What all owners need to know about dog flea control

Dog flea control should be undertaken on a regular basis as the flea is the most common external parasite that your dog experiences.

A single flea can lay as many as 60 eggs per day and the adult flea lives about 3 months, but sometimes much longer.Even if you don’t find any fleas but see black specks in the hair this is usually flea faeces, so your dog does have fleas. The fleas live off blood and their bite causing irritation, dogs can develop allergic reactions and rashes or loss of hair from scratching or biting.

Flea larva can also feed on tapeworm egg sacs often found on the dogs hair particular around the anus area. Once inside the flea the tapeworm eggs hatch and the flea becomes infested. If the flea is then swallowed by your dog when he is grooming himself or biting at irritations your dog become infected and a tapeworm will develop. Treatment is available for tapeworm infestation from your vet.

Dog flea control should be high priority as fleas can pass easily from your pets or other animals to you and members of your family. You need to choose your dog flea treatment with care, choose a quality product with lasting effect it may be more expensive but it will be worth it, many of the new products are very successful in breaking the flea life cycle, check with your vet or pet store for the most suitable.

Some people find dog flea shampoo is helpful but I have always used a product where I put drops on the back of my dachshund on a regular schedule, and we have no flea problem. Natural flea control for dogs is also a popular choice for some owners.

Spring and summer is the main time for you to focus on dog flea control as at this time fleas are really active, you need to treat all pets at the same time and also your floor area and carpet and dogs bedding, there are products available that are safe for pets and children with no odour that are easy to use, on a regular basis.

Your dog flea control may also need to extend to the outside yard which can be treated with a suitable insecticide, fleas like moist, warm shady areas particularly where pets rest.

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