Concerned about My Morkie

Question
I Just recently purchased an 8month old maltese/yorkie mix. When i was looking over his fur, i noticed these small little pieces of what looked like brown dirt. at first i thought they were dead fleas, but when i looked closer, i didnt see anything moving. He hasnt been scratching or anything but there are some areas around is butt and neck where there are scabs where it looked like he could have been scratching. I dont know whats wrong with him and i hope he's not sick. Can you help me ?

Answer
Hi Divine,

It sounds like at one time, probably recently, your puppy had fleas. Whomever you got your puppy from probably gave him a flea treatment. Those small dirty flecks you've noticed may well be "flea dirt". One area fleas would bite is under the tail area.
"Flea dirt",  is actually flea feces and is basically digested blood.  Pick some off your puppy and place it a wet paper towel. If after a few minutes the tiny specks spread out like a small blood stain... it's definitely flea dirt.

If you're not seeing anything moving around in your puppy's fur, and if he's not scratching, the fleas may well be gone. To ensure your puppy doesn't get new fleas, try using a once a month flea preventive, such as Frontline, Revolution, Program, or Advantage.
Depending on where you live, and how warm it is in your area, you may not have to consider flea control until the spring time.

Another thing you'll want to do is give your puppy Heartworm preventative. You'll need to get this from your vet, and a blood test would be needed to first confirm that your puppy doesn't already have Heartworms before you give the preventative.  Heartworms can be deadly and it's  at near epidemic proportions in most areas of the country.  All dogs should receive a Heartworm  preventative.  

I hope I've been a help.
Best of luck,

Patti