The Symptoms of Dog Fleas And How To Get Rid Of Them

Besides aggressively looking through your dogs hair for fleas there are many other signs you can look for to determine if your dog has fleas. If you have a dog you know what it’s like to get him or her to sit still as you comb through their hair. Looking for fleas just is not on the top of the priority list. Luckily there are signs you can watch for to see if your dog has fleas and if they do have fleas then you can easily treat and prevent more fleas from attaching themselves to your dog.
Here are the few signs to look for to determine if your dog has fleas or some other issue:
1. Does your dog scratch or itch excessively? If so this does not necessarily mean your dog has fleas as it could be a sign of a skin rash or some other type of skin allergy.
2. Does your dog bite or chew around their rear, tail or inside of the thighs? Fleas tend to congregate in those areas making your dog itch more in those areas.
3. Does your dog lose hair? This could be a sign from too much scratching because of fleas.
4. Does your dog have red and raised bumps? These could be the bites from multiple fleas.
5. Does your dog look dirty? We call it flea dirt, but it’s the left over’s or poop of fleas. Usually this flea dirt is red.
If you notice any of those signs, your dog might have a flea problem. An easy test for fleas is to look for flea dirt on the skin, usually on the rear, tail or inner thigh. If you notice these dirt looking spots, drop a little water on the area and let it soak. After a few moments take a white paper towel and rub the dirt. If the dirt smears red then you know your dog has fleas. Look a little closer and you will start to see them running around.
After you realize your dog has fleas it’s important to treat the pet. You can find flea killing soap at your local pet store which will help kill most of the fleas. Then you will need to buy a flea killing gel which will keep fleas from jumping back on your dog, thus stopping the process of fleas reproducing. Be sure you clean your entire house, floors and dog bed. You might want to also bug bomb your entire house to be sure to rid it of any leftover fleas.

Adam loves dogs and knows that treating a dog’s flea problem is important. He saves money with petmeds coupon codes and finds answers to all his pet care questions from leading pet sites.