Fleas in dogs: risks, treatment, prevention
Table of Contents
Fleas are very common parasites in dogs, which is why it is essential to fight against infestations that can occur at any time during contact with other animals, or simply outside (city, parks, gardens).
In addition to feeding on your dog's blood, fleas are difficult to exterminate and reproduce extremely quickly. It is therefore rightly the fear of many dog owners and only prevention can never be confronted with this scourge. But why are fleas so stubborn? Do they present risks to your animal's health and what treatments are possible in the event of an invasion by these parasites ?
Where can my dog get fleas?
First of all, it must be understood that prevention against fleas must
be done throughout the year. Indeed, your dog can catch them in all
seasons during walks or in contact with another animal not treated
against fleas. Just bring one flea home and it will lay about 100 eggs a
day and create an infestation that will also settle in the habitat and
on other pets. This is why it is also crucial to give preventive
treatment to your dogs if you have them, especially if they go outside
so that they do not bring these parasites back inside.
Be careful, they can carry fleas even if they don't scratch themselves
and you can also bring some under your shoes or on your clothes! And for
good reason: it is in textiles that fleas prefer to take up residence
outside of animal fur. Thus carpets, baskets, cushions, beds,
mattresses, and sofas will quickly be infested at the same time, hence
the fact that re-infestation can occur very easily in your dog between
treatments.
What are the health risks for dogs?
In addition to being extremely annoying, because they suck the blood of
the dog which will therefore scratch, fleas can be vectors of other
parasites such as tapeworm (tapeworm) or even cause allergic reactions
such as dermatitis. In this case, the flea pimples will turn into red
plaques, resulting from an allergic reaction to the antigens present in
the flea saliva.
Consequently, the dog will suffer from itching and depilation (loss of
hair) more or less extensively. This type of reaction can also occur in
humans if they are bitten and, by dint of scratching, the bites cause
intense itching that can give scabs, redness, inflammation in dogs as in
animals. man.
As for tapeworm contamination, it can occur when the dog swallows a flea
while biting; indeed, fleas often carry the eggs of these intestinal
parasites, so you must deworm regularly in addition to flea treatments. In
prevention, these must be renewed throughout the year.
How to eliminate fleas?
If your dog is already infested with fleas, it will be more complicated
to get rid of them, but fortunately, there are effective products. These
solutions are very diverse and come in many forms: anti-parasitic collars,
sprays, pipettes, powders, tablets, diffusers, and there are even
ultrasonic devices that "runaway" parasites.
Be careful though, the product must be really effective if your animal is
already the victim of an infestation, and the more time passes, the more
difficult it will be to overcome it! For this reason, it is wiser to go to
your veterinarian who can assess the "seriousness" of the invasion and
offer you the right product for the situation.
It will imperatively be necessary to treat all the other animals in the
house as well as the habitat, without any exception, starting with your
dog's belongings and all the textiles: bedding, clothes, carpet, sofa
covers, etc. To be sure to eradicate all flea eggs and larvae in the
house, it is advisable to use a "fogger" type bomb, i.e. an aerosol that
automatically diffuses, specially designed for this purpose, and that can
be easily found in stores or on merchant sites for animal products. There
are home remedies against fleas, having the advantage of being economical,
but they are often more effective in prevention than in real
treatment.
Natural flea treatments
When fleas are installed in your home, it is theoretically possible to
kill adult fleas using home remedies based on economical and often natural
ingredients: vinegar, baking soda, lemon, essential oils, salt. ..
However, the difficulty with these parasites is that more than 90% of the
"colony" takes refuge in the environment of the animal, that is to say,
your housing, at the stage of eggs or larvae.
Treating your dog and his belongings alone is not enough, but it can be
interesting to use homemade recipes in addition to or in substitution for
certain chemical treatments. For example, there are pipettes and
antiparasitic shampoos based on Margosa extract and Neem oil, plants known
to be effective against many harmful insects. Neem would have the
advantage of acting at several stages of an insect's life, from egg to
adult flea, thanks to a long-term action that disrupts growth and
reproduction. Also, most home treatments will only eliminate the adults
without eliminating the offspring.
Another product with increasingly noticeable effectiveness is
diatomaceous earth: these are micro-residues of algae fossils with
abrasive and drying properties against crawling insects. It is possible to
rub the dog with this powder, as with dry shampoo, to renew as many times
as necessary. This treatment has the advantage of not being dangerous for
the health of the animal. Finally, the lavender essential oil has also
been proven to repel fleas, but be careful, it must be used with caution,
in minimal and diluted quantities.
Tags:
Dogs Health