Protecting Your Dog Against Fleas and Worms
Flea infestations are a discomfort and detriment to your dog’s health; however they are very easily treated and prevented.
Flea bites can cause an irritation resulting in the itching behaviour seen due to the inflammatory reaction it causes. If flea infestations are not treated they can cause hair loss and in severe cases anaemia and lethargy, and therefore it is essential that your dog is treated with an effective flea treatment such as Frontline for dogs. It is a liquid applied to the skin on the back of the neck and kills any fleas that are on your dog and prevents any further flea infestation. To be effective it must be applied every eight weeks, however to treat a severe flea infestation; use the flea treatment once a month for 12-16 weeks.
Flea infestations also affect your home; therefore you must treat your home too paying particular attention to your pets bedding area. Vacuuming will help to remove the eggs and larvae that are present and an environmental insecticide applied to the furniture will kill any remaining fleas and eggs.
Worms are also a serious health threat and therefore it is also very important that you protect your dog against worms. If left untreated they can cause diarrhoea, severe weight loss, lethargy and eventually death. However these symptoms are not normally shown until the problem is severe therefore prevention is much more important than a cure. Dogs should be wormed with an effective treatment such as Milbemax, every three months.
There are six types of worms that commonly infect dogs and are easily picked up by your dog from the environment:
- hookworms can burrow into their skin or hook on to their paws and are then ingested when your dog licks his paws,
- lung worms can be ingested by your dog eating infected grass due to slugs and snails, heart worm can be passed on by mosquito bites,
- whipworm can be passed on by exposure to faeces of infected dogs and round and
- tape worms can be ingested if your dog eats infected animals such as mice, birds, rabbits and fleas.
Therefore as well as using Milbemax, it is important that you regularly clean up dog faeces, prevent your dog from hunting and scavenging and ensure you regularly use a flea treatment such as Frontline for dogs.
