All of the dog care information I have found reveals that fleas survive off your pet's blood. The life cycle of a flea advances very rapidly from stage one (egg) to stage four (full-grown flea), which means they're adept at multiplying with staggering acceleration.
An adult flea lays hundreds of eggs each day. Each egg will soon after become an adult flea, which lay hundreds more eggs of their own. One flea will grow into a major issue very fast!
HOW TO FIND OUT IF YOUR DOG HAS FLEAS
The warnings of a flea problem are unmistakable.
A pet with a flea problem will scratch almost constantly, typically at locations that fleas look to prefer: the ears, the base of the tail, the belly, and the stifle (the webbing of soft skin between the thigh and the tummy).
It is in fact the spittle of the flea that causes the aggravation, not the bite itself, and some dogs have a tested allergic reaction to this saliva (as opposed to a standard annoyance). Dogs with allergic reactions bear much more serious adverse reactions to a flea problem, and commonly form "hot spots".
These hot spots are locations of aching, inflamed, flaky, bleeding, and damaged skin, caused by the flea spittle and your pet's own reaction to it. Hairless patches will sometimes occur also, from habitual scratching and continuing irritation.
If you think your dog has fleas, you can verify your suspicions by taking a closer look at his skin: you most likely won't be able to see the fleas themselves, however you should be able to observe what resembles coffee grounds (a thin sprinkling of pulverized black grains) on his skin. This is flea dirt (poop).
If you brush him with a flea comb (which is like a fine-tooth comb), try wiping it on a paper towel: if red blotches show up on the paper towel, you know that your pet has fleas (on a white background like a paper towel, flea poop appears red: since fleas subsist on blood, their poop is colored accordingly).
Monday, March 16, 2009
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