Train the Dog Blog

Getting rid of fleas is a burden of pet ownership. Unless you are extraordinarily careful and extraordinarily lucky, all pet owners will be faced with some degree of flea issues. Flea infestations can be minor or can quickly develop into something major. The treatment of the problem differs depending upon on quickly you catch the problem.

The best way to deal with dog fleas is to prevent dog fleas. However, even with the best of intentions and discipline, our pets will at some time come into contact with fleas. The most effective way to deal with fleas is to take a multi-pronged approach. First, you must get rid of the fleas on your pet, Secondly, you must rid the immediate environment of fleas to prevent immediate re-infestation. Lastly, you must re-double your efforts towards flea prevention.

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.

There are also ways to get rid of fleas naturally. More common methods include rubbing olive oil on to your pet’s skin. Working from the head to the tail, the olive oil drowns the fleas. Of course, this method can prove to be expensive for larger animals. A similar method uses baby powder or talcum powder.

Pay close attention to the areas in your house in which your pet sleeps or passes his day. These areas will, most definitely, have fleas. Vacuum every surface your pet may have come into contact with. If feasible try to steam clean your furniture and carpets using the hottest water possible. Make sure you wash all of the bedding, throw blankets, pillow covers etc. Once you have vacuumed, make sure you seal the vacuum bag and take it out of your house.

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.

Keep reading on my-dog-has-fleas.com to find out more about getting rid of fleas.

categories: dog fleas,fleas,dog health,pet health,dogs,pets

Dog lovers and owners everywhere are often faced with the issue of how to get rid of fleas! When your pet gets infested with fleas it can be an agonizing experience for both the dog and the owner and the rest of the family. We know there are side-effects of some well known dog flea products. The chemicals used in some of the nationally available household name products and may be harming our dogs and cats and potentially damaging our own health to boot. The local pet store sells a number of different flea shampoos, flea powders and flea collars including Frontline for fleas. Even though the staff are helpful and know their stuff, it is still difficult to know which product to use and almost impossible to know all of the chemical in these flea products. So for many of us the question still remains, how to get rid of fleas safely?

More often these days, pet owners are seeking natural or homeopathic alternatives to the issue of dog fleas. Some of the most commonly used natural dog flea remedies are outlined below:

1. Household salt remedy. Sprinkle it all over the house and particularly where your dog likes to snooze. Let the salt sit for a week or more. It seems that fleas don?t seem to like salt. Your dog will lie down on the carpet and the salt will also get on to his fur. A few days later and presto the fleas are gone.

2. Talcum powder to get rid of fleas. Cover your dog with baby powder or talcum powder. The powder will smother the fleas and kill them. This all-natural flea remedy is often recommended for puppies who are too young to be exposed to any flea chemical. You can also use baking soda.

3. Olive oil remedy. For the fleas on adult dogs, you could try an olive oil bath. Start from the dogs head and work your way back so the fleas don’t move to the face where it’s really tough to pluck them off. Evidence suggests that the fleas just drown in it and fall out. Then just shampoo the dog fleas down the drain.

4. Some people think garlic is the best all-natural dog fleas remedy. Use freshly diced garlic. You can put a dab of oil into it in order to make it smoother plus the oil will make for a nice shiny coat. Some people use a garlic pill supplement while others use freshly chopped garlic and mix it into the food. The fleas don?t like the scent emitted by the dog after ingesting garlic.

It would appear that there are many natural alternatives to treating dog fleas. These treatments will likely work best at the point of initial infestation. For a really bad cases of fleas you might need to try a stronger dog flea remedy such as Frontline. In figuring out how to get rid of fleas its best to do your research. However, with all matters pertaining to the health of our dogs and cats, please check with your doctor about potential side effects.