Flea control is very important for your pets. Staff members at American Animal Care Center, a world renown veterinary hospital, discuss various flea control options for dogs and cats. Flea control products discussed are Frontline Plus, Advantix, Advantage, Comfortis, & Revolution. The life stages of the flea are discussed as well.
Duration : 0:4:5
Read the rest of this entry »
Dec 08, 2011 | | dog flea treatment
There is no such thing as a “teacup Chihuahua”, but I’m leaving that phrase in the title because that’s how I get all my views. This so-called “teacup” turned out to be HUGE and FAT as an adult dog, so don’t believe the nonsense about “teacups”. They are just runts, but they could easily grow up to be normal sized.
—————-
This is my 9 week old female Chihuahua. She’s only 1 pound and 2 oz and I bought her one week ago. I took her to the vet on 05/20 and she was diagnosed as having parasites and worms. The vet gave her a LOT of medicines and treatments. Here is the rundown of all the different meds.
The vet gave her a shot of Pyrantel Pamoate for pinworms. The invoice says “Qty 2 – Pyrantel Pamoate (Strongid).
He also gave her a partially used bottle of Albon 5% oral medication for parasites, which I was to continue giving to her until it ran out. She has taken the medicine for 5 days now. I’ve read online that 5 days is the normal length of treatment so I am not giving her any more of it. I read online that you are supposed to shake the Albon very well before using it. The vet did not tell me that. He also didn’t bother to tell me about any side effects that could occur, although there are several.
He also gave me a small tube of Advantage Dog flea treatment (ointment) that I was instructed to rub between her shoulder blades. The tube says that it is for dogs under 10 lbs. I asked him if I should use the whole tube considering she is only 1 lb. He said yes. Looking back, I see that I should have used my own common sense and intuition. Obviously you don’t need the same amount of medicine for a 1 lb puppy as you would need for a puppy 10 times her size. I’m angry that they would hurt her this way and not care.
I applied the flea treatment (poison) on 05/23. After I put the medicine on her, it left a nasty glob of greasiness on her coat, so I looked online to see how long I had to leave it before I could take it off. (Of course, I called the vet to ask them but they didn’t answer and did not return my call, even though they were still open.) What I found online shocked me. Flea treatments are PESTICIDES and can be very harmful to dogs. If you apply a pesticide to your lawn (which I would urge you not to do) the bottle clearly tells you NOT to allow your pets or children to walk on the lawn for a certain length of time because the POISON can harm or kill them. So why then would a vet advise you to put a similar poison directly on your puppy’s coat? Maybe because he only cares about money and not you or your puppy. It’s a possibility.
If he cared about my tiny, adorable, 1 lb puppy, I doubt he would fill her with as many poisons as he could in such a short amount of time.
I really don’t think he cares at all about Lil’ Nibbles. She’s only 1 pound and it doesn’t seem like he’s taking that into account when prescribing meds to her.
The same day (Friday) that I put the flea treatment on her, she ate some grass outside. That evening is when she started retching and she has continued doing this all weekend. It is now Monday and she’s been sleeping a lot and is still retching some, although thankfully not nearly as much.
While reading the warnings about flea treatments, I also found many people who warned that you must be careful with choosing a veternarian because many of them are only interested in making money and they would rather fill your pet full of unneeded poisons and make a quick buck than to do what is best for your pet. I already knew that was the case with human doctors, which I why I never go to them anymore, but I never suspected that the people that we trust to care for our pets might be the same way. The medical industry is such a sad, sorry place.
I’m wary of going back to the vet since I believe that may be what caused the sickness in the first place. I used to have dogs when I was a kid and we never took them to the vet and they didn’t get sick. I’m really starting to think that the vet CAUSES sickness instead of preventing it.
Update: Little Nibbles healed up from her sickness. I ended up finding a new home for her, but I want to leave this video up in case anyone else has a similar problem with their puppy. I believe her illness was caused by the medications she was given. Please do your own research into each medicine that your vet prescribes. Do what you feel is right. Do not blindly follow the orders of someone who may not have your pet’s best interest at heart.
