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Flea's on Yorkies
Fleas have 4 stages in its life cycle: Adult-Egg-Larva-Pupa. The adult flea jumps on the pet, takes a blood meal and then lays eggs on the pet. As the eggs dry, they fall off wherever the pet happens to be, hatch into larva, develop into pupa and new adult fleas. An infestation can occur very quickly with the introduction of 1 or 2 fleas.
Ingesting fleas can cause tape worms in the dog. Effective tape worm pills can be obtained through your vet.
Treatment
Today's flea-control products are so effective, it's often unnecessary to go beyond this first step. Try treating your dog first, then your house, saving outdoor flea treatments as a last resort. Here are the pros and cons of some common first-step treatments.
Flea collar
I personally don't care for them.
Pyrethrin
A natural insecticide derived from chrysanthemums. It's nontoxic, and is one of the only product that's supposed to be safe to use on puppies and kittens. Pyrethrin is usually sold in a shampoo base and must remain in contact with fleas for several minutes in order to work.
Flea baths
In general, they're good for killing the fleas on the dog, but will not keep them off the dog.
Sprays, Powders & Dips
They can be effective, but are smelly and messy.
Oral medication
Program, one of the most popular flea treatments, is often referred to as the birth-control pill for fleas. Made by Novartis, it causes fleas to lay defective eggs, which never hatch. It's oral, has no known side effects.
Monthly topical insecticides
Advantage & Top Spot are two that are common. These are pre-measured by your vet based on your pet's weight, and applied to the back of the animal's neck. The drops spread across skin and work for approximately one month, killing fleas on contact.
Heatworm
Heartworm is a parasite that uses mosquitoes and dogs as its primary hosts. Adult heartworms live in the heart and lungs of the dog and produce microfilaria which is immature heartworms.
Heartworms are transmitted to dogs by mosquitoes. The mosquito bites the infected dog, ingests the tiny heartworm microfilaria, provides a host for the next stage of development of the parasite, then transfers the juvenile larvae to the bloodstream of the next dog she feeds on. The microfilaria swim to the lungs, where they mature and reproduce, sending more microfilariae into the dog's bloodstream to be ingested by a mosquito. The process of infection takes at least six months. Treatment of heartworm is extensive but is successful if the disease is not too far advanced and if the dog is in otherwise good health.
A vet can take a blood sample from your dog can and tell is currently infected. If negative your dog can be started on monthly preventative medication. This medication will kill the larva during the first 30 days of their development in the dog, which is why the monthly dose is effective.
If your dog does tests positive for Heartworm, treatment can be administered. Most will survive if caught early enough, although dogs do die from heartworm infection. By far the easiest means is preventative medicine.
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