{"id":434,"date":"2009-08-12T12:34:24","date_gmt":"2009-08-12T16:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/?p=434"},"modified":"2009-09-15T14:13:19","modified_gmt":"2009-09-15T18:13:19","slug":"fleas-are-making-me-itch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/2009\/08\/fleas-are-making-me-itch\/","title":{"rendered":"Fleas are making me itch"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Time<\/a>
Time to clean up the puppy dog<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the first time since we moved to the woods in 1993, we have fleas in our house and both our dog and cat have fleas. I don’t know why this year is different, but these flea bites are making me itch. Smash spends more time scratching than he does playing. I am really glad we kept his broken leg as it works well to scratch his ear even if he has trouble controlling it. Here is an article that I hope will help me and maybe you if you also have to learn how to get rid of fleas:<\/p>\n

Shop Flea & Tick Control at Dog.com<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

External parasites and their treatments
\nWHAT IS A PARASITE?
\nExternal parasites are pretty common among dogs. A parasite is an organism that lives off the resources your dog has to offer: namely, fresh blood (which most parasites drink) and a warm place to stay (in and on the skin and fur).
\nWhat are the common parasites that might affect my dog?
\nThere are a wide range of parasites that affect dogs:
\n– Fleas
\n– Ticks
\n– Mites
\n– Lice
\nAll of these parasites cause adverse reactions in your dog: typically, itching and inflamed skin, a dull coat, and bald spots. In advanced cases, your dog may develop anemia (blood loss) and become generally debilitated (particularly if he or she is very young, very old, or suffering from another condition).
\nIn addition to this, many parasites convey secondary and internal parasites to your dog \u2013 for example, fleas usually carry the common tapeworm (which causes constipation and flatulence), and ticks can cause a variety of much more serious problems like Lyme\u2019s disease and paralysis.
\nIn today\u2019s newsletter, we\u2019re going to be looking at fleas: what they are, how to tell if your dog\u2019s affected, and how to get rid of them.
\nA CLOSER LOOK AT FLEAS
\nFleas are without question the number-one most common external parasite affecting dogs. They\u2019re small, jumping insects that are light brown in color, although humans generally can\u2019t see them \u2013 they move much too quickly for that!
\nFleas live off your dog\u2019s blood. The life cycle of a flea moves very rapidly from stage one (egg) to stage four (adult flea), which means they\u2019re capable of multiplying with staggering rapidity.
\nAn adult flea lays hundreds of eggs per day. Each egg will then become an adult flea, which lay hundreds more eggs of its own. One flea becomes a major problem very quickly!
\nHOW TO TELL IF YOUR DOG HAS FLEAS
\nThe symptoms of a flea infestation are unmistakable.
\nA dog with a flea infestation will scratch almost constantly, often at areas that fleas seem to favor: the ears, the base of the tail, the belly, and the stifle (the webbing of soft skin between the thigh and the abdomen).
\nIt\u2019s actually the saliva of the flea that causes the irritation, not the bite itself, and some dogs have a genuine allergy to this saliva (as opposed to a standard irritation). Dogs with allergies suffer much more significant negative reactions to a flea infestation, and usually develop \u201chot spots\u201d.
\nThese hot spots are areas of sore, inflamed, flaking, bleeding, and infected skin, caused by the flea saliva and your dog\u2019s own reaction to it. Bald patches will sometimes develop too, from repeated scratching and ongoing inflammation.
\nIf you think your dog has fleas, you can confirm your suspicions by taking a closer look at his skin: you probably won\u2019t be able to see the fleas themselves, but you should be able to see what looks like ground pepper (a thin sprinkling of fine black grains) on his skin. This is flea dirt (poop).
\nIf you groom him with a flea comb (which is like a fine-tooth comb), try wiping it on a paper towel: if red blotches show up on the towel, you know that your dog has fleas (on a white background like a paper towel, flea poop shows up red: since fleas subsist on blood, their poop is colored accordingly).
