I'm stepping away from my series on "Boundaries" today to address a timely topic affecting all dogs everywhere: the curse of the flea. If you're a dog owner, it's almost impossible to dodge flea treatment, especially during the summer months. Don't kid yourself. All it takes is one missed month for your dog to become infested with them. And it's not pleasant.
Yesterday I stopped by the vet to pick up some flea treatment for all three dogs. Mind you, it's not cheap. I'd much rather take the $400 Dad and I spent on the dogs' eight rounds of flea treatment and heartworm preventative and buy Linus a new toy or save up for my impending vacation. But that's one of the the hardest parts of being a responsible dog owner: there's no skimping on your animal's health.
Ponying up the cash to treat your dog every month with Frontline (R) or another vet-recommended flea treatment is the best way to prevent fleas. If you are thinking "it's just little fleas...what's the worst that could happen?" or "that's too darned expensive," then I would encourage you to take the flea threat a little more seriously. Because I once thought like you, but now I can speak from experience: you don't want to let fleas in your home or on your dogs. Linus HAS been infected with fleas before (when we had missed our regular dosage of Frontline) and subsequently he was infected with tapeworms. Tapeworms are caused by the larvae of fleas and they make your dog very sick. What's more, tapeworms will make you very sick if you are ever graced with their lovely presence in a warm bed of your dog's feces. Please excuse the candor here, but experiencing this is not something I wish for any other dog owner.
So, there's my horror story. I hope my regular readers realize that I am no expert at this, I have made mistakes as a dog owner, but I only mean to speak from experience so others won't make my same mistakes. Even missing a week of treatment can make them susceptible to these little bugs. So, I beg of you, don't just shake off your vet's recommendation to stay on top of flea treatment. As a pet owner in a down economy, I know we are all thinking: Where can we skimp? Is my vet ripping me off? And, in this case, I have to warn you that taking care of the fleas now will prevent strife, additional costs and further treatment in the future. Avoiding fleas will just lead to inevitable misery. And preventative treatment is easy. With a snip and a squirt on the nape of the neck, you are through with that worry!
The Companion Animal Parasite Council is a great resource for information on flea treatment, preventative tips and the scoop on other pesky parasites that can threaten the cleanliness and safety of your home, as well as the health of your dogs. Click here to read their article on how to test for and prevent fleas.
Below, Linus gets a bath - this is not a happy time.
Bathtime is a great opportunity to investigate your dog's coat and check for signs of fleas (little brown bugs or little black specks under your dog's fur). Flea baths are available your local pet store. Keep in mind, these baths will not take care of the problem for good. Legit flea treatment is only available through your vet's office.
Now, I've got to stop talking about this... it's making me itchy! Long live summer, and down with those fleas!
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