Anything For Animals

posted by admin on May 17

How To Assess ‘What Is Wrong With My Dog?’

There are many illness that your dog can get, and many symptoms that can be signs of various diseases or injuries.

It is important to know whether the symptoms in you dog are 1) serious and need urgent veterinary attention, 2) are important and need checking by a vet, 3) are uncomfortable for your dog but can be treated at home or by simple remedies and 4) those that are common and need no treatment.

1) Serious - Urgent Attention.
This would include continued bleeding, sudden collapse or fitting, an obvious injury like bring hit by a car or anything regarding a pregnant bitch that is unusual.

A discharge from any body part could also be serious (although not clear discharge from the eyes and nose) especially if it is bloody, smelly or contains pus.  Always call your vet surgery if concerned.  Serious cases of violent or continued vomiting and diarrhea (with or without blood) may also be fitted into this group if very young, very old, or already ill and/or on medication.

2) Important - Need Checking.
This could include symptoms that have been going on for a while, but that were not immediately worrying.  These could include; loss of appetite, loose stools, vomiting, gradual weight loss, inactivity/sleeping more, behavioural changes (including aggression, soiling indoors, becoming unsociable) or stiffness.

You may be able to speak with a veterinary receptionist or veterinary nurse to help you decide on how to progress with these symptoms or whether to book an appointment sooner rather than later - it all depends on the age of the animal or other existing illnesses.

3) Uncomfortable - Your Choice.
Such things as worms (scratching their rear end or dragging their bottom along the ground) or fleas (chewing all their fur off up their back or scratching excessively) or other parasites can be either treated at home with standard products - however a visit to the vet can also check for other problems at the same time as administering treatment.

However, to be effectively treated at home, owners should still speak to a receptionist at their vet surgery for the most effective course of treatment and sometimes the more effective actual products.  By this I mean buying just a flea spray or collar for your pet will not get rid of fleas - you need to treat the whole house.  But if you only treat the pets bed and use a ‘flea’ product only (rather than one that kills the eggs and larva too) you will not solve the problem - and could make your own flesh the fleas next meal! See the previous ‘How To Get Rid Of Fleas In Your Home’ article for more advice.

4) Common Problems - Little Treatment.
Things such as loose stools after eating too much food - or the wrong type of food - such as stealing some cakes off the table!

Vomiting green slime after eating (or having the potential to have eaten) grass, or just vomiting up the last meal it ate - which they normally will eat again!

Hacking or coughing after eating a bone or twig - as long as the dog doesn’t look too uncomfortable and it doesn’t last more than an half hour or so is usually nothing to worry about.

Basically any symptoms that only last a short time and do not happen regularly should be no cause for concern.  As with humans, just keep an eye on things and go from there.

In Summary: 
As with any living creature, it is far better to get anything checked out if you are unsure, and for the sake a few $’s, it can be worth the peace of mind. 

I’m sure that your vet will not think you are wasting their time - after all, you are paying for a normal appointment just like everyone else there with you!  It also means that they get to answer any of your questions AND get to check your dog over thoroughly at the same time and update their health record, do a weight check and you can buy some food/wormers/flea products/accessories while you are there!

There are no losers after a visit to your vets!

posted by admin on Jul 9

How to get rid of fleas in your home.

It’s ok asking how to get rid of fleas in your home, as it is a common problem all pets owners have to deal with at some point of another.  However - everyone normally blames their pet and as a result there are many flea treatments available for flea control for just your pets.  But did you know that just treating your pet doesn’t always get rid of fleas in your home?

Fleas have been evolving for centuries to be the best parasite they can be, so you really need to know your stuff about them if you are going to outwit them at first attempt. You and your friends have probably tried new treatments for flea control from a pet shop, supermarket or your vets time and time again, but they just don’t seem to work, and have sometimes cost you a lot of money.

Therefore I am going to outline the 2 main types of flea control, and how effective they are, or why they appear to fail.

Pet-Only Flea Control Products:
These are flea treatments only for use on your pets, and include plain flea collars, electronic flea collars, flea sprays, flea pipettes, flea powder and shampoos, all designed to be used only on the pet itself - and specific to dogs OR cats. 

YOU CANNOT USE A DOG SPECIFIC PRODUCT ON A CAT.

Flea treatments for pets are very effective at killing fleas if they contain insecticides, as these will instantly kill any live fleas on your pet and you will sometimes see the results of these within minutes as you rinse or groom your pet after application.

The reason that some flea treatments for pets appear not to work after the initial treatment is that fleas actually live in your house, not on your pets at all.  The fleas only hop onto your pets to feed or breed.

Specialist flea companies quote something like for every adult flea you see there are another 100 in your home. Not surprisingly then, after you have freed your pet of however many fleas were on it at the time, as soon as it returns to your home, the next hungry lot jump straight back on!

