A Small Lesson In Getting Rid Of Fleas

By J Anne Moore

Being a responsible pet owner means that you must take your pet's health and welfare seriously. One such aspect that must be taken very seriously is the inevitable experiences with dog fleas. Dog fleas can seriously affect your pet's health. Your dog's ability to get a good sleep will be hampered. In addition, the itching and biting can take a serious toll on your dog's coat and skin.

The first steps involve ridding your pet of fleas. The next steps involve ridding your pet's environment of fleas. If you do not get rid of fleas in your home, your pet will quickly get re-infested. Once you have gotten rid of fleas on your pet and cleaned your home of fleas, you should take some preventative steps. These last steps will minimize your pet's chances of getting fleas in the future.

Thankfully, ridding your pet of fleas has gotten easier. There are now readily available products that can be applied to your pet's coat. These products, including Frontline and Advantage, can rid your pet of fleas within 2-3 days. You simply apply a small amount of the solution to the back base of the animal's neck. With natural scratching and licking your animal will spread this solution around their entire body. The solutions are non-toxic and very effective.

Some people prefer to use natural means to rid their pet of fleas. These natural or homeopathic methods work well but are slightly less effective, more time consuming per individual application, can be slightly messy and may take a longer period of time to actually work. If your pet is not suffering too much then you have nothing to lose by trying one of the natural methods. Some people use olive oil to get rid of fleas while other people use baby powder/talcum powder to get rid of fleas.

As previously mentioned it is critical that you also get rid of any lingering fleas in your house. The extent of house cleaning will depend on the extent of the infestation. At the very least all areas where the animal sleeps must be vacuumed or even stem cleaned. All bedding, blankets, and linens that have come into contact with the animal must be washed.

Once your pet and home are free of fleas you can take some steps to prevent future infestations. There are a number of ways to avoid future infestations. Some people add small amounts of garlic to their pet food. Other people like to douse a bandanna in citronella oil and tie it around the animal's neck. There are also commercially available flea prevention medications that your pets can ingest once every few months. For more information on getting rid of fleas or flea prevention speak to your vet. - 31975

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