by /u/brisayshi
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/chaxza/why_would_topical_flea_medicine_work_on_one_dog/