Episode 4: Effective Strategies for Flea Prevention with Megan Stoll of Pet Power Studio

In this episode of Ted the Vet podcast, Dr. Ted Burghardt and Megan Stoll, a certified canine nutritionist and the owner of Pet Power Studio, an Encinitas pet studio that carries a limited selection of the highest quality of goods,  discuss the challenges of flea prevention and treatment, exploring both holistic and conventional approaches.

They emphasize the importance of understanding the flea life cycle, the health risks associated with fleas, and the need for a comprehensive care plan that includes both holistic and veterinary interventions.

Megan shares her experiences with holistic treatments and the lessons learned from her own pets, while Dr. Burghardt provides insights into effective medications and preventive measures. The conversation concludes with practical tips for pet owners on managing fleas in their homes and environments.

Takeaways

• Fleas are a year-round problem in San Diego.
• A holistic approach can complement conventional veterinary care.
• Understanding the flea life cycle is crucial for prevention.
• Holistic treatments may not always be sufficient for severe infestations.
• Regular vacuuming is essential to control flea populations.
• Flea combs are effective tools for early detection.
• Tapeworms can be a consequence of flea infestations.
• Preventive measures are more effective than reactive treatments.
• Collaboration among pet care professionals enhances pet health.
• Education about flea treatments can ease pet owners' concerns.

You can learn more more about Megan and Pet Power Studio at
https://petpowerstudio.com/

Instagram: Pet Power Studio

Transcript

Dr. Ted Burghardt (00:02.21)
Hi, thanks for listening to Ted the Vet podcast. I'm very excited today to have Megan Stoll on the line with me. Hi, Megan.

Megan (00:09.635)
Hi, Ted.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (00:11.453)
Today we're planning to have a discussion about the topic of fleas and flea prevention and taking into account both Western medicine and holistic treatment. And I wanted to give a little background about Megan. She is a certified canine nutritionist. She's also the founder of Pet Power Studio in Encinitas. This is a great store. It carries many holistic products including natural -based food, hygiene products, treats.

Megan (00:29.838)
.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (00:41.489)
and many other healthy products for pets. Another great benefit of going to Pet Power Studio is getting to learn from Megan and her knowledgeable staff there. I encourage people to visit her store in Encinitas right around the corner from my hospital and to visit her website at www .petpowerstudio .com. There's a lot of good information there and you can also buy products from her store.

Megan, I wanted you to kind of give a little background about your holistic philosophy.

Megan (01:16.524)
Of course. Well, thank you for that introduction. I have to admit that I'm always kind of nervous to come on these things, especially when it comes to talking to Yvette because I'm

I'm just forever grateful that you guys exist and help our animals and there aren't enough of you for how many animals need help and so your job I know is very stressful and I just want to express my gratitude as a local member of our community. Like having you here in town is amazing and I super appreciate the work that you do and I feel inferior at my little store compared to what you're doing but I serve a little purpose but...

You're really the star of the show.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (01:59.905)
you're too kind, thank you. I appreciate that.

Megan (02:02.219)
Yeah, so I was just going to give a little background. I have been doing the pet industry thing for roughly 10 years. I've done a little bit of everything. So I've been a manufacturer. I've been a wholesaler. I also now have this cute little store, Concept Store in Encinitas, and it has all been focused around

making healthy decisions for our pets and trying to help pet parents navigate the really challenging world of food and nutrition for their animals. And so I'm really passionate about it and love to share the information I've gathered over these 10 years in practice. And I'm not a medical professional, but I have helped a lot of pets make better decisions on nutrition and therefore they live longer, happier and healthier lives.

with their guardians.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (03:06.299)
That's great. I love some of the products that you carry there. you know, as far as keeping things holistic, I know there are a lot of my clients also appreciate that and want to incorporate more healthy options, better foods to keep their pets healthier for longer.

Megan (03:24.138)
Totally.