But it lasts for 6 months… 
Don’t think that if the flea control products have a lasting effect - say 4 months protection - this will last to the end, as not all areas of the pet will remain protected for the whole time the flea collar or drops suggest. Dogs and cats get wet in the rain, washing chemicals off the felt-like collars very quickly. Humans touch the collars or groom their pets too soon, reducing it’s total insecticide content.

Either way, it’s bad news for you here, as even if the cat or dog is well protected, the fleas have still got to feed, so you may well become the next victim until you forget to continue the flea treatment on your pet, or don’t replace that flea collar as required, so the fleas can safely seek out the dog or cat again…..

So, why do they sell these products then?
Well, they are part of a whole flea control program, and are effective for just one small part if used alone. When used correctly with other flea control products for the home they will keep your pet and home clean of fleas.

Household-Only Flea Control Products:
These are usually large aerosol spray cans, flea powders or ‘bombs’ and are available as pet supplies but also in hardware stores and supermarkets, mainly for killing fleas in carpets and other furnishing.

The main problem with household flea control products is that they all do exactly what they say on the packaging (as the laws are very strict with chemicals), but we don’t always read the labels.  There are sprays that kill just adult fleas, and those that kill the larvae too, but there is only one type of aerosol spray that will actually rid your home of fleas properly - and it’s one that kills all 4 flea life-stages.

Basically, fleas are insects and have a life-cycle that includes the flea eggs, flea larvae, pupae and the actual adult flea, so you need a flea control treatment that does ALL 4 THINGS at the same time.

Inevitably these are more expensive than others, and for them to work you need to buy enough to do every single room in your home, including the shed, the garage, the loft, conservatories and porches, etc. They must be sprayed as directed in every room or place in your home or garden where people go (as fleas can be on you not just the pet). This might seem extreme, but if you treat everywhere except the shed and there are adult fleas in there, the next person in there will be dinner, and may well bring one back in your home to start laying eggs all over again, and you have wasted your time and money.

I know it sounds like overkill (excuse the pun), but you want them gone, right? So make sure you check you have enough of the right household flea control products for your type of property and use as directed.  Use the tips below to see where you went wrong last time:

Products that only kill the adult flea - no good - the flea eggs and flea larvae will still hatch at some point, re-infesting your home.
Products that only cover 1 or 2 rooms - no good - the fleas will still be living around the rest of your home, and will still breed there, biting you and your pets.
Products that last less than a year - no good - flea eggs can stay dormant in your carpet for over a year, so will be unaffected.

In Conclusion Then:
So, how to get rid of fleas in your home is actually simple, but there are so many treatments out there that you feel like you are going round in circles, trying one after the other.

Get the best advice from the products themselves, not other people. Read the labels yourself, and use as directed for the most effective flea control: well it’s your home after all.

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posted by admin on Jul 2

Is there an organic flea treatment?

A lot of people are now asking for an organic flea treatment or natural flea killer to treat their home and pets for flea control, as they don’t want to use strong chemicals on their pet or to just release into the environment, but unfortunately, you can’t kill fleas with garlic, or vinegar alone.

If you have read the other article on this site - how to rid my home of fleas - you will be aware that any such products would only actually ‘work’ if the house and pet had been totally cleared of fleas using insecticide treatments.

It is not uncommon for a pet owner to never have to use insecticidal flea control products on their pet itself, and I was one of them.

Flea allergies:
My little cross breed had flea allergy dermatitis (which should only be diagnosed by a vet - not assumed) and she was forever gnawing off all the hair and skin down her back and sides. I would say she did this until it was red raw, but in-fact she wouldn’t stop chewing even then in her agony from the reaction to flea bites and their saliva.

I tried all sorts of ‘pet’ remedies for flea control alongside treating the house as recommended by my vets, but her skin seemed to still be reacting to everything - usually still in the tell tale ‘flea zone’. By this I mean firstly you notice the hair going missing down the spine towards the tail end - well this is where the dog can easily reach with their teeth! Then the skin in that area would start to go dark - another classic marker for severe skin irritation, then I would notice sores and welts with clear liquid oozing from them. It was not nice.

It was years before I started working in the pet trade and found out about the flea cycle and how I could benefit my little hound. I also found out that many dogs who are sensitive to flea bites are also sensitive to powerful flea insecticides and other flea treatments. How obvious! I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it.

Insecticide Free Treatment:

So with my new knowledge of how fleas acted and bred, I set off to change my flea control program.

Firstly I treated my home with an effective 12 month household flea spray - and I was very thorough. I couldn’t bear one more summer of hairless, uncomfortable, irritated and sore pet! Not one flea was going to escape this time.

Secondly, I groomed my pet outside using a fine flea comb, so thoroughly that she was starting to get really bored of the whole thing and kept trying to walk off. I groomed her again before we got home after the house spraying and upon returning I vacuumed everywhere, emptying the bag and vacuuming again a bit later. I also groomed her several more times that week with the flea comb and vacuumed a few more times to be sure. My other half thought I was a bit crazy, but I knew it would be worth it in the end.

