It’s very likely that, if you’re a dog owner, you are going to have to employ some flea treatment for your dog at some point. The reason for this is that it is so difficult to prevent pets from getting a flea infestation. All they have to do is come in to contact with another animal with fleas, or go through a bush where fleas are present, and they will be infested.
Chemical Treatments
One of the options you will have have available to you is to get a chemical flea treatment to treat your dog with. These come in various different forms. There are sprays, lotions, even tablets. Which one is going to be best for your pet is something that you should discuss with your vet.
There are quite a few advantages of using chemical treatments. For instance, it’s going to be fast, it’s going to last a long time, and it’s not going to require much effort to perform. When a tablet is used, for example, it will last a long time because every time a flea bites your dog the chemicals it gets from the blood will shut down its nervous system.
As you might expect from a treatment like that though, it is a bit of a risk. It’s been known for the same chemicals which shut down a flea’s nervous system to also affect the nervous system of the dog as well. Using this kind of treatment can be dangerous then.
Given the risks involved then, you might wonder why any pet owner would subject their dog to such a treatment. What you have to remember though is that the negative side effects are not definitely going to happen, in fact they don’t happen very often. And with a more long-lasting treatment you are giving your dog a longer-lasting relief to the fleas.
Natural Treatments
In order to take away the possibility that you are going to harm your pet though, all you have to do is employ a natural flea treatment. They are going to be completely safe, although they are also going to be more difficult to apply and not last for as long. So that is something that you are going to have to weigh up.
Amongst the most common natural flea remedies is the flea bath. Of course this is something that generally you can only give to dogs because a cat would not stay still long enough for the treatment to be effective. With a dog it usually is possible though, and any normal dog shampoo will be fine for that.
After a flea bath has been given, if it has been thorough enough, then all of the fleas should have been eradicated from your pet. However, if you have not also treated the rest of your house for fleas then that is unlikely to last for long. That’s because there are probably going to be fleas waiting around, ready to jump on to your pet and continue the infestation.
Treating the Environment for Fleas
Treating the environment in which your pet lives is just as important as treating the pet itself. That’s because when female fleas lay eggs, while they are on your pet, those eggs are going to fall off. They settle down in to the carpet, the bedding of your pet, or wherever else they happen to be. And from there they become adult fleas.
To get the eggs is quite simple, thoroughly vacuum cleaning the area should be enough for that. However a vacuum is unlikely to get all of the larvae, and that’s because they are so small they can cling on to the strands that make up a carpet. Treating your carpet with a steam cleaner is going to be necessary to get rid of them then.
In order to get the best results though, not just in your house but in your garden as well, it’s a good idea to get in pest control experts to get rid of the fleas.