HOW TO GET RID OF FLEA AND TICKS ON A DOG

Who doesn’t love the summers and especially taking your beloved pets to the park and for long walks on those bright sunny days. But with the rising temperatures comes a host of pests for our dogs, Fleas and Ticks being the most popular ones. Ticks and fleas are a bane for any dog owner’s life. They not only irritate your dog but once they enter your house via your pet, they also lay eggs on your furniture, mattress and practically anywhere they find a place to do so. Ticks and fleas are a problem that no one wants to encounter, these dreaded devils feed onto the blood of your pet which in turn can trigger many undesirable side effects and diseases. Some of them would include skin irritation, loss of hair, anemia, tapeworm and so on. 

You would be surprised to know that one of the biggest pests measures has been at a mere 1.5 to 3.2 millimeters in length; and it is an adult flea. The flea, especially, comes with a life cycle that has staying power. The average flea can lay upto 40-50 eggs daily, so it is going to take a hell lot of effort to keep the flea away.

The next thing is how do you get to know if your dog is suffering from fleas and ticks? Well, that’s quite simple, just notice if your dog is scratching and itching his body on a more frequent basis than usual. Do not ignore these signs as itching is the most prominent sign of a flea and tick infection. Some other signs you can look for are loss of fur, presence of flea dirt on fur that would look dark pepper in colour, pale gums of the pet, behaviour change etc.

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Fighting such infection can be quite tough both emotionally and medically for you and your pet. It’s highly advisable to get rid of them as soon as possible because once they make quite a living into your pet’s body and your house, it’s very tough to get them to leave. We have a list of precautions and measures that you can take in order to save yourself and your dog from these pests.

1. Vet Recommendation: Start with immediately taking your dog to a good and certified veterinary doctor as he/she can give the best advice and medications to help him.
2. Clean your Surroundings: Once you have your dog medicated by a doctor, you want to make sure that he doesn’t experience the same thing again. And for that, you need to disinfect and sanitize your home, your surroundings, like the lawn and every place where your dog visits on a daily basis. Hygiene and cleanliness is the most important thing to take into consideration.
3. Natural remedies: Going all natural is a popular trend with the pet parents which also is applicable for flea and tick infection. One such natural remedy is “Garlic.” It is the taste and smell of the garlic that these pests can not withstand. You can also go with the idea of bathing your dog with apple cider vinegar as they can’t stand the taste of it. If your dog wears a collar, make sure you drop lemon or rosemary oil onto his collar which will fend off fleas and ticks.
4. Frequent Combing and bathing: Make it a point that you keep your dog clean if you don’t want him to get stuck with these pests longer. You can use a tick and flea shampoo for washing off the fur and sending them down the drain. You can also comb your dog’s fur using a flea comb at least once a day.
5. Vacuum your home: To keep the pests permanently out of your home, make sure you clean every bit of your house. Washing the sheets and carpets in hot water plus drying them too in hot may help. Vacuum your complete house once a week .

Taking care of your pets is very important if you are willing to keep them. You need to understand that they too are living beings and need to be taken proper care of. By taking care of your pets, you are indirectly taking care of yourself and your family members. It can sometimes be a little tricky task to keep the fleas and ticks away from your dog’s body but with some measures and proper care and medication, it can be dealt with quite easily. Just keep the above pointers in your mind, and you can easily get rid of such pests from your pet baby.