External Dog Parasites - Control Them Before They Take Control Over Your Dog!

Infestation with dog parasites is a never ending problem: they occur everywhere. Whenever you walk your dog or get in contact with other canines, different developmental stages of external and internal dog parasites can be picked up by accident.

There are a few simple things you can do for prevention ( see 7 steps below) , but beside this you need to use effective anti-parasitic treatment.

7 Steps to Protect Your Pet Against Fleas,
Ticks and other Seasonal Pests

Make it a regular routine to check your pet's coat daily and plan in grooming sessions every 2 -3 days.
Make it a habit to check your pet right after every outdoor walk.
Always offer clean, fresh water and food on a daily base.
Use effective flea, tick and worming treatment. Best is ask your vet about them.
Wash and dry all your pet bedding on high temperature. Use detergent and insect repellent.
Vacuum and clean furniture, carpets and floors to eliminate flea larvae and food sources. Use Anti-flea household spray.
Regular (weekly) lawn mowing, removal of leaves, garden waste etc. and thinned out shrops and bushes will eliminate hiding and breeding spaces for pests.

Fleas and Ticks

Dog flea and tick infestation is quite easy to detect. Try to examine your dog's haircoat and skin systematically from head to tail and toe for these dog parasites. This way you will not miss out any body parts.

Use a flea comb and examine it for flea feaces and adult fleas.

Ticks

Ticks are usually good to see with the naked eye or a magnifying glass. They appear as small, black or brown "spots" on the skin, preferably in skin folds, the groin and axle areas.

If a tick is just embedding its head into the skin its body is still dark, small and empty. A few hours to days later their body appears as a greyish-brownish, blood-filled bladder that is easy to see. The skin directly around the head is usually reddened and itchy.

With special tick tweezers it is easy to fixate the tick's body and with a rotating movement you can remove head and body of the tick safely out of the skin. Desinfect the spot after removing the tick.

Topical anti-tick treatment products that work against ticks and fleas:

fipronil (Frontline spray or spot-on; Merial)
fipronil 10% +(s)-methoprene 9% (Frotline Combo spot-on; Merial)
permethrin (Canovel Long-acting Flea and Tick Spray; Pfizer)
octanoic and decanoic acid (Xenex Spray; Genitrix)
imidacloprid/ permethrin (Advantix spot-on; Bayer)

Fleas

Some dog parasites, such as fleas, are trickier to see as they are very mobile and try to hide.

As a rule of thumb you need to know that seeing one flea on your dog counts as 99 other fleas plus their developmental stages (eggs, larvae, immature flea) in the near environment your dog lives in.

This is the reason why it is so important to "treat" all floors, carpets, rugs, furniture, beds you allow your dog to sit or lie on with environmental sprays or aerosols.

If you relied on treating your pet only, the effectiveness of an anti-flea treatment would decrease considerably.

Dog hot spots and itchy skin are signs of a flea bite allergy. Some dogs show an allergic skin reaction if they are exposed to flea saliva. The skin on that site becomes edemic, reddened and itchy.

The dog will lick and scratch there repeatedly so the skin becomes swollen, red and abrased. Usually bacteria will cause an infection and you will be able to see it as a "hot spot".

This skin problem needs to be treated by your vet with antibiotics, pain relievers and anti-inflammatory medicine.

Effective, topical anti-flea treatment products come in spray or spot-on form:

fipronil (Frontline; Merial)
fipronil 10% +(s)-methoprene 9% (Frontline Combo; Merial)
permethrin (Canovel Long-acting Flea and Tick Spray; Pfizer)
octanoic and decanoic acid (Xenex Spray; Genitrix)
imidacloprid (Advantage spot-on; Bayer)
imidacloprid/ permethrin (Advantix spot-on; Bayer)
imidacloprid/ moxidectin (Advocate spot-on; Bayer)
permethrin (Canovel Flea Drops - spot on; Pfizer)
selamectin (Stronghold spot-on; Pfizer)

Oral Flea Treatment for Dogs

lufenuron (Program tablets; Novartis)
lufenuron, milbemycin oxime (Program Plus tablets; Novartis)
nitenpyram ( Capstar tablets; Novartis)

Environmental Control Products against External Dog Parasites

These sprays are not to be used directly on your dog or pet.

permethrin, s-methoprene (Acclaim Household Flea Spray; CEVA: 400 ml aerosol treats 140 sqm, 1 year complete flea control)
s-methoprene, pyrethrins (Canovel Pet Bedding and Household Spray Plus; Pfizer: 250 or 400 ml aerosol spray
permethrin, methoprene, bioallethrim (R.I.P. Fleas; Genitrix: 600 ml aerosol lasts for 12 months, treats whole house, kills house dust mites)
pyriproxyfen, permethrin (Indorex; Virbac: 500 ml spray 12 months active against fleas and house dust mites
permethrin, cyromazine (Staykil Household Flea Spray; Novartis: 500 ml aerosol, 12 months active)
methoprene, permethrin (Norshield; Norbrook: 150 or 400 ml environmental aerosol for cat and dog fleas)