fleas on dogs Archives

fleas on dogs

The dog flea is the common name for Ctenocephalides canis. The dog flea
lives predominantly on dogs and feeds on their blood; however they are also known to transfer onto other house pets, such as cats, and also on to humans.
They are hardy insects which need to be exterminated as soon as possible.

If the dog fleas are left to feed, multiply and move around the house you will need to seek the appropriate means of getting rid of the infestation, and not only is this an arduous task, it also costs a great deal of money and time. Dog fleas have no wings, but an incredible ability to jump over 150 times their own body length and 80 times their body height. This may not sound a lot, considering the dog flea only grows up to 2mm in length, but it means they can transfer from pet to pet and pet to human with little detection. Therefore, if you find that your house pet dog is infected, then it would be wise to also check the area where the pet sleeps and also any family members that have come into close contact with the dog.

Your dog could have contracted fleas from a number of sources, so if you can determine this as well it will help you avoid such contacts in the future. If you believe you have dog fleas in your home (major signs could be the dog repetitively itching, scratching and biting specific parts of their body and a reddening of the pet’s skin), not only should you be concerned a
about having the dog fleas removed from your pet immediately, you should also be sure to conduct a thorough search of your home, the area that the dog inhabits and also anywhere the dog may have been (in the car, in the yard, in the bedrooms, on the furniture, etc).

Fleas can multiply at an alarming rate and also have the ability to carry diseases, tapeworm and cause dermatitis.
If the dog fleas have been caught by wild animals or strays, you will want to look after your dog as soon as possible for its long-term health. You can rid your dog of fleas with an array of products, easily purchased on the internet – but be sure to also pay the same amount of attention to your home through different means of flea control.

Preparation is very important as you may have to perform multiple tasks in synch with each other. Dogs can be given flea combs, collars, baths, sprays, powders, wipes, shampoos, grooming, dips, repellents and medicines/pills amongst other control methods and the home could be treated with an appropriate fogger or flea bomb. Remember that you must target both the adult fleas and all immature stages of their life cycle.
To do so, you need to use an adulticide (for adults) and an insect growth regulator (for eggs, larvae, and pupae).

There are many techniques and methods for getting rid of fleas on your dog. If you are uncertain which is best then you could always consult your local veterinarian or ask friends and family (forums are also a good source of information). You can buy products over the counter and directly from the internet, however, the chemicals and insecticides used must always be suitable for your type of pet, so ensure you fully read the label and instructions and be confident before you apply any treatments.

Some products are harmful to other pets and humans so always read the contents/ingredients. Your veterinarian will be able to advise the best product for your type of dog so it may be worth giving them a quick call for professional advice.

Once you have treated your dog fleas, it would also be a good idea to look into ways of flea prevention and control for the future. Use flea repellents on your dogs and ensure they maintain a healthy nutritional diet so they are less appealing to fleas. You could always add some natural flea repelling supplements to your dog meals, such as garlic – but understand the correct dosages as too much could be harmful.

Fleas on Dogs Removal Guide

There are 3000 kinds of fleas, including a dog’s flea, but the most widespread is a cat’s flea, which lives on the dogs with great pleasure. So how to rid out of fleas on the dogs?

How do the fleas appear on the dogs?

The fleas don’t live on the dogs. All warm-blooded creatures, including people, dogs, and cats play the part of a moving restaurant for the fleas. An adult flea jumps on the dog for eating. It clings to the hair, bites through the skin and sucks the blood with the help of the short mustaches similar to the needles around the mouth. Several fleas can have a desire to bite at one and the same time.

To check the presence of fleas you should put your dog on the sheet of paper and comb it with your fingers. Then you should collect the dirt with a cottonwool tampon: fleas’ traces, while dissolving, form the stains of dried up blood.

Being on a dog, they copulate, and females postpone hundreds of eggs. 8 hours later the postponed eggs fall from the hair. From each egg hatches a flea larva, which grows the whole next week. Having reached 5 mm, the larva turns to a cocoon in which there are all necessary organs — brains, nervous system, digestive organs, — and remains in such condition, until a new body is formed. The adult flea can live about 8 months, waiting for a dog or a cat, on which it is possible for it to move for eating. When it feels a vibration, the flea jumps. A flea life cycle from egg to egg lasts about 2 years.

How dangerous the fleas for a dog are.

The infection with fleas is especially dangerously for those dogs which are sensitive to the stings. In certain cases, fleas also become a source of infection with worms.

The dogs are in the risk group.

All the dogs run the danger of risk. The animal can catch fleas from other dogs, cats, and other animals, for example from hedgehogs or rabbits or direct from the environment, where the above-listed animals live.

