Oliver has been scratching for a few weeks and after inspecting him and finding nothing, I suspected it was an allergy to the new kibble I was giving him. Since he eats one meal raw and one meal kibble, I changed him to all raw. This didn't help so I then thought maybe it was the raw chicken so I tried him on turkey. Again didn't help. A week ago I took him to the vet for an eye infection. As his vet was closed during the holidays, I took him to a different vet and also asked about the itching. She looked over him and said it must be some type of allergy. Once his regular vet was open again after New Years day, they called to check up on him as they received a report from the vet I had taken him to. The infection in his eyes is gone but I asked about the itching. They told me to check him over for lice. Throughout the last 3 weeks I have been checking him daily so again that night I checked with a fine comb -- this time I checked dry and then put him in the bathtub and also checked wet. Again I found nothing. The next morning he was itching so I was checking all the spots he was biting/scratching at. Finally I found one little scab like thing and I took it into the vet. They showed me under the microscope -- it was lice! I was relieved to finally have a reason for the scratching and they gave me one dose of Revolution to give him. So he had that Friday evening and I've been cleaning absolutely everything. I have not seen another one on him since but they must be there. I forgot to ask how long until they die off and his itching is relieved -- do any of you know? He goes to the vet in 2 weeks to see if he requires a second dose.

The vet figures he came into contact with this at doggy daycare. I called his daycare (I only take him once every couple of weeks and he hasn't been since all this started) and they said they've had quite a few reports of lice in dogs. I'm a little peeved that they didn't contact everyone to inform them.

Asia had lice a few years ago and luckily it was the type that an oral medication worked on(sorry can't remember what it was called) and although we thoroughly cleaned the house the vet said it wasn't necessary as they don't survive off of the dog. She said there were two types and the other is harder to get rid of and involves bathing with a medicated shampoo and making sure all surfaces are clean which is a pretty overwhelming task if your dog is all over your home. Maybe check back with your vet as to the type he has.

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First, dog lice don't live on people and people lice don't live on dogs. You may get one on you, but they can't survive without their natural host.

The life cycle of lice common to pets is fairly long. Eggs hatch at 7-14 days, nymphs stage is 9-22 days, and adults (egg layers) for 2-3 weeks. What that means is you have a longer span of time for reinfestation. The good news is they don't glue eggs to anything except the hair of their natural host, so it is easy to vaccum them up.

Vaccum, including the car. Clean collars, grooming equipment. Anything you can't clean, bag for 60 days to break the cycle - you want to plan on the longer of the life cycle. The clear trashbags are great because you can see what is in there and won't accidentally toss anything valuable. Lice are sensitive to heat, so hot water and a hot dryer are a must.

Just think of it as early Spring cleaning. Good luck.

Thank you for your replies Joanne & Asia and BajaOklahoma. I was thinking of it as an early spring cleaning and my house looks great! I cleaned my car this morning but then Oliver came for a car ride this afternoon so I guess I'd better do it again. I'll call the vet tomorrow to see what type he has and how quickly the treatment should start working.

No relief yet from the lice. When I called the vet to see how long until Oliver should have some relief, she said that it will take until the next batch of them suck his blood and then they will die, hopefully ending the cycle by not laying more eggs. So no relief yet and last night I noticed a nasty hot spot near his tail after inspecting why he was biting so much. I have not found another louse on him. This is his first hot spot and after searching the forum I went out to a late night drug store and bought some gold bond powder. The hot spot looks much better this morning. I'll call the vet tomorrow to see if he should be coming in sooner than his 2 week follow up this coming Thursday. He was supposed to have his neuter on Tuesday but that's been delayed now until next month.

Lice or MITES? Lola had Mites when I adopted her. She was all itchy and I assumed since she was on a diet of dry purina dog chow that she had allergies... one morning when giving her belly rubs I noticed red raw bumps inside her legs and belly and then A LITTLE BLACK THING smaller than a flea ran across her belly!! I then took the natural approach to getting rid of vermin... and a week later she was and has stayed free of any vermin for over a year and a half. I used neem, chysthathum ( spelling wrong) flower powder and other natural flea type killers.