With Flea Treatment, Understanding The Enemy Is Key

Ask any dog owner what the bane of dog care is and most will say, fleas. The image of a flea ridden dog is something that is largely archaic these days, thanks to the availability of affordable flea treatment. They are not just purchased over the counter at vet dispensaries, but also through online pet med stores. When it comes of flea treatment for dogs, cats and a variety of other animals, there is no shortage of options. The problem is that fleas tend to return if we do not take care to regularly search for signs of the little insects.
This means time and effort on our part, but modern methods have made our lives easier. For example, dog flea powder can be simply applied, while cat wormer tablets are easily provided to ill felines. What this means, however, is that treating your own pet in the comfort of your own home has become easy too. In the case of fleas, treatments have also simplified over time. But understanding the best ways to guard your dog from fleas, as well as understanding the fleas themselves, is a key aspect to fully and properly taking care of your canine companion. Here are some explanations that can help. Why The Flea Is So Bothersome It might seem that such a tiny insect could hardly cause trouble for a dog, but a flea does more than just create an irritating itch to the skin. Fleas feed on the blood of their hosts, and are designed to navigate easily through thick hair such as on the coat of a dog. In fact, being snugly hidden from view by a thick coat is precisely what fleas enjoy, providing them with the cover to feed in peace.
Having a flea or two is hardly going to cause a dog any great discomfort, but the problem is that fleas quickly multiply so that the dog becomes infested very quickly. In fact, research has shown that a typical adult female flea can lay as many as 40 eggs every day, which then fall off a dog into the bedding in its basket, in which your pet sleeps.
It is not until the pupa stage ends that the flea jumps onto a host to feed. But with enough eggs lying around, a dog can easily find itself hosting hundreds of fleas. And with a life cycle of around 6 weeks, there is a potential for one female to lay more than 1,500 eggs over its adult life. Why Treatment Is So Important As we have mentioned, fleas cause more than an irritation for dogs. They can cause serious skin and blood conditions that can eventually lead to death. The most serious is the development of anemia, which can leave a dog seriously weakened. This condition can occur when your pet is heavily infested, and puppies and older dogs are most at risk. Other conditions includes the contraction of tapeworms via fleas, with these tiny insects acting as carriers. And of course, the itching on the skin is caused by an allergic reaction to the fleas sucking blood. The scratching your dog does in response leads to skin infections. Common Flea Treatments The flea collar is perhaps the most recognisable flea treatment but the fact is that it is not as effective as is generally thought. This is because the collar only deals with one area around the neck, leaving the rest of your dog untreated. A much more effective treatment is flea shampoo, which basically washes away the fleas that have set up home on your pet. This is not an ideal flea treatment for dogs either since once they have been washed clean, they are vulnerable to any other insects in need of a host. Oral treatments are better able to fight against flea infestations for longer periods, with many brands effective for up to one month. These release chemicals into the bloodstream that are harmless to your dog, but can either kill or sterilise adult fleas.
Perhaps the best treatment, however, is the Spot On technique, used as much for dog and cat wormers as it is for treating fleas. They are distributed in the skin oils naturally found on your dog and are highly effective in killing fleas completely. They usually need to be applied once a month, but an oral treatment can be used simultaneously, and your dog can even be treated to some shampoo sessions too.