Our lovely furry friend contracted a disease is the last thing any dog owner wishes. Especially if it can create discomfort and make the dog suffer. One of the most common diseases is fleas on dogs. It is one of the most easily spread diseases due to the highly active fleas.
You may not be familiar with the disease first and not notice any symptoms occurring in your dog. However, as you learn about the fleas, the chance of it getting worse is more preventable.
What Are Fleas in Dogs?
Fleas are little parasites that use living being’s skin as their houses. Typically, a grown flea can stay up to a few weeks. However, the fleas start to invest in numbers with different growth levels. Hence, they stay longer in your dog’s skin and create infection.
The infection may get worse if you do not find the best flea and tick for dogs. Especially since fleas can spread quickly to other part of the dog’s body. Usually they infest on the neck and start spreading to other parts of the body when the dog starts scratching.
Due to its high chance of investing in your dog’s skin, it may be difficult to find the treatment that kills fleas completely. Before learning about the treatment and how to get rid of fleas, learn more about the symptoms of fleas.
Symptoms of Fleas in Dogs
There are several symptoms of fleas investing in the dog’s skin by observing the dog’s behavior and checking on its skin. To know how to spot them, learn the following symptoms.
Intense Itching
It is normal for a dog to scratch its skin sometimes. It may be cleaning himself or just getting rid of debris on the skin. However, if the scratching continues and make the dog hurts, it may be the sign of flea infestation.
The fleas will manifest themselves on the dog’s skin and move around as if the skin is their territory. Therefore, if your dog starts scratching intensely everyday, check up on its skin to see if there is fleas infestation.
Hair Loss
Another symptom that your dog may have fleas is having a hair loss. Treating fleas will be the first immediate action you need to take if you start noticing the dog keep losing its hair.
Fleas are blocking the pores and prevent the nutrition from reaching the scalp of your dog. Hence, the hair starts getting less nutrition and falls. The dog will experience hair loss for quite some time.
Since this is a very noticeable sign, ensure the dog gets immediate treatment before the infection gets worse.
Pale Gums
The fleas are sucking the blood of your dog and it results in pale gums. It may sound terrible and you will not get the heart to know but your dog is losing blood from fleas.
If you see its gum getting paler, it may be the effect of blood loss. This is especially for puppies that are still small. They lose blood easily and need immediate flea treatment for dogs.
Restless behavior, having flea’s dirt on its body, and skin sore are also signs that your dog is getting a flea infection.
Are you worried that the fleas will hurt your dog even more? Below are some places where your dogs potentially caught the fleas. You can do some prevention later.
Where Do Dogs Get Fleas
After you check on your dog and see that the dog experiences some symptoms of fleas, you need to know where the flea and tick for dogs comes from to avoid them.
Contact With Another Dog
Your sociable dog can get fleas because it contracted from another dog. It is lovely to see your dog getting close with its friends. However, you need to be careful since not all dogs are friendly to your dog’s health.
Pay attention to your dog’s circles. Ensure the dog only socializes with another healthy dog. For example, only let the dog plays with another one owned by your trusted friend. The one whom you know how he or she takes care of the dog.
Exposed to Warm Climates
Climate is not something we cannot control. Thus, when the weather is getting warmer, fleas usually reproduce quickly and spread to look for their houses. During a hot summer day, you may need to prepare flea medicine for dogs.
This is because your dog is more vulnerable to fleas during warmer climates. Also, you can do more regular check-ups once your dog starts having symptoms of flea infestation.
Less-Hygiene Habitat
Fleas do not only come from outside, it can also come from the very home of your dog. If you do not clean up regularly, chances are the fleas will start manifesting on your dog’s skin.
Fleas can come either from unwashed clothing, dirty floor, humid wall, and dirty cage. Thus, make sure you clean your dog’s cage regularly.
After you clean them, another flea and tick prevention for dogs is to get them dry by taking them out to the sun. The warmth from the sun can also help to kill bacterias and create a safer house for your dog.
Treatment for Fleas on Dogs
Generally, there are two ways to treat your dog when your dogs start getting fleas.
The first is to take it to the veterinarian and get it prescribed with medicine. It may be costly especially if the infestation creates infection on your dog’s body.
Second, you can also try some home remedies for fleas with a less costly method. These may not be the best ways but they are worth trying. Home remedies usually only need some materials to prepare and you can do it by yourself.
To learn more about how to treat your dogs from fleas infestation, you can learn it here.
Conclusion Fleas on Dogs
Those are all about fleas on dogs, the symptoms and how to treat them if you happen to see your furry friend suffers from fleas. The treatment can be both by veterinarian or using home remedies. Pay attention to the dog’a condition before it gets worse.