Duration : 0:0:45
Read the rest of this entry »
Nov 30, 2011 | | dog flea treatment
For more please visit: http://www.DogExplorer.com – comments are moderated! Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/dogexplorer – Every year pet owners suffer the same frustrations. Warmer weather means more parasites, especially fleas! And, despite good, veterinary approved products, some pets are still subjected to these nasty bugs! What can we do to stop the infestation?
Fleas are truly a pet owner’s curse and worst nightmare. Designed to survive and efficient at reproducing, these blood-sucking pests can quickly overrun house and home! In addition to causing misery for our pets, fleas have the potential to carry serious, even deadly diseases. In order to defeat this enemy, we need to understand their life cycle and dispel persistent myths that lead to ineffective flea control.
For every adult flea seen on a dog or cat, there are about 95 other fleas in various life stages (eggs, larvae and pupae) around the pet’s environment. The failure to address the juvenile life stages is a primary reason why owners never seem to win any battles against fleas. People also misunderstand how adult fleas interact with pets.
Once an adult flea finds your pet, there is very little short of death that will remove that flea from your dog or cat. People want to believe that fleas jump from pet to pet, like it is often depicted in cartoons. The fact is once a flea starts taking a blood meal from an animal, the flea will die within two hours if removed from the pet. Pets acquire fleas by picking them up from the environment, not from playing with their canine and feline friends.
Many owners want to blame the neighbors for their flea problems. Even if the dog next door is covered with fleas, it is unlikely for your pet to get fleas from that dog unless they share a common environment. Adult fleas simply do not “migrate” across lawns looking for their next meal.
Once on a pet, the flea will start drinking blood immediately and about eight hours later will start to mate with other fleas on the pet. Within about 24 hours, eggs are laid by the female fleas which roll off the pet and into the home/bed/yard. Females can lay 40-50 eggs per day over their lifetime, resulting in more than 2000 eggs added to the environment. Thirty adult fleas can explode into more than 250,000 fleas in less than one month!
Given these huge numbers, it is entirely possible to see live fleas on your pets that have been treated with flea medications. None of the flea treatments kill fleas immediately nor do they repel fleas. Most topical medications will kill fleas within 1-2 hours after the flea jumps onto the pet and oral products only work when the flea actually settles down and bites the pet.
Likewise, the life cycle of the flea means that new adults are continually present in the environment. Flea eggs are constantly hatching into flea larvae which then spin cocoons. Adult fleas hatch from the cocoons in as little as seven days but some can delay hatching for almost 180 days! Therefore, a single application of a flea medicine will not stop an existing infestation. In order to account for eggs, larva and pupae in the environment, your flea control needs to extend for at least 2 months and it could be as long as 7 months in some severe cases.
So, when you are faced with a flea problem in your home, what steps can help resolve it? First, talk with your veterinary staff about effective flea control medications. Products like Frontline Plus® or Advantage® are safe and have proven track records!
Next, make sure that all pets in the household are treated. Even the “indoor only” cat will need protection from adult fleas hatching in the home environment. Use the products as directed and don’t split doses among your pets.
Continue the treatment until the infestation is gone from the home. If your pet is picking up adult fleas in the yard or at the park, you may need to consider using a flea product all year long.
A home area treatment spray can help eliminate flea colonies more quickly, but be sure to use one that contains an insect growth regulator (IGR). IGRs prevent flea eggs from hatching and flea larva from molting.
Understanding the flea life cycle can help you defeat this unrelenting annual pest. Your veterinarian and staff will guide you towards the best flea product for your needs and can even answer concerns you have about treating the environment.
Disclaimer:
This article and video are produced by and published with permission of the Veterinary News Network. The opinions expressed are exclusively those of Dr. Humphries and may not reflect the views of DogExplorer.com – readers are cautioned not to consider this article or video as Veterinary advice and encouraged to always seek the guidance of their local Veterinarian in matters of their pet’s health.
Duration : 0:4:14
Read the rest of this entry »
Jul 20, 2011 | | cat flea treatment