Megan (03:27.493)
Yeah. And like, who doesn't want to spend more time with their animals? I mean, that's the number one priority is how can I get the most years out of this wonderful creature that I share my life with? And it's kind of you need you need a lot of people in your court to do that. I mean, you need a team of a village, they say it takes a village and it's no different with pets, you know, and I think having a lot of professionals that have your pet's best interests in mind.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (03:32.42)
Exactly.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (03:50.225)
Mm

Megan (03:57.541)
is really where the sweet spot is. So having a vet, having a nutritionist, having an acupuncturist, even a chiropractic care provider, like the more people you have in your corner and the more people that are touching your pet and have, you know, their eyes on your pet, I think it's all great. We're all working together.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (04:17.009)
Absolutely, kind of a total health care plan basically. Great. Well, the subject today is fleas. I wanted to give a little background about fleas. Here in San Diego, they are a year round problem. Obviously they tend to be a little bit worse in the summer when it's more hot, more humid. The fleas that we see on our pets, hopefully we don't see them, but if we do, they're the adults. They're the ones that are jumping around.

Megan (04:19.976)
Totally.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (04:47.089)
They have to live on a dog or a cat. They can bite humans, but they can't live on humans. But the mature adults will lay larva, which you don't really see. The larva can stay dormant for a while and wait for a dog or cat host to come by. Then they jump on board, they feed and mature into adults and then lay more larva. So there's a whole life cycle that's important to understand.

They can cause diseases in a variety of ways. Obviously when they run around, they can cause itching, but when they bite, they leave saliva on the skin. And some dogs are incredibly reactive to the saliva. We call that flea allergy dermatitis. And only one or two fleas can cause a really severe breakout and a severe reaction in some really susceptible dogs.

My own dog is actually one of them. She'll just start itching and it looks like the world's ending and I can't even find a flea on her, but I know it's flea related. So.

Megan (05:56.423)
Same. We have a similar problem over here, so I feel for you.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (06:01.521)
I've seen actually seen some cats that were so itchy and so miserable that it looked like they were having seizures. So it can be a really, really big issue cause a bunch of skin issues, itchiness, infections, and fleas can also spread tapeworms. So obviously treating and getting rid of fleas is really important to prevent some of these diseases.

Megan (06:10.447)
well.

Megan (06:30.711)
I concur.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (06:32.017)
Have you, on the holistic side of things, have you found any therapies that have been effective to treat or prevent fleas?

Megan (06:41.635)
Yeah, that's a great question. So as I mentioned in my introduction, I tend to have leaned more towards the integrative holistic side of things with my own animals. But, you know, I mentioned to you earlier, Ted, that I feel like the climate is very polarizing in the pet industry. it's either you have people in the school of thought where they have

extremely conventional and only willing to do surgeries and give pills and prescribe prescription diets. And then you have the people on, you know, super far Eastern med, like holistic, if you will, who don't believe in ever going to the vet or ever using pharmaceuticals or ever seeking intervention. And I think both of those stances are pretty dogmatic, pun intended.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (07:25.969)
Mm

Dr. Ted Burghardt (07:32.335)
Yeah. I like that.

Megan (07:35.146)
And I think that it would be really nice if we could find a middle ground where we utilize holistic medicine, but also realize that there's a very big, very necessary place for conventional Western medicine as well. And that's something that I wish my peers would be more open to because with fleas and ticks in particular, you can try holistic remedies.

And I always suggest starting there, right? If someone comes in with fleas, I'm going to give you the least invasive options first so that you can try those and feel good about it. And then you, if those don't work, you may have to consider escalating that to the, I guess it's a pharmaceutical because you have to prescribe it, the internal stuff. Would you consider that a pharmaceutical? Okay. So we always like,

Dr. Ted Burghardt (08:28.995)
Yes, Medication.

Megan (08:32.031)
Yeah, well, like start with the holistic stuff. And then I think where I can share my story and hopefully this lands with some people and resonates because I'm as crunchy as they come. Like, you know me, Ted, like I rarely give antibiotics to my dogs. Like I try to do limited vaccinations like only when needed. And I tend to err on that side more. And so

Dr. Ted Burghardt (08:43.586)
You

Megan (08:59.018)
With the holistic flea and tick prevention, I have taken it to the point where it's actually caused my dog some harm. It wasn't egregious by any means, but I tried to cure my dog's fleas by using only holistic options. And it got to the point where I was washing and cleaning and using diatomaceous earth and I was not getting the results I needed and my dog was still itching himself.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (09:16.324)
Mm

Dr. Ted Burghardt (09:26.449)
Hmm.

