Collar and itchy

Question
Hi.  My family bought a female shih-tsu/bichon cross at 7 weeks of age.  We named her Maya, she's adorable. So far so good.  We bought a collar for her so that we can take her outside to pee on a lead (both nylon), which is going well too.  She frequently scratches the area where the collar is though.  Is this normal until she gets used to the collar?  Or should we take it off?  She also scratches other areas, could she already have fleas?  we bathed her with oatmeal and aloe shampoo, could she be allergic?

Answer
Hi Lara, yes to both the fleas and the allergy.
Fleas are not repeled by shampoo. It drowns all the ones on her, but more will just hop on.
I use Frontline on my dogs.
Flea allergies are the most common, but they can be very serious.
They get an allergy flareup from just one flea bite.
When they have the allergy, they can get an infection and run a temperature, and it can really progress into a serious illness because of the internal infection.
See your Vet about getting her on Frontline.
I have tried Advantage on several dogs, but it is just not as effective as Frontline.
One treatment once a month keeps the fleas off of them.
Charlotte