How Fleas And Ticks Can Affect Your Dog

Fleas are tiny brown bugs that live on your dog’s skin and feed by sucking your dog’s blood. If you part your dog’s fur you can see them moving. Fleas can’t fly, but they can jump a long distance and travel simply from one pet to another. They aggravate the skin and make your dog scratch - though not all scratching dogs have fleas.

The saliva of the flea is a strong antigen that will set up a grim allergic response in a susceptible dog. In that sort of case the dog will lose a great deal of hair, especially above the tail, and develop scaly skin on his back. He will be able to doubtless scratch himself so persistently the skin bleeds. This condition is known as fleabite rash. Besides causing irritation to the skin, the flea is the intermediate host of the tapeworm - an internal bug.

Ticks are about size of a pinhead, and tend to inhabit the parts of the dog where the hair is thin. They’ll burrow into the pet’s skin and eat the animal’s blood. When they are swollen with blood, ticks expand to approximately the size of a pea. After the tick is completed its banquet, it will lay its eggs into a crack or crevice, and fall off animal. Mostly with pets, you may only find a few ticks, which you can easily remove with tweezers or suffocate with petroleum jelly. Another good trick is to spray an insect repellant onto the head of the tweasers before you try to remove the tick - this can often cause the tick to release it’s hold on your dog’s skin making allowances for straightforward removal.

Some ticks are devastating and so it is vital that you shield you dog particularly in the sumer months when ticks are most prelevant. Many spot on flea treatments will provide the best flea treatment for dogs and will also protect against the commonest ticks.

Fleas and ticks can cause havoc in your pet’s life, causing anything from mild scratching and pain thru to dreadful sickness and rarely death. Once fleas enter your environment, they spread and multiply at an intense rate. The best flea treatments for dogs change on your preferences with a number of different products that you can use to remove fleas and ticks from your pet as well as your home. But it is recommended to consult your vet or a professional before actually using any of these products as they can be toxic to your pet, other pets or even you.

The Pet Lovers Network is a web space for pet owners to hang around, pose questions and brag about their pets. We provide the latest up to date information on pet care goods and services as well as info on all things pet. Have a look at our article on flea remedies for dogs