Your dog should always have regular check-ups to make sure his health is in top shape. The most important place to look at during these check-ups is on the dog’s skin. There are several different types of infestations that can occur from parasites like the flea, ticks, lice, etc.
A sure sign that your dog has a skin problem that needs to be addressed is excessive itching and scratching. There are some simple and easy ways to find out which type of insect is causing the dogs skin to itch, of which we will cover in this article. The most common and most annoying problem are fleas.
The flea is an extremely common parasite. This insect not only is troublesome for dogs but also most any other animals can be plagued by them. Their bites are irritating and they live off the action of sucking the blood from its host.
To make matters worse, a dog may develop a severe allergy from the flea’s saliva. This allergy can cause them to scratch frantically which makes their skin very sore and even bleed at times.
In order to check to see if there is a flea problem with your dog you can run a fine toothed comb over the dog’s fur. This simple trick will catch a few of the fleas into the comb so that you can confirm that the problem is indeed fleas.
In order to rid your dog of all fleas and the egg’s that they lay you are going to have to do a lot more than just treat the dog. The first thing that you need to do is to vacuum the carpet thoroughly. Fleas tend to move towards the edges so pay particular attention to cleaning those sections of your floor. The dog’s bedding will have to be washed as well.
You are not finished yet! It is important to spread a powdered household flea killer throughout your carpet and vacuum shortly after. Do not keep the vacuum bag that you used to vacuum this powder and the dead fleas stored inside the house after use. You must throw it away to avoid keeping some fleas that may have survived and will lay more eggs in your carpet.
Now it is time to treat your dog. Most people purchase flea treatment from the store and do this task by themselves but it is advisable to see a vet. A vet may use any number of particular systems to kill the fleas. One way is to spray a solution onto the dog coat. This will keep the dog from having an infestation for months.
A second option that your vet may give you is to either inject an anti-flea drug into their system or your pet can take the drug in tablet form. This treatment will keep the dog free from fleas for up to one year and totally eradicates the need for liquid solutions and powders.
We hope that you have enjoyed this little tip on treating your dog for fleas. Please check back periodically for additional information to help you better raise your family dog.