Your Dogs Health And To Get Rid Of Fleas
All dog owners are familiar with the problems caused by pesky fleas. Fleas are very small wingless insects, brownish red in color, and have sharp mouths by which they obtain blood from their canine hosts. Flea bites usually cause your dog to scratch at affected areas and some dogs are more sensitive than others and can have allergic reactions to flea bites.
In general, fleas do not transmit diseases from dogs to humans, but the potential for this exists and they can and do bite humans as well as dogs and cats.
Fleas and flea larvae live in warm climates and will live until the ground freezes in cooler climates. They can live on in your home well past this time also.
If you suspect that your dog has fleas, you should take him to your veterinarian. Your veterinary staff member will first use a flea comb on your dog.
Flea combs are wide tooth combs and “flea dirt” or dried blood flea excrement is what they are looking for. If this is found, your veterinarian will recommend treatment.
Most veterinarians recommend preventive treatment for fleas as it is much easier to prevent them than to treat them.
For those of you that wish to treat your dog for fleas without commercial products, there are a few recommendations.
One way is to comb your dog with a flea comb regularly. You can put some petroleum jelly on the comb to help fleas stick to the comb. Other people recommend using rubbing alcohol to slow down the fleas so they are easier to catch.
Garlic and Brewers Yeast added as supplements to your dog’s food are recommended by those who prefer the natural approach to treating fleas, however, the benefits of these treatments have yet to be proven.
There are several over the counter flea treatments available at your local pet store. However, many of these contain pyrethrins, which are natural insecticides derived from the chrysanthemum plant.
In the past, this kind of treatment of fleas was the only one available to veterinarians. If you choose to use a product containing pyrethrins, you should be aware of the potential side effects.
There is a potential threat of toxicity when using a product containing pyrethrins, not just to your dog, but to other animals in the house and humans as well. Make sure you follow the label usage directions and if you have any questions about using these products, consult your veterinarian.
Today, there are much safer products available. Most of these products are only available through your veterinarian. One of the most popular treatments for fleas is Frontline Plus by Merial. It is topically applied to the skin of your dog on the back of the neck.
According to Merial, Frontline Plus kills 98-100% of adult fleas within 24 hour and will also kill eggs and larvae to prevent fleas from recurring. Frontline Plus is waterproof for up to 30 days and is safe to use on puppies as young as 8 weeks of age.
Another popular flea treatment is Sentinel by Novartis. Sentinel is a monthly pill that also prevents heartworms. Sentinel kills adult fleas, eggs, and larvae.
Novartis also makes the flea control products Program and Capstar. Program is a flavored tablet that is given monthly, and while it does not kill adult fleas, it does interrupt the flea life cycle by preventing the development of flea eggs.
Program is safe to use in dogs and puppies four weeks of age and older. Capstar is a pill that is given to kill adult fleas. It can be given as often as once per day. According to Novartis, Capstar will begin killing adult fleas within 30 minutes. One pill should kill all adult fleas.
Capstar is safe for dogs and puppies four weeks of age and older.
Remember that it is much easier to prevent fleas than to treat them once your dog has them. As with all medications, follow the advice of your veterinarian.
If you need more information about fleas and flea prevention, contact a member of your veterinary staff or pet professional.
Colin Philips
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/your-dogs-health-and-to-get-rid-of-fleas-110455.html
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Is there any natural way to get rid of fleas on dogs?
First off, we’ve tried Frontline, and it does work, but if you have to wash up after using or face health risks, how is that good for the dog? Leave your big company, pesticide propaganda BS at the door. I want a NATURAL way to get rid of fleas, and proof to back it up.
I’ve heard that small amounts of garlic in their food daily help, and that Dawn dish soap does too.
Brewers yeat and garlic tablets help along with dusting your lawn with the 5 % sevin dust and bathing them in Dawn dish washing liquid.
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Breeder in Mississippi
none will be as effective, and fipronil (the active ingredient) doesn’t absorb very well into skin to harm the dog. that’s just on the label for "lawyer protection."
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A healthy pet is the best way to avoid fleas. Good food and good health and I don’t have to worry ’bout them.
A good natural way to kill fleas in your home is to take a shallow pan of soapy water and put it on the floor with an incandescent desk lamp over it. The fleas are attacted to the light and warmth of the bulb, but drown and die in the soapy water. It really works.
Doesn’t kill the ones that choose to stay on your dog, though. Sorry.
ETA – Sorry to burst all your bubbles, friend – but SOAP does KILL Insects. Insects don’t have lungs, they breathe through stoma on they’re bodies. Surfactants (that’s soap to you) smother them by covering the stoma (that’s holes). Don’t you call me "uneducated"… You can call me lots of things, but that AINT one of them.
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Garlic is actually toxic to dogs and should never be fed to them. Onions too. It is also not effective. Proponents of garlic have not considered that some natural food compunds that are fine for humans are not fine for dogs.
Dawn dishwashing liquid will do a one-time kill of fleas but once the bath is over, it will not keep the fleas off. And bathing too frequently will dry out your dog’s coat. Dawn is a very alkaline, stong detergent and definitely not natural.
I like to use natural products when safe and effective too. But when it comes to fleas, which can pass worms onto dogs cause flea allergy dermatitis, and make them anemic if severely infested, I have not found anything natural that is remotely effective. Frontline Plus and Advantage are by far the safest products out there that are actually effective.
Edit – I have known several people who have tried the bowl of dish soap trick and it has worked for no one. And Sevin dust is pretty toxic stuff compared Frontline Plus.
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First of all Frontline Plus does work and seeing as how thousands of dogs use it and few have side effects it is relativly safe… There are risk involed with birthcontrol pills too but the benifits outway that…. And the proof that Frontline Plus does work… I have two indoor/outdoor dogs that I use it on and have never seen a flea/tick etc on them.. My neighbors dogs (which they are around frequently) have fleas….
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There is really a quite hard way to treat fleas ‘naturally’ as these creatures lay up eggs faster than we can think of. Imagine 2,000 eggs! and these eggs can hatch on your living room, in the couch and even under the covers.
If you’ve tried Frontline, there are other alternatives that you can try, which are safe for both you and your dog.
Try checking on this link for some helpful tips:
http://tinyurl.com/65k4zd
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Try this, fill your tub up with water and add a little bit of soap (shampoo…) and have you dog sit for at least 5 minutes in the water with his head out of course. This will drown the fleas. I did this once and I did see about 4 fleas floating in the water. Not sure if this helps.
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Garlic is questioned now as a cause of anemia, similar to onions. They don’t know how much garlic would cause it at this point, but it is being recommended that you avoid supplimenting garlic until that amount can be qualified.
I have been reading up on apple cidar vinegar as a flea repellent. I have a cat who has reactions to flea preventative and we are trying to find other ways to prevent.
Does your dog have fleas now? If he/she does, I would recommend giving the dog a dose of frontline, treating the house, and then begin using apple cidar vinegar or other natural remedy. That way, you’re not fighting an infestation on top of it. If your dog doesn’t have fleas, then start the natural remedies. However, it can take up to six weeks to start working.
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I find the most natural way to get rid of fleas is with a flea comb pail, alcohol and water. I combed my dogs with the a flea comb and put the loose hair in the bucket soon the fleas were gone not to return again. You do need to make sure your house carpet and furniture are free of fleas otherwise they will return. Vacuuming the floors and furniture will help rid the house of fleas.
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