\nTREATMENT FOR FLEAS
\nBecause fleas only spend a small amount of time actually on your dog, and the rest of their time leaping through your house laying eggs and feeding on human blood, it\u2019s not enough to just treat the dog: you also have to target his bedding, the entire house, all human bedding, and the yard (yes, fleas lay eggs all through the yard, too. Even if it\u2019s cold outside, you\u2019re not necessarily off the hook: cold weather doesn\u2019t kill flea eggs, it just puts them into a state of hibernation. The eggs will hatch as soon as it gets warm enough outside.)
\nYou\u2019ll need a broad-spectrum treatment which kills not only the adult fleas (which are the ones that bite), but also any developing fleas, and the eggs.
\nPREVENTION IS THE BEST (AND THE EASIEST!)
\nPrevention is definitely the best cure \u2013 you should keep your dog\u2019s flea treatments up to date with the use of a calendar, and use a treatment that\u2019s prescribed by the vet. Off-the-shelf treatments aren\u2019t recommended, since different dogs require different strengths depending on their size, age, and activity levels. A particular benefit of prescribed flea treatment is that most are also designed to prevent other parasites (like mites, ticks, and heartworm) from affecting your dog.
\nFOR AN EXISTING INFESTATION
\nIf your dog already has fleas, you have two options:
\n– You can \u2018bomb\u2019 the house and yard with a flea-pesticide. These come as foggers (which coat each room, and the yard, in a fine mist of pesticide) and sprays (which are applied manually to each surface throughout the house and yard), and although they\u2019re very effective in killing fleas and eggs, there\u2019s one major drawback: they\u2019re highly toxic to humans, dogs, and the environment. Depending on your priorities, this is probably the quickest solution to a flea problem (and will effectively wipe out the eggs, too) but if you have anyone in the house with allergies or a health condition \u2013 including pets! \u2013 you might want to think again.
\n– A more health-friendly alternative is to target the dog with a topical anti-flea solution prescribed by the vet (like Advantage or Revolution), and to rigorously clean the house on a regular basis until the flea problem has gone. This means vacuuming each room thoroughly each day \u2013 put a flea collar in with the vacuum bag to kill any fleas that get sucked up \u2013 and wash all human and dog bedding in hot water as often as you can (once every day or every two days is recommended). You\u2019ll be able to tell when the problem\u2019s gone because your dog won\u2019t be scratching, and his coat will be clear of flea dirt when you inspect it.
\nWHAT NOT TO DO ABOUT FLEAS
\n– Don\u2019t use multiple products on your dog \u2013 it\u2019ll make him sick, since you\u2019ll be overloading his system with toxins.
\n– Don\u2019t forget to treat all the animals in the house at the same time: cat and dog fleas are interchangeable, and if one animal has fleas, they all will have them, even if some are not displaying the symptoms.
\n– Flea collars are no longer recommended as a safe option for flea prevention, since the collars are highly toxic \u2013 vets have realized that placing a toxic material directly against your pet\u2019s skin for long periods of time (flea collars have to be worn 24\/7 to be effective) is detrimental to your dog\u2019s health.
\nFOR MORE INFORMATION ON PARASITES AND THEIR TREATMENT…
\nFleas are just one of the many, many types of parasites that affect your dog. To find out more about the complete prevention and treatment of all types of parasites (external and internal), as well as a comprehensive guide to all aspects of dog health, take a look at The Ultimate Guide to Dog Health.
\nThis book is an invaluable resource for the responsible dog owner, and will help you to ensure that your dog remains happy and healthy \u2013 just the way you want him to be!
\nYou can check out the book by clicking on the link below:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/l7xclx<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the first time since we moved to the woods in 1993, we have fleas in our house and both our dog and cat have fleas. I don’t know why this year is different, but these flea bites are making me itch. Smash spends more time scratching than he does playing. I am really glad … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Fleas are making me itch”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11,79,22],"tags":[29,118,117],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":438,"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434\/revisions\/438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}