A flea’s life cycle.

In this or that kind, fleas spend their life mostly living on the earth and jumping on warm-blooded animals (for example, dogs) for eating and breeding.

How to act.

Check up your dog on fleas on dogs symptoms regularly. To do this you should put your dog on the sheet of paper and comb it with your fingers. The parts of dirt will fall on the paper.
Make a cottonwool tampon wet with water and erase the dirt from the paper, then wait for some minutes. Look at the tampon carefully: all the dry traces of fleas’ life activity will start to dissolve and some brown stain will appear around them. It would be traces of the sucked blood.
Having defined the signs of fleas on the dog, it is necessary to start struggling against them immediately. Process a dog and the house with the insecticide and make a plan of further actions.
If a dog has a strong reaction to the flea bites, it will need an emergency medical aid as it can scratch itself till bleeding because of the strong itch.
The symptoms of infection with fleas are very similar to the signs of other diseases of skin, therefore medical examination will be rather careful. The veterinarian will do the test for checking the presence of the fleas, which is described above, and if a dog has an allergy to stings, he will make the skin tests in addition and then he will appoint a corresponding treatment.
It is possible that you may have to treat other skin diseases, such as pyodermatosis, which a dog got because of the scratching.

Fleas on dogs home remedies. You should:

Regularly clean that spot, where your dog sleeps, with the vacuum cleaner and, its carpet and cage, and all the house and round it as well (if you put in a garbage bag of the vacuum cleaner an antiflea powder all fleas, who have got there, be lost).
Regularly spray the house with a spray from adult fleas. There are also some means which stop the development of flea eggs, but you should use them only 3 times a year.
Regularly to process a dog’s hair with highly effective anti fleas means.

WARNING. The fleas on dogs home remedies represent the poisonous chemicals. Use them very carefully, according to the instruction.

It is dangerous to use two anti fleas remedies at the same time if the doctor didn’t advise it to you.

Mostly in all the houses, where pets live, there are fleas. Having sucked the blood, the insects jump from the dog and wait for another victim including people. In case you are sensitive to the fleas, you ought to process your house with anti fleas remedies constantly.

How to kill the fleas on dogs

It is possible to define fleas at dogs by their behavior and reaction. The dog becomes very irritable. It sharply and aggressively reacts on the environment. Quite often the dog loses appetite and it can even lose some weight. The dog is constantly disturbed by an itch that involves scratching which can turn into ulcers. The ulcers can be a source of infections which lead to other consequences.
The fleas are also the carriers of such disease like Dipilidioz. It happens when dogs bite out the fleas. It is necessary to consider that this disease difficult to treat, what is more it extends on people but in this case the infection occurs in some other way.

HOW TO KILL THE FLEAS ON DOGS

The best and long-term medicines for killing fleas on dogs are sprays and drops. These medicines differ in using. With the spray from fleas all the hair of an animal should be processed and drops from fleas should be processed directly on the top of shoulder of the dog. Actually these medicines have identical effect. The expiration date of the spray and drops lasts from 2 day to 4-5 weeks.

What else kills fleas on dogs is a collar from fleas. The collar has longer expiration date but in its turn it isn’t a medicine. It is necessary to mention that if the sprays and drops from fleas treat an animal from the fleas, the collar only frightens them off.

Actually such option as the collar from fleas necessary to use as a prevention, nothing more. There are chemical and biological collars. The chemical collars better not to use for puppies, pregnant and feeding dogs, in this case there are biological options.

To kill fleas on dogs use an antiflea shampoo. The shampoos from fleas have the same effect as collars.

To get rid of fleas on dogs it will be simpler if you use the means from fleas in a complex. To start with the dog should be processed with preparations and cured, then wash it up well with shampoo, and in end put the collar on it.

After you found fleas on the dog and began treatment don’t stop only on methods of treatment and preventive measures. It is necessary to carry out the complete processing of a room, floors and dog’s places.

The floor coverings should be vacuumed and a vacuum bag should be destroyed. After all the actions, given above, are executed and you managed to get rid of fleas on the dog, it is necessary to treat your dog from the worms. It fell out that the fleas are active carriers of helminthes.

The veterinarians advise to do the processing of your pet’s hair every period since March till November. Use drops from fleas every month during this period.

Try to prevent such problems to your pet and it will pay you back with the devotion and fidelity.

The natural approach to flea control

Fleas! Everyone hates these blood-sucking parasites. Our war against fleas is epic and ongoing, but each of us must fight our own individual battles. At Only Natural Pet Store, we want to give you the best weapons: only what works, and only what is safe for you, your pets, and the environment.

