The most common parasite affecting pet dogs is the common dog flea. If you have a dog, at some point you will have fleas in the house as well. When this happened, most folks want to completely rid fleas fom their home.
The fleas themselves are very small and brown. Fleas move very quickly and are tricky to catch and squash. That, however is simply the beginning of problems when you get a flea infestation. Below we will learn a little more about fleas and how you can start to rid fleas from your dog.
Fleas feed on blood, yours, your dog’s blood, and any other animals in the house.The life cycle of a flea is four stages from eggs to the flea itself and can progress rapidly in the right circumstances. When you consider that an adult flea is capable of producing up to a thousand eggs a day and those eggs quickly become egg-laying adults themselves Then you can see how just one flea can become a big problem very quickly!
So how can we tell if our dogs have fleas?
A dog with a fleas will tend scratch almost constantly, especially in these places: the ears, the base of the tail, the belly, and the the skin between its leg and belly.
The saliva rather than the bite will cause the itching, and some dogs have a genuine allergy to this saliva (as opposed to a standard irritation). Dogs with allergies suffer much more significant negative reactions to a flea infestation, and usually develop “hot spots”. These are areas of sore, red, skin caused by the flea saliva and can bleed and become infected easily. Constant scratching may cause the dog to develop bald spots too. It is important to check your dog by grooming with a special flea comb (available from vets, petstores or pharmacies). While you are combing his fur you may notice flea droppings – like tiny black pepper grounds. This can be confirmed by wiping the comb onto some white paper. The droppings will show red when squashed onto the paper.
Even if your dog shows no eveidence of having fleas, you should prevent an infestation instead. If you are reading this article out of curiosity and there are not fleas on your dog, then this is what to do: Scheduled flea treatment is the best prevention. Use prescribed treatment products according to a calendar and stick to the schedule. A vet will inform you of the most effective treatment for your particular dog, given his size, age and weight.
OK, so maybe its a little late for that and you have identified that the dog has a flea problem. Well, actually, you have a household problem that you will need to deal with but the important thing is not to panic just work through the steps methodically and you will rid fleas from your life. Also remember there is no shame in getting a flea infestation, it can happen to anyone with a pet.
Not only will you need to treat your dog but you will also need to treat it’s bedding, your bedding, carpets and soft furnishings. Also you will need to look for fleas in the garden and yrad and deal with the problem there too.
Eventually, groom your dog again and check that the problem is going or has gone. Do not stop there! Start the preventative measures mentioned earlier in this article
There are one or two things to remember:
Flea treatments can be quite toxic, make sure that you have the right treatment for the size & age of your dog and do not use more than one type of treatment at any one time.
If there are other animals like cats in the house, they will have to be treated too
Be consistent. If you get halfway through getting rid of the fleas and stop, then they will be back in full force again soon.
The war against fleas is win-able but you need to get the best possible
advice. At Poochdogs, there is a comprehensive how-to guide to rid fleas from your pets, your house, your life! Click on the highlighted text to get it today.
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