Did it work?
Well yes, it did actually, for the rest of her life in-fact!

I was always watching out for any sign of fleas on her or me, and the minute she span round to stare at her own bum - I knew we had one, so out came the flea comb - outside of the house - until I found it.

I did have some assistants in my quest and these were the natural insect repellents, including citronella, garlic, vinegar and the like. Many such products are sold everywhere and have been for years as ‘herbal’ flea products. All such products do naturally ward off insects including fleas, and so can help to reduce the number of fleas your pet comes into contact with throughout the day.

By feeding or spraying your pet with these, you make them a more unattractive target for fleas wherever they go, so you can in theory use these to keep your pet and home free of infestation - you will never keep you pet or home free of fleas though, as if one is hungry enough, it doesn’t care how smelly your pet is, it needs to eat!

Can you imagine being starving hungry yourself and not going into your own kitchen as your other half had just fried fish in there? No, you would just brave it, grab your food quickly and get out of there. That’s exactly what the flea might do.

So, can you get organic flea treatments?
Yes, you can easily buy and effectively use natural and organic flea treatments, but there is not really a natural flea killer - apart from humans of course! Anyone can use natural products to keep their homes clear of infestation, and we can make it very likely that fleas won’t use us or our pets for food.

There are plenty of products like these available in pet stores everywhere for your use, either sprays, tablets, drops or shampoos.

And so, you CAN enjoy a natural, organic and flea free life.

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posted by admin on Jun 29

So, what is the best Flea Product to use?

As with any flea control products or flea treatments, it depends on how you use them as to whether they appear to work, so comparing individual products is very hard. Don’t forget that fleas do not live on the pet itself, so the following product in the example below could have 2 very different results in the eyes of the untrained ‘flea’ owner:

House 1: You can use flea spray A on a pet in a house with no infestation or flea eggs present, and that will be it - no more fleas on that pet.

House 2: You can use the same flea spray A on a pet in a house with an infestation and/or flea eggs present, and soon enough that pet will ‘have’ fleas again.

But aren’t some products stronger than others?
There are flea treatments for pets that are ’stronger’ than others in terms of the chemicals present, and those from your vets normally contain stronger insecticides than those you might find in a pet store and even stronger than those in a supermarket.

However the reason the ones from the vets normally ‘work better’ is due to the information that the vet gives you.

A good vet, when confronted by a flea problem in a client, will not only recommend a treatment for the pet, but will usually not let you leave there without a product for the house too, therefore killing the flea cycle completely - clearing out your house and clearing your pet at the same time - they may well even sell you a wormer that you think is more money but it will actually benefit your pet long term.

Compare this to when you go into a supermarket for your pet supplies. There is no one trained there to help you choose the best flea control program, so you will usually pick up the one your friend recommended - even though they may have just been House 1 in the example above (and you may be house 2).

Or if not, you may select the cheapest one thinking they are all the same, just different brands (like bread or washing powders) and get home with just one step of the recommended flea control program - to just kill the fleas on your pet - the ones you can see!

Either way, it’s probably not going to work.

Why Won’t It Work?? 
I’d like to go back to friends recommendations above, as they are often based on no real evidence either, just what that friend saw. For example, what if that friend from House 1 found several fleas in their house the following month, they could take one of the 2 paths here:

Path A: Buy the same product they brought last time, but as the fleas are in the house now not just on the pet, this will appear not work. The friend will be confused and probably think that they didn’t use enough, so may respray the pet.

Path B: Buy a different product, as their usual one wasn’t available, but this will also not appear to work - as the owner hasn’t realised the fleas are in the home not just on the pet. They will therefore assume that this product doesn’t work but the last one did.

There are no actual facts involved in either of these recommendations, just a lack of knowledge about the flea cycle, and sadly it will not only be them who is wasting money experimenting in this way, they will be helping you to make the same mistakes.

So, the best products are…….
In conclusion, I can only say that the only products you should use for your pet to rid your home of fleas - and which should be all be applied at the same time - are the following:

• Any brand of insecticide household flea spraythat kills all flea eggs, flea larvae, flea pupae and adult fleas and lasts for at least a year.
• Any brand of insecticide cat or dog products, including flea shampoo, tablets, powder, drops or spray (only use the dog products on dogs NEVER CATS).
• Any brand of tapeworm and roundworm killers that contains enough to treat every pet you own - check the weights and 2 in 1’s are easier to administer.

If you can find a product brand that does all 3 stages above, it would be best to use all their products for the 3 stages above. You can rest assured then, that they are professionals and dedicate a lot of their funds to researching flea treatments, and that their products have been tested together, and so should give the best flea control.

Don’t cut corners here, as you may well waste all the money you spend if one stage is not used properly - see ‘How to get rid of fleas in your home’ for more details.

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