Dog Fleas Symptoms
- Dog has itchy and irritating skin.
- Small black dirt-like dots on the dogs coat (flea feces).
- Possible visible fleas on the lower back or more uncommonly in other areas on the dog.
What Causes Dog Fleas?
There is no real cause for dog fleas as they are normally caught from other dogs, other homes, or places around the garden like sandy areas where fleas enjoy living. These fleas then live off the blood of the dog or even off human blood by biting the victim. Fleas go through four different stages in their lives, the egg stage, larva stage, pupa stage, and the final adult stage. Fleas are not always visible on the dogs coat because they are only highly visible at adult stage of their life, so to find the presence of fleas a more widely used method is to look for flea feces which are seen as small dirt like grains on the dogs fur, these grains are in fact undigested blood the fleas has consumed from the victim. Fleas have a great ability to jump as you may already know and can quickly breed and multiply making them a lot harder to get rid of in your home compared to other skin problems and other dog pests.
What Your Vey May Say or Do
When the vet is presented with a possible case of flea infestation they will look for signs of flea feces as explained above, the way to tell if this is flea feces or just dirt is to add water to the girt/feces and smear it along a white card, if the smear is red then it is highly likely that the substance is blood left over by fleas, if it is brown then its probably just dirt picked up from walks or outdoor activities. After fleas have been confirmed using the method above the vet would then normally suggest using specialised flea products such as shampoos or household affecting products. These products used directly on the dog often only have the required affect on two of the four stages of life, and products used around the house will target the other two stages to ensure all traces are removed. The fleas may also become used to the treatment making it useless so newer products that are further developed are usually more effective. Fleas can be very hard to get rid of even with the best products on the market; so many attempts over a few weeks will most probably be needed, and the most effective products can often be recommended by a dog specialist or veterinarian.