Megan (09:28.353)
crazy. And not only did the fleas not go away, but because I waited so long to seek intervention, I actually ended up, my dog got tapeworm from consuming the fleas and then it progressed to an even bigger issue. And I ended up feeling really bad because I had to watch my dog kind of suffer. And I realized that was at the hands of, of me, you know, because I could have solved the problem a lot sooner.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (09:40.752)
Yeah.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (09:54.0)
Hmm.

Megan (09:56.786)
and I was being just really stubborn and really dug my heels in and it was more on the like polarizing side of I'm only going to use holistic options and I'm never going to ask for help. And to be honest with you, that was a poor choice and I've learned from it. And so I don't think there's anything wrong with being holistic minded and also realizing that you can utilize a vet to help your pets. That's the beauty of this whole thing.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (10:07.429)
Right.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (10:25.183)
Right. There's a place for both, it seems like.

Megan (10:26.011)
And so, yeah, there's a place for both. And I think people just need to be more open -minded in that regard. And I'm living proof that you can do both and your pets are going to be just fine, if not better for that.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (10:42.673)
That's great. I totally agree with you.

Megan (10:43.825)
And so very long windedly, I know you asked me what I tend to recommend and there's a variety of things that we recommend here at Pet Power. And I really love to use these as a preventative because once you actually have a couple fleas or an infestation, a lot of these holistic options are gonna fall short.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (10:55.697)
Mm

Dr. Ted Burghardt (11:08.229)
Right?

Megan (11:09.623)
So for me, we like to use Baltic Amber colors, which is raw Baltic Amber, and that creates a static on the coat that the fleas and ticks don't like. So we wear Baltic Amber colors here year round. I like to use topical essential oil sprays like Wonderside, which have lemongrass and peppermint and rosemary essential oils, which are

very noxious to the fleas and ticks and they don't like to be around those scents. So the idea is that they're not going to jump on and hitch a ride because all these essential oils are covering the dog's coat and skin, which are very benign to the dog, but the fleas and ticks don't like them. and then, so we have the collar, we have the topical, and then I also like to attack it internally with,

Dr. Ted Burghardt (11:37.819)
Hmm.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (11:51.941)
Right.

Megan (12:02.492)
you can do something as simple as fresh garlic and you can chop up a clove and you know, give that to your dogs once a day, twice a day. Mind you, we're not using a lot of garlic because in large quantities, garlic, just like onions can be toxic to dogs, but in very small quantities, it actually acts as an antibacterial, antifungal, and also makes their blood taste.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (12:18.715)
Yep.

Megan (12:28.079)
nasty so the fleas will bite and say, ooh, I didn't like the taste of that. I'm out. Peace out. know? And then last but not least, when we're in the summer months and we're at the height of flea and tick season, we definitely want to be using bathing as our best friend. So I ramp up the baths. I am cleaning my house more often and using the vacuum because they don't like the

Dr. Ted Burghardt (12:34.235)
Right. very cool.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (12:49.851)
Mm -hmm.

Megan (12:55.824)
The fleas don't like the vacuum action. So we're bathing and we're cleaning a lot more often in flea season than we are during the winter. And that seems to help kind of hedge our bets against the fleas and keep our furry friends flea free throughout the summer. So those are just a couple of things that we recommend. And we, this summer, knock on wood, were able to stay flea free without using any intervention, but...

Dr. Ted Burghardt (13:04.507)
Mm -hmm.

Megan (13:24.558)
It was a streak of luck for us this year.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (13:27.377)
Well, thanks for sharing that. I think in medicine in general, the main goal is prevention, know, and keeping the fleas away to start with. A dental disease, you know, prevent it before it starts. Just be in front of those issues. However, once the fleas are there, then to me, that's when I progress and definitely recommend a preventive.

