If you believe your dog may be overrun with fleas and it is affecting his health, then take some time out to discover what parasites are capable of, and this could help your dog to enjoy his life more and possibly save his life in the long term.
If you are a dog owner and are wondering why your dog spends a great deal of time scratching his- self, then he is probably giving a home to parasites of some kind. Parasites are widespread among dogs, and are always looking for a warm place to make a home, and a dog is a perfect target because of his warm fur coat.
However this may sound a little gross, but parasites need food unfortunately their food is the dog's blood, they appear on the skin of the dog, but also in the fur.
There quite a few parasites to choose from for instance; fleas, ticks, mites, and lice and all have much the same effect on a dog, and that is causing the dog to itch or scratch, however there are further issues that can affect a dogs health for example; the skin of your dog can become quite reddened and swollen, if the dog has a more serious parasite problem then bald spots often appear in the dogs coat.
Parasites can seriously affect your dog's health in severe cases anemia, and blood loss which can in turn cause the dog to appear injured, this would be more apparent in older dogs.
Furthermore fleas transmit tape worm, this is destructive in the sense it can affect the dog's immune system, and when this happens constipation in the animal is common.
A further parasite you need to beware of is a tick because; they can cause a dog to be infected with Lyme disease and Paralysis these are very serious diseases in a dog and can prove to be fatal.
Fleas are arguably the most frequent parasite found in dogs, and these little fellows can make life miserable for your dog, plus are very difficult to spot. The general appearance is a lighter brown in color and if you do manage to see one that would be rare. They move around at a very rapid pace by jumping.
Fleas are renowned to breed very quickly, and are capable of laying more than a hundred eggs in one day, and what's more each of these eggs turn into adult fleas very quickly producing thousands more fleas, so one single flea can be a major problem if not eliminated in time.
It is a simple task to find out if your dog is infested with fleas, they cause the dog to scratch in different areas of the dog's body, for example; behind the ear of a dog and the tail end are the most extensive, on the other hand; further places consist of the belly plus the abdomen.
The bite of flea is surprisingly not a major problem, the saliva that the flea produces is more of a problem in respect of numerous dogs have an allergy for this substance, and can create "hot spots" this is a easy to spot in a dog by the condition of the skin that will look sore which comes about by scratching.
If you suspect your dog is infected with fleas, it is necessary to take a real close look at your dog's skin, it is almost impossible to see the fleas with the human eye, however the poop of the flea is easier to see it looks like little black spots of crushed pepper.
If you groom your dog with a comb on a regular basis this is a good way of finding the fleas poop by wiping the comb with a tissue after grooming, it's easy to see because it will be the same color as blood, the reason for this is blood is a flea's main source of food.
I hope you enjoyed this article and it has made you aware of how parasites can make life miserable for your dog.