“There are three fronts in every battle against fleas: the pet(s), the home, and the outdoor environment. But before we sound the battle cry, we need to know our enemy. “

1. Why the Flea is Such a Fierce Enemy

Fleas have a number of strategic advantages in this war:

1. Masters of Maneuvers – Fleas are tiny, hard-shelled insects with incredible muscle power in their hind legs; they can jump 4-5 feet horizontally (or nearly a foot straight up). They’re fast. They’re adaptable. And they’re hard to kill.
2. Stormtrooper Mentality – Fleas come with three basic marching orders, or biological imperatives: to survive, to eat, and to reproduce. They are entirely devoted to these orders. And they are very, very good at all of them. They are especially good at reproducing; an adult female lays about 20 eggs at a time. In her lifetime (depending on conditions, up to 1-1/2 years), she may produce hundreds, even thousands of eggs.
3. Effective Recruitment – The female flea typically lays her tiny white eggs in dark, damp places. If she lays any eggs on your pet, they will fall off…but they could travel all around the house or yard first. Within their hiding places, the eggs will hatch in about a week (although they can delay hatching until conditions are ideal) into larvae. The larvae then pupate by spinning cocoons, in which they can finish their development in a week, but they can survive in their cocoons for up to 6 months.
4. Subterfuge Specialists – For every single adult flea you see, there are about 10 cocoons, 35 larvae and 50 eggs hiding in carpets, pet beds, cracks, corners, and furniture.
5. Weapons of Mass Annoyance – Flea bites are itchy because, when fleas bite to feed, they inject blood thinning compounds to prevent clotting during dinner. Not only do these anti-clotting proteins cause itching, but they can also cause the immune system to mount an allergic reaction. Flea-allergic dermatitis is one of the most common skin complaints in pets. For an allergic animal, just one flea bite can cause a massive and prolonged reaction. Fleas can also transmit diseases such as bubonic plague, typhus, Lyme disease, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, as well as tapeworms.
6. Efficient Defenses – Most chemicals, including bombs and sprays, kill only adult fleas or adults and larvae. That leaves thousands of tough little eggs and cocoons just waiting for the proper conditions, when they’ll renew their assault once more. Fleas are also well defended against famine conditions—one blood meal can keep an adult flea alive up to two months.

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“Fleas come with three basic marching orders, or biological imperatives: to survive, to eat, and to reproduce.”

2. Natural Defensive Strategies for Pets

Inner Defenses

Like other parasites, fleas target less healthy hosts, as well as puppies and kittens with undeveloped immune systems. Therefore, the first defense for our pets is to optimize their health and immunity.

If you’ve read any of the other articles on our site, you’ve heard this before: Diet is the foundation of health. After years of experience and research, we have come to believe that the best diet for most dogs and cats is a biologically appropriate raw food (“BARF”) diet. However, not everyone is comfortable with or can manage to feed a raw diet; but it is important to feed the very best diet you can. This means top quality commercial pet foods that contain NO by-products, unnamed meat meals or bone meal, chemical preservatives, or other artificial additives. Meat should be the primary protein. Dogs can be fed a mix of canned and dry foods, but cats need moisture in their diets, and should be fed mostly or only canned foods, or reconstituted dehydrated or freeze-dried foods. Avoid carbohydrates, especially corn and wheat, as much as possible for cats.

Garlic and B-vitamins seem to make blood less attractive to fleas, so many guardians supplement with garlic and brewers yeast during flea season. Sensitive animals can develop an allergy to brewer’s yeast, so monitor your pet to guard against worsening itchiness (pruritis).

“The first defense for our pets is to optimize their health and immunity. Experience and research shows that the best diet for most dogs and cats is a biologically appropriate raw food (“BARF”) diet.”

Outer Defenses

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The ultimate weapon in the battle with fleas is the Flea Comb. It is the best method to discover whether fleas are present. Comb through your pet’s fur and gather a bit of hair and dirt. Then put this between two damp white paper towels and press them together – if the “dirt” creates rusty reddish spots on the paper towel, then a flea has been there (the dirt is actually flea feces). If you keep combing (especially around the tummy and tail), you will likely trap some of them in the comb. Drown them in SOAPY water – fleas have been known to jump out of plain water. Daily flea combing may sound tedious, but it is very helpful while you are working on your companion’s health and taking environmental action.

Many topical sprays and shampoos claim to repel or kill fleas. However, many of them contain chemicals and pesticides with serious toxic potential. Cats are particularly susceptible to such products, because they are constantly grooming themselves and ingesting whatever is on their fur. Even sprays or chemicals from the dog can transfer to furniture or rugs, and from there to the cat. So, be extremely cautious with chemicals.

