If you have a pet dog or cat, chances are good that you have given some thought to preventing him from getting fleas or ticks. Or perhaps you've discovered in the past that your pet was infested with fleas, or maybe you found a tick buried deep inside his skin and had to pull it out. If so, you realize the discomfort that fleas and ticks can cause our poor little friends, and why it is so important to practice prevention.
Fleas feed on animal blood. When fleas bite our pets, numerous problems can develop, such as redness, skin irritation, allergic reactions, anemia, or even death. It is rare, but it can happen. Fleas can also carry tapeworms, and transfer them to your pet. If you see small, rice like creatures around your dog's rectum, chances are that he has contracted tapeworms.
To prevent your pet from becoming infested with fleas, inspect him every night with a flea comb. Remove any fleas that you find, and pluck them out if they are embedded in his skin. Sometimes it helps to spread some Vaseline onto the flea comb in order to make the fleas stick to it. Check between your dog's toes, around and in his ears, under his tail, and underneath all of his legs, where his legs meet his body. If you are washing your dog, spread a white towel under him while you rinse him. Usually fleas fall out during rinsing, and will be easily seen on the white towel.
If you find a tick embedded in your pet's skin, you are going to have to remove the entire tick. The simplest way to do this is to use a pair of tweezers. Grasp the tick as close to the skin of your pet as possible, trying not to crush the tick's body. If you crush the tick while it is still biting your pet, diseases could be transferred into your pet's bloodstream. Pull back slowly on the tweezers until the tick slides out of your pet's skin. Do not jerk or twist as you pull. Discard the tick by flushing it down the toilet.
There are several flea and tick prevention remedies available today that are relatively easy to use. You don't need to apply them year round, but you might consider using them during flea and tick season. Frontline, K9 Advantix, and Advantage are a few of the well-known effective brand names. Apply once a month during flea and tick season, do a daily flea and tick check as described above, bathe your pet once a week, and you should have a flea and tick free animal in no time!
Christopher has been working as a home and office consultant for the past 15 years. He is happily retired and writes articles and weblogs in her downtime. His newest interest is in director chairs. Come check out his website to learn more at http://www.directorchairsdeal.com
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