Megan (13:31.172)
Yeah.

Megan (13:45.166)
Yep.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (13:56.977)
And the best way to prevent fleas and kill them once they're there is to stop the whole life cycle. The adult flea laying the larva, we want to prevent all of that. And that's really the best way to keep them from coming back. And that's kind of the goal of some of the newer medications that are out now. Newer meaning last 10 years or so. There's a class of drugs called the isoxazoline.

which includes NexGuard and Semperica Trio. And these have been very effective, I've found, for preventing fleas. They also prevent ticks. And Semperica Trio prevents heartworms, roundworms, and hookworms. So those are kind of my go -to treatment options. Some of the older ones that have been around for a long time that you can get over the counter, including Frontline and Advantage.

don't seem to be as effective anymore. And it almost seems like the fleas have adapted and are able to kind of survive through some of those treatments. my recommendation is some of these new prescription, newer flea prevention prescription products that seem the most effective.

Megan (15:16.309)
Yeah, have you ever had anybody come in who's using prevention like the ones you mentioned and not seeing results?

Dr. Ted Burghardt (15:24.057)
Absolutely. We've actually carried a few products that we've switched because we just weren't seeing effective results. Don't want to throw any products under the bus, but my favorites are NexGuard and Semperica Trio. For someone that's using a different product or an over -the -counter product and they're not seeing fleas and their dog's happy, continue on if it's effective.

Megan (15:32.503)
Mm

Megan (15:52.994)
Mm -hmm.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (15:53.829)
But if it's not, then there are some other newer, better options.

Megan (15:57.982)
What would you say to somebody like myself? mean, right now, I'm like I said, I'm more logical and more even keeled. But like me five years ago, had I come into you to seek help for a flea and tick problem, and I was really resistant to going on some of these pharmaceuticals, what are the things that you can say to a pet parent who's in my shoes to...

help ease their anxiety, I guess, or ease their worries about potentially using some of these drugs? Like, are, efficacy -wise, safety -wise, like, what would you tell somebody in my shoes about these drugs?

Dr. Ted Burghardt (16:35.493)
Yeah, these newer medications have a lot of research behind them. There always is a potential that your pet could have a reaction and there are a variety of different types of reactions, but in general, most pets do very well with these products. think education plays a huge factor in just understanding all of the problems that fleas can cause and how difficult it can be to get rid of them without these...

Megan (16:52.385)
Mm

Megan (17:00.745)
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (17:05.049)
medications. So I try to focus on, you know, understanding the flea life cycle. And really we have limited options from there once there's a flea infestation and turning toward a safe medicine, I think is the best route.

Megan (17:18.438)
Definitely.

Megan (17:25.59)
I agree with you. And I gotta say that one of the things I see the most, because mind you, I have 20 to 30 people walking through my doors every day and they tend to share a lot about their dogs with me, even though I'm not a medical professional, right? I'm still hearing a lot of their struggles, their successes. And this summer in particular, I would have people come in who...

Dr. Ted Burghardt (17:40.507)
Yeah.

Megan (17:50.485)
are with their pets 24 -7 and don't even notice that they have a flea problem, because it might only be one or two fleas, but they'll come in and they'll say, my pet's super itchy out of nowhere. And I kind of want to default usually to say, like, it's probably fleas, not the food, you know, because you didn't make any food changes, this came out of nowhere. And they'll look at me and say, no, no, no, I don't see any fleas, I haven't seen any, it's not fleas. And I said, do you mind if I check with my comb?

Dr. Ted Burghardt (18:00.795)
Right.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (18:07.076)
Mm -hmm.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (18:20.017)
Mm -hmm.

Megan (18:20.245)
So this might be really good information for pet parents listening. If you have a flea comb on hand at your house, it is one of the best tools that you could have to get those, to capture the fleas and to potentially stop an infestation is knowing if you actually have fleas or don't have fleas. And just because you don't see a flea with a naked eye doesn't mean that they haven't been bit by one or have one on them.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (18:39.899)
Right. Good point.

