Dog Health Care - The Flea Tell Tale Signs

Fleas can torment your dog and become a recurring nuisance, so it is important that you find out more about what they are and what you can do to help. Knowing how to deal with fleas is key in terms of dog health care, so that your pet can live a happy, 'flea free' life.
The Dreaded Flea
Fleas are external parasites that bury themselves in your pet's fur and feed off the animal's skin. They can live for up to fourteen days and infest the whole house where you and your pet live, so prevention is a key step. Once in the home, fleas are a nuisance to get rid of, so an essential part of your daily dog health care should always be cleanliness. Your pet doesn't want to be dirty, so make sure you wash your dog regularly and keep parasitic infestations away.
How To Check For Fleas
It is estimated that nearly all dogs will succumb to fleas at some point in their lives, but this doesn't mean that you are doing a bad job as a pet owner. If your animal is always out and about and scurrying around in the woods, this could potentially increase your chances of the animal catching fleas. However, once your dog has fleas it can sometimes be hard seeing the tell-tale signs. Some pets don't scratch at the early stages whereas others might be incessantly scratching for long periods of time, indicating to you, the pet owner, that something isn't right. Imagine checking a child's hair for nits - the pet flea process is very much the same. You need a fine-toothed comb to run over your pet's coat in order to check if there are any fleas burying themselves within it. This can be harder if you have a dog with a long, shaggy coat, but it will just require a little bit more patience so that you can find the tiny fleas.
How You Can Help
What many people do not realise is that it is the flea feces that the pet owner needs to look for as well as the fleas themselves. The longer you leave a flea infestation, the worse it can become for your pet, so take extra precautions and keep your dog clean and well-looked after. If the fleas are caught quite late on, it may be that your home needs to be treated as well as your pet. Fleas can get under the carpet and sit in floorboard cracks, so it is essential that your family stays healthy too and the fleas don't spread further. If you pet does have fleas, it doesn't mean you need to treat him like a leper, but it does mean that privileges like climbing on the sofa and sleeping upstairs should be halted for a while. Try and keep the flea problem contained, as best you can, and wash your dog much more frequently to help kill them off. There are also good treatments available these days, so fleas don't have to be a burden to your pet or your home. Make your dog health care routine a priority and help keep your pet healthy and happy.
Author Mark Woodcock is a Webmaster of a wide variety of online specialty shops including a very popular site on Dog Health Care. For more infomacio Click Here!


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