Fleas are a problem for dogs and their owners alike. Living on the body of your dog, sucking the animal’s blood and laying eggs is what these tiny insects are known to do. If the dog happens to be allergic to fleas (the allergy is technically to the insects’ saliva) it can experience extreme itching, loss of fur in some places, inflammation, and infections and the bites and presence of fleas can also cause the dog to itch. Infestations will go on and on and the fleas will also infest your home, other pets, and can even live on humans which is why they must be dealt with regardless of whether a dog has allergy to flea saliva or not. This means that you can be directly and adversely affected by an uncontrolled flea infestation.
How to Detect Fleas:
If you suspect that your dog has fleas because it’s been scratching more than usual, there are ways to check for their presence. Fleas are brownish in color and they are visible to the naked eye even though they are very small, about an eighth of an inch long. Because they prefer dark places they will try to hide beneath the dog’s fur, under the collar, or on the underbelly. As for their fecal material, it can also be seen on the dog’s coat and looks like multiple black flecks or specks, almost like pepper. When you do find fleas or their droppings, then it is time to treat your dog to get rid of them.
How to Treat Your Dog for Fleas:
While flea collars, powders, and sprays may help to prevent infestations to some extent, they will not help if the dog is already infested. When a dog is infested with fleas, then the female lays eggs at a rate of about thirty per day. What these eggs would do is fall off the dog and into the carpet, soil, or wherever the dog may be. Eventually, they would grow into adult fleas which can then re-infest the dog since they would hatch and pupate these areas. All of the fleas on the dog and in the environment must be killed or the life cycle must be interrupted in order to halt the cycle of all the fleas.
Even though there are several flea treatments available for dogs, an oral medication that will not kill adult fleas, but does kill the eggs and larva is considered as one of the best. What this does is interrupt the flea life cycle and also prevents them from coming back as long as the dog is not continually exposed to new fleas. The source must be cleaned of fleas whether it is the carpet, the environment, or other dogs with which your pet associates if that is happening.
Fleas can be a real nuisance for dogs and their owners, but catching them and treating the dog quickly is the key to eliminating the infestation and preventing the insects’ return.
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