Flea control in my dog

Advice on how to keep your dog and house flea-free

Fleas are a common parasite of dogs in Guernsey. Dogs that socialise or who share a house with a cat are more likely to be infected by fleas. Most fleas on dogs in households with both dogs and cats are cat fleas.

Every female flea can produce several hundred eggs in seven days. With a life cycle inside your home of only a few weeks, multiplication to many thousand of fleas can occur rapidly. Only the adult flea is parasitic, but the egg, larval and cocoon stages develop in your carpets, skirting boards and in furniture. All your pets will become infested once an initial flea enters your home. We see evidence of up to 50% of untreated cats and 25% of untreated dogs carrying fleas.

Fleas are responsible for 90% of cases of dermatitis, a skin disease in the dog and also can carry the tapeworm, Dipylidium that is passed on to the dog.

We advise ongoing, year round flea control using the ‘3-point plan.’

• Use a top quality ‘Spot-on’ every month that is recommended by your vet to kill adult fleas.
• Use a household flea spray such as to kill fleas, larvae and to inhibit the eggs.
• Vacuum the house. A good tip is to spray a household flea spray into the vacuum bag.