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Evaluating Your Dog’s Health – Fleas

August 12th, 2009

Since our animals cannot speak to us in words, this is part two of our series on items you need to check each month to keep your pet healthy.

These steps will help you to know when your ailing dog needs to be taken to the vet and when you can take care of him at home.

This week we are focusing on fleas.

A flea problem can be an indicator of your pet’s health. Start by looking for fleas, and flea dirt. To check for fleas, look thru the coat. If nothing is visible then look for flea dirt. To do this, brush your dog’s coat over a white piece of paper or light-colored towel. If you see any little black specks, moisten them with a drop of water or smear them with a damp cotton ball. They’ll turn red if they’re flea dirt. If you find signs of any of these problems, its time to take action:

• If you notice constant scratching, biting, or sores, it could be due to an allergy to fleas.

When it comes to flea problems, like anything you have choices. In today’s world you probably have more choices than you would like to think about.

All the information is at your fingertips.

• Be aware that the flea products that are being given to your pet can be toxic to them. Do your homework. Get on the internet and research the pharmaceutical flea options. Read the Pro’s and Con’s before you apply this medication to your dog.
• Do not just accept anything recommended, always know and understand what you are applying, injecting or ingesting.
• Your other option is to get on the computer, type in “natural flea remedies for dogs“, and a lot of options will appear.  There are many natural remedies for flea control too.

When treating an animal for fleas, you must also treat the whole environment to actually stop the recurrence. If you don’t do this, you will not have long term success.

You have many choices to attack this problem:

• The old “bug bomb” to set off in the house
• The chemicals to treat the yard, concrete and patio areas
• Hire a bug man to come in and spray

If you choose to try some natural remedies, here are some simple solutions:

• Vacuum at least twice a week (get rid of the bag they live there too).
• Wash all mats, rugs and toys in hot water, anything that can be washed and that is fabric.
• Buy some diatomaceous earth and boric acid mix it and sprinkle it throughout the house.
• Buy Nematode (for all the yards) you can get this from your nursery.
• Use only natural ingredients in your flea shampoos.
• Do not use flea collars.
• Be cautious with chemical flea products, they are toxic.
• Get a flea comb and a bowl of hot water and dish soap.

This should lead to a happy, healthy and flea-free pet! Stay tuned for more tips on evaluating your dog’s health next week!

This information has been provided by Susan Hartlzer of AlphaDogPR.  They are based in Los Angeles and a chosen resource for editors, producers, writers and reporters.  Alpha Dog PR is dedicated to providing the media with the most up-to-the-minute information about the rapidly growing pet industry. For more information, please visit www.alphadogpr.com or call (818) 998-6299.

Tags: chemicals, dog, dog health, flea, fleas, health, organic
Posted in K9 Care, K9 Health | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Evaluating Your Dog’s Health – Fleas”

1. Janj says:

   August 13, 2009 at 12:30 am

   I had to learn the hard way years ago to check my four dogs and cat on a daily basis during the summer especially. I haven’t had any for a couple of years but when i do I swoop in like a SWAT team.
2. Anthony says:

   August 13, 2009 at 3:24 am

   Very nice post. Do you have suggestions for ticks? This is also a common problem.
3. Sue Davis says:

   August 24, 2009 at 12:56 pm

   My pets had a flea issue that would NOT go away! I went to a different vet and they told me to use Comfortis which is a pill ingested once a month. NOTHING has worked like this pill. My pets have not had a flea problem since and this is the second summer! For us, this was the perfect remedy!