Fleas - Signs Of Infestation
Fleas are masters of their universe. They can hide in a forest of pet hairs, especially on long-coated or double-coated dogs, and can zig-zag among and between hair shafts faster than an Olympic skier on a slalom course. And then there's the leap. Now you see a black speck with legs, and now you don't. Flea droppings will most likely be more obvious than the crafty critters themselves, so run a fine-toothed comb through the dog's hair near his tail and flick any debris into a container of soapy water. Flea droppings contain blood and will turn the water pink. Once you have identified fleas as the culprit, the attack should be multi-faceted.
Grooming For Fleas
Groom your dog daily with a fine-toothed comb and drown the fleas in a container of soapy water; Use an effective treatment such as Advantage, Frontline Plus, Frontline Top Spot, or Capstar to prevent further infestation. Treat the house, especially areas where the dog sleeps or spends a lot of time. Whatever the items in your flea control kit, be sure to wash all of your pet's bedding, spray his bed or crate, and treat the house and yard as indicated. Put some flea powder in the vacuum cleaner bag as well.
Ticks - Signs Of Infestation
Ticks can carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Encephalitis, Tularemia, Tick Paralysis, and Lyme Disease, so it is important to prevent tick infestations in domestic dogs. Lyme disease, a frightening collection of symptoms that can mimic fatigue, heart problems, and arthritis and cause birth defects, affects dogs and horses as well as people and has been found in every state but Montana and New Mexico. Due to the serious potentially life-threatening nature of these diseases, they are very important when they occur. If your pet is bitten by a tick, the results can be fatal. Your pet's risk of contracting these diseases can be reduced by regularly using a tick preventative such as Frontline Top Spot and Frontline Plus to kill and repel ticks which can be purchased online at FleaAndTickMeds.com.
Grooming For Ticks
Unlike the flea, the tick is a sluggish mover and can easily be picked off the dog with tweezers as it crawls about looking for a feeding spot. So, after a walk in the woods, check your pet (and yourself) for ticks. Look for feeding ticks around the dog's head and ears and in his armpits and the inside of his thighs. If you miss one as it crawls, you'll likely find it when it latches on to feed as the engorged body is hard to miss in a hands-on inspection.
Daily grooming can find ticks that have not yet become embedded in the skin. Ticks can be picked up on the comb and flicked into a container of alcohol. Embedded ticks should be removed immediately. First, forget all you ever heard about coating ticks with petroleum jelly, burning their rear ends with a match or lighted cigarette, dousing them with lighter fluid or gasoline, etc. Just protect fingers from the tick's body fluids with surgical gloves or a plastic bag, grasp the tick firmly, rock it back and forth a few times, and pull it out. If a patch of skin comes along, it's unlikely that any of the tick's head has been left behind. A dab of antiseptic cream on the spot where the tick was removed will help prevent local infection, especially on tender ears, a favorite feeding place for ticks.
To control ticks in the environment, keep grass trimmed and control the spread of shrubbery and tall weeds. If you, a family member, or your dog falls ill after removal of a tick, be sure to tell the doctor that RMSF or Lyme Disease -- depending on the symptoms -- is a possibility. |  
PPE Carries Frontline, Advantage, and K9-Advantix at prices well below the Big TV advertisers!
|
Your Price: $23.89