“Many topical sprays and shampoos claim to repel or kill fleas. However, many of them contain chemicals and pesticides with serious toxic potential.”

Safe flea-repellents for dogs

We recommend essential oil-based, non-chemical products to help keep fleas away from your dog. Spray and shampoo which contain essential oils not only help repel fleas, they can also help soothe and heal irritated skin. Herbal Defense Oil Blend is another good repellent for use on dogs. You can put a drop on the collar, and dilute it into a spray to mist your dog. Combining a little essential oil repellent spray with your flea combing is a great way to both spread the essential oils throughout the coat and give you extra help with catching the fleas. Pay particular attention to the base of the tail, and under the legs and belly on dogs. When using any strong-smelling product, keep in mind that your dog or cat has a much stronger sense of smell than you do, so don’t overdo it.

Geraniol is an extremely effective flea repellant derived from geranium flowers. Geraniums have long been planted around homes and in window boxes to keep pests like fleas and mosquitoes away. Going forward with this idea, scientists were able to extract geraniol, an oil that is 400% more effective than citronella at repelling fleas, ticks and mosquitoes. Only Natural Pet Herbal Defense Squeeze-On is an effective, safe and long lasting option for your dog.

Safe flea repellent for cats

Neem products are also good for cats; comb in especially around the neck, chest, and belly. Or, spray a small amount of Only Natural Pet Herbal Defense Spray onto a cloth and wipe it on lightly. Follow all directions carefully for best results. Never use full-strength essential oils directly on cats (spray products are already diluted to safe levels). Geraniol is one of the few oils that is safe for use with cats. Geraniol’s repelling power is proven to be effective for fleas, ticks and mosquitoes and unlike other herbal spot-ons, it feartures a sweet, enjoyable smell. Only Natural Pet Herbal Defense Squeeze-On for Cats is a great, long lasting flea repellant option for your cat.

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For killing fleas once they are on your pet,

we recommend natural flea powders. Only Natural Pet All-in-One Flea Remedy is a powder made from calcium carbonate, geraniol and peppermint oil that is safe for use on dogs and cats as well as around the home. It kills fleas in all life stages by dehydrating them, a method that is not only non-toxic to pets, humans and the environment, also a method that fleas cannot develop an immunity to, as they do with all other pesticides over time. It is a very fine powder and a little goes a long way. Suggested use is approximately 1 teaspoon per 10 lbs. of body weight. Work it in well with your fingers, or use a flea comb to distribute it. It needs to be on the skin for it to affect the fleas.

Why not use flea collars?

Most flea collars are treated with chemical pesticides that you do NOT want your pet wearing around their neck all the time! There are some natural flea collars, like Only Natural Pet EasyDefense Flea & Tick Tag, available that will help in environments where fleas are not severe, or perhaps on an indoor cat, but you generally don’t want to rely on them as your sole line of defense if you live an area with a large flea population.

Flea Tags – Definitely worth a try!

There are some amazing new products that use tags that hang from your pet’s collar and that repel fleas based on energy fields. It sounds very “out there”, but they work really well for many animals and are far and away the easiest way to keep fleas off your pet. It is definitely worth trying a flea tag, because they work for most pets, and some for as long as two years!

What about “spot-on” flea products?

Chemical spot-on flea products contain powerful and potentially dangerous pesticides, and should be considered a last resort for animals with severe flea allergies. An excellent review of these products was featured in the Whole Dog Journal, “Are ‘Spot-On’ Flea Killers Safe?” in the February 2002 issue; despite its age, the article remains relevant. “All pesticides pose some degree of health risk to humans and animals. Despite advertising claims to the contrary, both over-the-counter and veterinarian-prescribed flea-killing topical treatments are pesticides that enter our companions’ internal organs (livers, kidneys), move into their intestinal tracts, and are eventually eliminated in their feces and urine.”

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“The chemicals used in chemical spot-on flea products will readily transfer to human skin when the animal is handled. This can be particularly dangerous to children.”

Chemical spot-ons can induce severe adverse reactions, including excessive salivation, skin rashes, tremors, hyperactivity, stiffened limbs, seizures, and death. Consider that to be deemed safe for use on our companions, these products only need be tested for 3-, 13- or 52-week intervals. Higher doses are used to compensate for the shorter testing periods. NO STUDIES have been done on the LONG TERM effects of applying these pesticides to animals repeatedly over long periods. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received so many adverse event reports (more than 44,000 in 2008 alone) that they have opened an investigation into the safety of all registered spot-on products. Illness and death in dogs and cats were reported for every one of them. The EPA is currently reviewing labels and other data and will be issuing restrictions and requirements shortly.

