Is your Dog and Home Armed Against Fleas and Ticks?

It's Springtime and like every year, as temperatures start to warm up, the bugs start to come out and reproduce.  What does this mean for your dog? It means a heightened exposure to ticks, fleas, and other parasites; especially when spring is a peak season for deer ticks.

The dangers of fleas

The Small Animal Hospital in Riverside gives a little light on Understanding the Flea and says, “When a flea bites your dog, it injects a small amount of saliva into the skin to prevent blood coagulation. Some animals may have fleas without showing discomfort, but an unfortunate number of dogs become sensitized to this saliva. In highly allergic animals, the bite of a single flea can cause severe itching and scratching. Fleas cause the most common skin disease of dogs – flea allergy dermatitis.” – Dr. Doug Brum.    

Symptoms of flea allergy dermatitis (FAD) include redness, bumps, scabs, and severe hair loss due to scratching.  Fleas can also carry tapeworm, as they are a main host for the parasite.  If your dog ingests a flea they might also be ingesting a tapeworm, which can be hard to detect because they show few symptoms.  Taking the steps to keep your dog flea free will prevent a lot of trouble down the road.

The dangers of ticks

Ticks can also cause medical problems for your dog because they can transmit serious diseases such as Lyme disease, Ehrlichiosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. 

“It is not the tick bite but the toxins, secretions, or organisms in the tick's saliva transmitted through the bite that causes disease.” – Charles P. Davis, M.D., Ph.D.  When ticks feed they bury their teeth deep into the skin of their host.  In addition, the blood in their stomach is poisonous.  For these reasons, it is very important that ticks are removed carefully and in one piece.  If the head of a tick is left in the skin, your dog can still contract a disease.  If the tick body is opened and blood is released into the open wound of your dog it can cause a skin infection. 

Signs of a tick bite on your dog include fever, loss of appetite, sore and swollen limbs, skin infections, lethargy, and arthritis.  Both ticks and fleas can cause Anemia (low blood count) in a dog from losing too much blood.

Because the signs of a tick bite can be commonly mistaken for another issue, it is best to check over your dog anytime they have been exploring outside or in an area that might carry ticks.  Ticks often look like a large brown flea, but have eight legs like a spider.  They bite into your dog and feed on his blood, and like a mosquito, they get bigger as they feed. By running your hand over your dog’s coat, you would feel a strange bump if a tick is attached.  Check inside your dogs ears as well since ticks can easily hide in there.  By checking your dog as soon as you come in from outside you are increasing your chances of catching a tick on your dogs coat before they have attached themselves.  

Remember, ticks do bite humans too, so preventing your dog from attracting a tick is a preventative measure for the whole family.  

Now that you know the threat that fleas and ticks pose, what do you do to keep your dog safe from these pesky parasites?  Do you wait until Fido has a patch of fur missing on his rump?  Well, if you want to shell out a hundred bucks or so for blood work, a cortisone shot, and some antibiotics to take home from the vet, then sure.  But if you’re a responsible pet owner, as I’m sure all of you are, then you know prevention is key!  

Ways to protect your home and your dog from fleas and ticks

Outside- Bugs do not know the difference of a zip code.  Whether you live in the populous downtown area or back in the hills where your closest neighbor is a five minute drive away, fleas and ticks can find you.  They can live in bushes, tall grass, and crawl spaces (to name a few) and they can get there without your dog ever leaving your property.  You can protect your yard by:

·         Having regular bug control service, such as Terminix or Orkin, spray the perimeter of your house and areas of the yard. 

·         Buying a bottle of flea and tick yard spray that you can attach to your hose and spray the areas in your yard that your dog likes to be.   This yard spray can be purchased at most pet retail stores, feed stores, some veterinarian offices, and online.

o   (Check out Vet’sBest Flea & Tick Yard & Kennel Spray) 

Inside- All it takes is one flea or tick to make it in the house and lay eggs for you to have a problem.  And this doesn’t only happen in dirty houses, it can happen in the cleanest houses as well.  If you leave the problem unattended then it becomes a bigger problem and before you know it, you are ankle deep in a swarm of fleas. You can protect the inside of your home by:

·         Using a flea and tick spray (on carpet or upholstery) that will kill all pests and their eggs.

·         Using a home fogger that will kill all pests and their eggs for several months.

o   (Check out HartzHome Spray and 4 in 1 Home Fogger)

·         Vacuuming regularly will pick up all pests and their eggs but be sure to either use a flea powder on the carpet first or throw away the vacuum bag right away; otherwise it is just an incubator for the eggs, causing a larger problem.

Your dog- Making sure your dog is protected is your safest bet when fighting fleas and ticks.  You can protect your dog by:

·         Grooming him/her regularly (ie. Bath, brush, ear cleaning). You can even use flea shampoo or a flea comb to be more thorough.

·         Getting a flea dip

·         Using a heartworm preventative

·         Using a flea/tick preventative (flea/tick medicine or a flea collar)

·         Dietary changes (for this and other natural bug repellent ideas, check out Paw-rescue.org) 

Keep your dog safe and happy this spring and all year long by incorporating these preventative measures in your home.