Megan (18:49.268)
And so generally speaking, I'll take out my flea comb and I will comb at the base of the tail, like right above their butt basically at the base of the tail. And I will comb at least, I don't know, I would say 12 to 30 strokes. If I don't find fleas right away, I continue combing because sometimes I miss on the first couple. And so that is a really effective tool for you to self -diagnose in a way and see if...

Dr. Ted Burghardt (18:56.089)
Mm

Dr. Ted Burghardt (19:10.736)
Yeah.

Megan (19:18.227)
the fleas are actually the root of your problem or not, and you could potentially see, I have one. Well, let's get on it right now versus waiting till we have 20. You know what I mean?

Dr. Ted Burghardt (19:27.501)
Absolutely. Yep. Yeah. And the more fleas, the more, you know, more chance for skin issues, more chance for tapeworms. So it's definitely better to get on it right away.

Megan (19:39.003)
Yeah, and then what's the treatment for if you do think that your pet has tapeworm? What are some of the signs or symptoms that it's escalated into an actual tapeworm versus just the flea? Like, what should we be looking for with the dog?

Dr. Ted Burghardt (19:53.473)
Yeah, good question. A lot of times they'll have either soft stool or even diarrhea. And with tapeworms, little proglottids, little small sections of the tapeworm actually shed off and come out through the intestine. And so sometimes you can actually see the little proglotted tapeworm segment around the rectum or in the stool.

Megan (20:17.508)
Yum. gross.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (20:21.017)
They only shed about once every three days. So you may not see it all the time, but you know, soft stool over time. If there's a real, real parasite issue, they may lose weight, you know, look unthrifty, have GI upset, those kinds of things.

Megan (20:23.964)
Yeah.

Megan (20:40.625)
Okay, so we should also be looking out for that because it's very plausible case in point. If you have fleas that your dog could easily also get tapeworms. So there's now two pests that we want to keep away and make sure that we're using that preventative so that our dogs aren't exposed to these nasty creatures.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (20:57.699)
Absolutely. I usually recommend doing a fecal antigen test, which looks for parasites, including flea tapeworms. We can diagnose that. Yeah.

Megan (21:06.777)
Amazing. Love that. Sweet. Well, fleas are pretty gnarly and I don't wish them upon anybody. But if you find yourself in a situation where you have found a flea or believe that your dog has flea allergy dermatitis, what's the next steps? Like, you can come to me and you can try the holistic or, you know, you can go straight to Dr. B and get on the good stuff.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (21:15.088)
No.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (21:32.367)
Right, yeah, exactly. as far as a holistic environmental treatment, vacuuming seems to be one of the best things we can do to not only remove fleas, but also any larva that could be hiding in the carpet or the rug. So I always recommend vacuuming consistently.

Megan (21:41.829)
Mm

Megan (21:49.68)
Totally. Yep. Vacuuming. And then the other thing that I have found too, just one more thing not to go on another rant, but people who have backyards have a really hard time getting rid of fleas I've seen because they think about the home environment, but they're not considering the fleas living in the backyard as well. So they're taking really good care of their home and they're being diligent about cleaning only to have their dogs.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (22:05.914)
Yeah.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (22:13.243)
Right?

Megan (22:19.285)
reinfested in the backyard. so just kind of word to the wise, like dog parks during the summer, your backyard, the dog beaches, these are all places that are going to be high levels of concern during the summer months because the fleas are going to be rampant in these areas.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (22:37.873)
Absolutely, it's a good point. Yeah. Well, this was a great conversation. Thanks for joining me today. I constantly tell clients to go check out your studio in Encinitas and all the great stuff and great knowledge that you guys have at a Petpower Studio.

Megan (22:46.093)
Yeah, of course.

Megan (22:56.152)
Thank you. We do the same. We send people your way all the time and we have lots of happy customers. Yeah.

Dr. Ted Burghardt (23:00.797)
I appreciate it. Thanks so much, Megan. This is great conversation and I look forward to another one with you soon. All right, bye, take care.

Megan (23:07.406)
Sounds good. Bye -bye, Ted.