3. Defending the Home Environment

Remember that most of the flea population lives and develops in your house and yard, not on your pet. Treating the environment is essential if you want to win this war. However, flea “bombs” and other products do not kill all life stages of the flea, and are generally made with chemical pesticides, which are NOT something you want to spread over every nook and cranny of your house.

“Remember that most of the flea population lives and develops in your house and yard, not on your pet.”

Carpets, Flooring, Bedding, and Furniture

Vacuuming and washing hard-surfaced floors often – daily during the height of flea season – is the least toxic way to control fleas. This will remove most of the adults, and some eggs and larvae. Keep in mind the larvae don’t like light, so vacuum under furniture and around baseboards, anywhere near your pet’s favorite places to hang out. Remember to either vacuum some Only Natural Pet All-in-One Flea Remedy or an herbal flea powder into the vacuum bag to kill any fleas in the bag, or immediately remove the bag and discard it in a sealed plastic bag after use. Otherwise, they will just jump out of the bag and back into your home.

Vacuuming alone can’t control severe infestations, and not everyone has the time to clean all the floors daily. That’s when we recommend using one or more of the natural “powders” available for ridding your home of fleas. The least toxic products are diatomaceous earth and boric acid products, which both work by dessicating (drying out) the fleas, larvae, pupae, and eggs, which kills them.

Only Natural Pet All-in-One Flea Remedy can be used on carpeting, on pet bedding, on furniture and on hard floors (and on your pets – see above). It is a very fine powder, so it gets into cracks and crevices on hardwood, tile, and linoleum floors easily. You can work it in with a broom or carpet rake so it creates less dust when walked on. It acts more quickly than boric acid products, and a difference in the flea population can be noticeable in 24–48 hours. Calcium carbonate, however, does not last as long as the boric acid products. Monthly applications are recommended in areas with heavy flea populations, especially during the height of flea season.

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Boric acid products, such as Fleabusters and Fleago, work in a similar fashion. When applied correctly, they offer protection for up to a year or more, as they remain deep in the carpet and furniture fibers. Fleabusters may also be used on hard floors, as the powder is fine enough to reach into cracks and crevices well. All visible powder must be worked into the carpet, floor or furniture well with a broom or carpet rake, and any remaining visible powder should be vacuumed up. Boric acid kills flea larvae, but is not as effective at killing the adults, so visible results may take 2-6 weeks, as the adult population dies off. During the initial weeks after application, it is helpful to vacuum frequently to remove adult fleas. Boric acid products are more toxic than diatomaceous earth products as well, so you should not use them directly on dogs or cats, or in areas where small children play.

With all flea powder products, follow package directions carefully. Natural flea control powders are drying agents, and their dust can irritate nasal passages and lungs if inhaled directly. Avoid overzealous shaking of the container while spreading the powder onto the floor so you don’t create clouds of dust. If you have any questions about the application process with any of our products, please call or email and we will be happy to help.

Bedding

Pet beds are a favorite flea hang-out. Wash your pet’s bedding in hot, soapy water at least weekly. You can even add some flea repellent essential oils to the water for extra flea-zapping power. Sprinkle a little Only Natural Pet All-in-One Flea Remedy onto DRY bedding and work it in to help kill the little pests while your companion sleeps

4. Securing the Perimeter (Your Yard)

Last, but certainly not least, treat the yard, the major source of fleas. Larvae avoid light – so rake up leaves and thatch, and keep the grass cut. A majority of fleas and larvae will be within 50 feet of your companion’s favorite resting spots, so focus on those areas, especially shady areas under trees, bushes, and decks. Only Natural Pet All-in-One Flea Remedy or diatomaceous earth can safely be applied to grass.

Beneficial nematodes (worms) are another way to control fleas in the yard, especially during wet weather. Beneficial nematodes are a flea parasite. They are tiny little critters that prey on both adult fleas and larvae. They can be applied with a hose sprayer or, on a smaller yard, with a watering can. Some garden centers and nurseries carry them (or can order them for you), as well as some of the “natural” pet stores. An Internet search will provide many sources as well.

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The Pre-emptive Strike

If you live in a high-flea area, don’t wait until you see fleas on your companion to treat your environment! If you live in an area with a predictable flea season, begin the treatment a month before they appear. If you live where flea season is every season, start now and treat your home regularly. Using natural methods takes more effort than dropping a blob of pesticide on your cat’s or dog’s back, but in the long run your pets, your family, and your environment will be healthier!