How To Tell If Your Dog Has Ticks Or Fleas

How To Tell If Your Dog Has Ticks Or Fleas

Finding out your dog has ticks or fleas can be upsetting, especially if it’s a puppy. Once you find that your dog has ticks, your mind will begin to race looking for answers. When is the last time you brushed him? Has he been outside? Finding out if your dog has ticks requires patience and focus. Not to mention a little luck as you sort through all of his fur! But don’t worry there are some tell tale signs to look for that can help you eliminate a few options!

This guide will show you how to tell if your dog has fleas and how to tell if your dog has ticks. Your best bet is to work with your vet when it comes to figuring out if your dog has fleas or ticks. The reason why I say this is because they are going to know what they’re looking at and they’ll be able to tailor a treatment that’s best for your dog.

How To Tell If Your Dog Has Ticks Or Fleas

How Do I Know If My Dog Has Fleas Or Ticks?

Fleas and ticks are a common problem for pet owners. These parasites can cause skin irritation and infection, as well as transmit diseases to your dog. If you notice any of the following symptoms on your dog, it is possible that he has fleas or ticks:

Irritated or inflamed skin

Red, scaly patches

Small, red bumps that resemble flea bites

As the parasite feeds on its host’s blood, it excretes waste products into the dog’s fur. This can stain your dog’s coat yellow or brown. The stains may be concentrated around the neck area where he sleeps (they prefer this area because it’s warm).

Have you noticed little red bumps on your dog’s skin? These could be fleas.

If you’ve got a flea problem, it’s important to act quickly. Fleas can cause serious health problems for your dog and even make them miserable to be around. Fortunately, there are a few simple ways to tell if your dog has fleas or ticks.

The first thing you’ll want to do is get a good look at their skin. If you notice small red bumps, that could mean that they have fleas. These red bumps will appear on the back of their neck and on their legs—typically where fleas tend to bite first!

Another sign that your dog might have fleas is if they start scratching more than normal. This is because fleas bite dogs’ skin and create an allergic reaction within the body; which causes itching and scratching as an attempt by your dog to relieve themselves from this irritation!

Ticks also cause irritation when they bite dogs’ skin; but unlike fleas, ticks don’t always leave behind visible signs after biting! You may not see any signs of irritation at all; however your dog may still be affected by their bites even though they don’t show any outward signs that anything

How To Tell If Your Dog Has Ticks Or Fleas

Ticks

There is no question that pets are curious beings, often wandering into every shrub or bush they can squeeze through. In certain geographical areas, this roaming can cause a pet to acquire ticks. More common in dogs than cats, ticks attach themselves to a pet’s neck, ears, or skin folds. The bites can cause irritation, spread disease, and can eventually cause anemia.

If you live in an area prone to tick infestation, be sure to periodically examine your pet after walks or after they have roamed for long periods outside.

What do I do if my pet has a tick?

Promptly removing a tick upon discovering one is the easiest way to prevent disease transmission. To remove a tick, carefully grip the tick with tweezers as close to the pet’s skin as possible. Firmly pull the tick away from the skin while holding the tweezers tightly closed. After removing the tick, crush it, but avoid contact with the innards, as they could be carrying disease. If you do not pull the tick off just right, the head can remain attached and will continue to infect your pet, so it is critical that you remove the tick in its entirety.

During tick season, try using a tick preventative to reduce your pet’s chances of acquiring ticks, especially if taking your pet through heavily infested areas when hiking or camping.

If you are unfamiliar with tick removal or feel unconfident removing your pet’s tick on your own, contact the veterinarian, and they can remove the tick for you.

Fleas

The most common flea is the Ctenocephalides Felix, more commonly known as the cat flea, though there are various other types. This particular type of flea is capable of hosting on humans, cats, dogs, rabbits, hamsters, rats, mice, guinea pigs, ferrets, and birds. These fleas rapidly reproduce and are capable of quickly infesting an entire household with both humans and pets as their hosts. If one pet has fleas, all pets within the household must be treated.

Fleas survive by ingesting the blood of their hosts. When they bite the host’s flesh, their saliva irritates the skin, causing the host to itch which in turn, may cause an allergic reaction. To determine if your pet has fleas, comb a section of hair on their back, towards a white piece of paper. If black flecks, resembling dirt, fall onto the paper, gently drop a very small amount of water onto the paper. If the black flecks begin to turn a rust-colored red, your pet has fleas. The rust hue is resultant of the blood being sucked out of your pet. If nothing comes off of your pet when brushed, or if the black flecks remain black, your pet is healthy.

Household inhabitants with fleas may experience: 

• Anemia
• Mild to severe scratching
• Open sores
• Pet owners experiencing flea bites

Treatment for fleas

If one pet in the household has fleas, all household inhabitants should be treated. Treatment can include either a shampoo or a topical treatment. Shampoos will kill fleas for a few days, whereas topical creams or gels will kill fleas for a few weeks. We recommend using topical treatments for a more thorough solution.

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