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  • From: Karen Nesbitt <spanishequines@yahoo.com>
  • To: undisclosed recipients: ;
  • Subject: [MSAR] Fw: The Flea Days of Summer
  • Date: Mon, 04 Aug 2008 02:44:57 -0000



More for the "itchy" dog and cat....Myself, I am finding that the Mycodex shampoo with three times the pyrethns is working well for our k-9.  We also solved some of the dry coat problem our pup had by adding olive oil to her food and she gets a capsule of echinecea which we open and put on her food where we put athe dolop of olive oil.  She likes fresh echinecea leaves, but those are not always available and one capsule a day seems to be adequate for a 40 lb dog.  Her doat has been restored to a luster and the dryness is disappearing.
 
While some vets will not lay claim that herbs like echinecea do anything for a dog, I have noticed a huge difference in ours.  The echinecea wil help calm a belly ache and dogs do not have any tendency to throw up afterwards as they do after eating grass.  It is supposed to also bolster the immune suystem. 
 
This summer has been the worst I have ever seen for ticks and fleas.  Between spraying the yard and dog park for pests and putting any repllents on the aniomals direct we all need to watch it when it comes to our animals consuming the repellents as they groom themselves and be watchful for any symptoms of poisioning through what we use to try to help them in our prevention and abatement of the bugs and parasites.. tooo much of a good thing can be very harmful.
 
K. Nesbitt
VMSAR'
 
Article attatched

 
To view this article online:
http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/news/stories/news4463.html
		
The Flea Days of Summer 

Author: Sarah Dowling 
<b>An archive of Pet Columns from the University of Illinois College of
Veterinary Medicine is available online at www.vetmed.illinois.edu/petcolumns/. 
Requests for reprints of this article may be directed to Mandy Barth,
mandyb@illinois.edu.</b>


Summer is now in full swing and so is the war against the tiny, wingless,
blood-eating fleas that make our pets miserable during these hot, humid days.

The flea, while extremely annoying to both pets and humans, is actually quite a
fascinating insect. According to Dr. Allan Paul, a veterinary parasitologist at
the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in Urbana, the life
cycle of the flea is divided into several stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
The flea's body is flattened slightly to allow it to move between the coarse
fur of a cat or dog with ease. The long, specially adapted legs of a flea allow
it to jump up to 200 times its own body length, making it the best jumper in the
animal kingdom.

Adult fleas will spend the majority of their lives on a host animal if they are
able to find one. Once on the host, an adult female flea can lay up to 50 eggs
per day, or about 2,000 eggs in a lifetime. These eggs will then fall off the
animal and hatch into larvae within a few days.

Dr. Paul explains that these larvae will then develop in the environment,
thriving in warm, moist, dark places like under furniture, decks, and yard
waste. Within 7 to 10 days the flea larvae will form a cocoon, entering the pupa
state. With the proper conditions, the pupa will develop into adults within 1 to
2 weeks.

The pupa is a resilient life stage for the flea and, if conditions including
heat, vibration, and carbon dioxide are not right, the pupa may not emerge from
its cocoon for months. There is no life stage of the flea can survive freezing,
which is why flea populations and infestation problems decline significantly
after the first frost of the year. However, the pupa stage does have the ability
to survive the winter in indoor environments and in areas where freezing and
frost does not occur. This means that pets are susceptible to fleas year round.

"Unfortunately, the hot and humid summer days in the Midwest lend the
ideal conditions for flea development and during the summer the flea life cycle
will take around 28 days to complete," explains Dr. Paul "Thankfully,
preventing and controlling fleas is much easier today than it was a decade ago
as safer, more effective, and easier to use products have become readily
available to the public"

According to Dr. Paul these stand alone topical and oral flea preventatives are
usually enough to stop any flea infestation in its tracks. However, in cases of
heavier infestations your veterinarian may recommend increasing the frequency at
which the preventative is applied or spot treating the areas in your home or
yard where fleas thrive. Dr. Paul also advises that you should never make any
changes to your pet's flea prevention regime without consulting your
veterinarian.

While the majority of the products on the market will work to some degree, not
all flea preventions are created equal, making it best to purchase your flea
preventative from your veterinarian. The products available through a
veterinarian may combine flea prevention with heartworm, tick, intestinal
parasite, or other external parasite preventative medications. 
Oftentimes you can simply apply a liquid product or give your pet a chewable
tablet once a month to make sure your pet is protected against fleas and the
plethora of other parasites that may threaten your pet. As always, consult with
your veterinarian to decide which products and control programs are best suited
for your pets.

Sometimes, despite your pet being on the best flea preventative on the market,
fleas may still appear. Dr. Paul explains that if you find yourself in this
situation don't panic. No product on the market is able to kill fleas
instantly. Give your pet's medication some time to work; the fleas that you
might see have likely not bitten your pet yet and will die before laying any
eggs.

"The best way to look for fleas is to check your pet for flea dirt, a
pepper flake-like substance that is actually flea feces," says Dr. Paul.
"The most likely place to find flea dirt is at the base of the tail or any
other area where the animal usually cannot reach to groom."

If you are administering a preventative medication after an infestation has
already occurred, it is important to remember that preventative medications work
best if given before fleas have a chance to jump onto your pet. Once the
medication has time to circulate through your pet's system you should see a
huge difference in the flea population.

Dr. Paul recommends thoroughly washing your pet's bedding and vacuuming
your house, including under and on the furniture and any other area in which
your pet spends a lot of time. This will remove a large portion of the eggs,
larva, and pupa that reside in these areas. Bathing your pet will help to remove
the adult fleas and give your pet some relief until the flea medication has a
chance to take effect.

After the flea problem has been cleared from your pet and home Dr. Paul
recommends that owners should be on the lookout for any sign of an intestinal
parasite called the tapeworm. Some signs of infection include the appearance of
rice-like worm segments in the feces or on the animal, unexplained weight loss,
and lethargy.

Your pet can become infected with this parasite by accidentally ingesting
fleas, which will happen when your pet grooms itself or bites at the fleas. It
is important to remember that the tapeworm is a zoonotic parasite, which means
that the both the two-legged and four-legged members of your family are
susceptible to infection if a flea is accidentally ingested.

If you have any questions about fleas or how to protect your pet against this
pesky parasite, contact your local veterinarian.

<b>An archive of Pet Columns from the University of Illinois College of
Veterinary Medicine is available online at www.vetmed.illinois.edu/petcolumns/. 
Requests for reprints of this article may be directed to Mandy Barth,
mandyb@illinois.edu.</b>

Veterinary Extension/Office of Public Engagement<br>
University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine<br>
217/333-2907



Source: Allan Paul, DVM, MS 
		
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  • [MSAR] Fw: The Flea Days of Summer, Karen Nesbitt, 08/03/2008

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