No one likes diminutive critters crawling around the house and of course no one will appreciate them living nesting and feasting on your pet as well! Fleas are black or brownish-coloured critters with considerable hind legs that allow them to jump as high as 4 feet and have a sharp piercing mouth to suck blood.
They thrive in dark and moist conditions and lay up to 4000 eggs each time. Imagine how fast they can multiply! These strong-willed creatures can also live without food – that is blood for several months. That said there are only about 5% of them on your poor dinky dog each time while the rest are most likely on your couch carpet lawn and your pets bedding. Therefore in order to get rid of these pests and save your dog you not only have to treat your dog but also clean up your house!
Fleas on your dog should not be taken lightly as it can lead to skin problems like dermatitis anemia (since the fleas feed on their blood) tapeworms (when your pet ingest the fleas) and serious cases can lead to death. Hence do check your dog commonly for itchiness redness bumps or lesions especially if they consistently scratch and chew on their fur. Coarse areas would be their joints between the paws and neck areas. Check for loss of fur as well as flea dirt to confirm the case. Flea dirt are of course flea poop. To test place the flea dirt on white paper add a few drops of water and rub them. If they appear reddish in colour you know there are fleas on your dog!
Of policy prevention is better than cure so do ensue these steps regularly to keep your dog safe from fleas:
Give your dog a bath
Fleas dont like soap water so do give your dog quarterly baths to keep fleas away!
Brush your dog
Brush your dog usually too using those with fine bristles so that it can effectively remove and kill the petite beasts. All the time remember to rinse the brush in a pail of warm soap water after every brush to kill the fleas thoroughly. Flush the water down the toilet bowl at the end to preclude the fleas from jumping out again.
Keep bedding and soft toys clean at all times.
Wash and scrub all beddings and soft toys with soap and dry all beddings under the sun. Fleas hate the sun!
Vacuum your house
Remember that most of the fleas are not on your pet but colse to your house and lawn so vacuuming your house especially the carpets couch and dark corners is very crucial to exterminating the army of fleas! This is also an productive way of take off all stages of the fleas life cycle since most of the people are living on your carpets and couch and not very descriptive to the naked eyes.
Mowing your lawn
Trim your lawn too to remove a viable living option for fleas.
Healthy Diet
Fleas tend to strike vulnerable animals so do feed your dog with a healthy diet preferably those with less chemical and coloring added so that they will be strong to fight against these critters.
If your dog is already Natural Flea and Tick Defense suffering from these fleas extra measures have to be done to fight against them.
Flea Spray (Natural Remedies)
I would advice chemical-free spray which you can make your own using natural ingredients like lemon vinegar neem eucalyptus lavender Bedding Flea Spray rosewood etc. Just mix any of these ingredients with water and spray them on your pets fur. Alternatively you can also chop garlic and apply them on your dogs fur. Wash them off after about 5-10 minutes. Fleas dont like these strong smells!
Flea Shampoo
Bathe your pet in flea shampoo. However this should not be used on a daily basis as it is not good for your dog.
Flea Repellent
This is beneficial but not undoubtedly not the only formula you should use to rid off those fleas. Those in the pupae stage are in protective cocoon-like shells which do not succumb to the repellent.
Natural treatment
Apply aloe vera or tea tree oil on affected areas to soothe your dogs itchiness and pain.

May 19th, 2012
life 
