Parasites And Your Pet Dogs Health

It's on every pet dog owner's agenda to protect and see to it that their pet dogs has the best possible opportunity to stay healthy. External parasites such as, fleas, Ticks, Lice, as well as different types of Mites are the culprits that tend to threaten the health of our pets (dogs, cats).

Out of the parasites mentioned above Fleas is the number 1 most common pest. Fleas live off your dog's blood. There is no mistaking a flea infestation on your pet (dog, cat). Dogs with allergies suffer much more significant negative reactions to a flea infestation, and usually develop "hot spots".

These hot spots are areas of sore, inflamed, flaking, bleeding, and infected skin, caused by the flea saliva and your pet dog's own reaction to it. If 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).

An 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 can become a major problem very quickly!

Fleas actually spend a small amount of time on your pet dog, and the rest of their time leaping through your house laying eggs and feeding on human blood, it's not enough to just treat your pet 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. You'll 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.

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 pet dog.

If your dog already has fleas, you have two options: You can 'bomb' the house and yard with a flea-pesticide. A more health-friendly alternative is to target your pet 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. Flea collars are no longer recommended as a safe option for flea prevention, since the collars are highly toxic - vets have realized that placing a toxic material directly against your pet's skin for long periods of time (flea collars have to be worn 24/7 to be effective) is detrimental to your dog's health.

Related other articles about pet health:

Animal Pet Health