Fleas are one of the major reasons many people refuse to own pets with fur, including adorable puppies. A pup with fleas can cause horrible skin irritation, infections, multiplying fleas throughout the house, and even infect family members of the human variety. Knowing how to keep your puppy flea-free is important to the welfare of the pup and the home in which it lives, and often getting on top of things in terms of fighting off fleas is the only way to really control them.
Prevention
Prevention is heralded as the most important step in keeping dogs, but especially puppies, flea-free. There are several options for flea prevention, including a pill given to pups when they feed, spot-on liquid treatments given between the shoulder blades, and flea-stopping collars. All of these must be used well before fleas are contacted. The pill form can be adjusted in dosage by a vet to facilitate the needs of younger puppies, while the spot-on treatments work for pups of almost any age save newborns. All prevent fleas from finding and latching onto the pup while laying eggs to repeat the cycle.
Treatment (for Puppy)
In some cases, treatments fail or they weren’t implemented early enough, and fleas become a problem. What now? Because fleas primarily love the blood of the animal, treating the puppy is the next step. Fleas can be painful and irritating to a young pup, so it’s important to know your options. Flea shampoos, flea sprays and medicated flea killing treatment are all options. The latter of the three have to be given by a vet, but the others can be effective if a good quality shampoo or spray is used. Frequent and consistent treatment is the only way killing fleas will be effective for any amount of time.
Treatment (for Home)
As you work on controlling and killing the fleas on your pooch, work on the home as well. Fleas start out feasting on your lovable puppy, but quickly move onto humans, into furniture upholstery and into carpets. There are several options for home treatments as well, including vacuum powder, house bombs targeted to fleas, and special carpet shampoos that can also be used on upholstery. Only when the treatment for the puppy and the home come together and work in sync will there be any hope of ridding the home of these horrible pests. With consistency and high-quality products for killing fleas, however, there is hope for relief for both you and your puppy.
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