The life cycle of the flea
Two types of fleas infect our pets. We distinguish between the dog flea (Ctenocephalides Canis) and the cat flea (Ctenocephalides Felis). The most common flea (on both dogs and cats!) is the cat flea.
After a female flea has taken a blood meal from its host, it will lay eggs. These eggs (dozens of them) fall out of the fur and end up in your home. After 2 to 4 days, larvae emerge from the eggs. These crawl into corners of your home and feed on the feces of adult fleas. After a few weeks, the larvae pupate. The pupae hatch later under the influence of vibration (up to 1,5 years later!). For more information, please watch this short video.
So when you or we find one or more fleas on your pet, there is a good chance that there are many more (potential) fleas in the immediate vicinity of the animal. So it is literally the tip of the iceberg what you find on your dog/cat.
Why prevent?
The main complaint that owners come with when they have a flea infestation is itching complaintsThe bits in the skin of the dog or cat cause itching and irritation.
In addition to itching, fleas can also carry tapeworm eggs. When a dog or cat licks an infected flea, this can lead to a tapeworm infection. Children can also become infected with a tapeworm in this way.
Some animals become hypersensitive to the saliva of the flea. This results in a flea allergy can occur. Animals with this condition bite themselves open (even to the point of bleeding!). A single bite from a flea can be enough.
Flea control
After reading the above, you will understand that good flea control is important. Within our practice, we have a wide range of modern and safe means to protect your pet against these annoying creatures. We have both pipettes, bands, sprays and pills to administer. Come to one of our branches for advice tailored to your pet and situation.
Are you interested and would you like to read more about the risks? Then visit this website.
Ticks
Ticks are small blood-sucking parasites that look like spiders. Because they can not only suck blood but also inject blood, they can transmit various diseases to both humans and animals. Lyme disease and babesiosis are two diseases that are becoming more common due to changing temperatures and a higher infection rate of ticks.
Deworming
Dogs can suffer from worms. These live in the dog's body and absorb nutrients that the dog needs or disrupt bodily functions. They are therefore harmful to the dog's health. Worms are also a zoonosis, which means that they can be transmitted to humans. It is therefore important to ensure good worm control. Below we will briefly explain the most common worms.
The roundworm
The roundworm, or Toxocara canis, is the most common worm in pets. The roundworm lives in the small intestine of the dog. It is a round worm, a few to 15 cm long. They are yellowish-white to pink in colour, often they are not visible in the faeces, but they are sometimes visible in vomit. Dried up, they look like rolled up rubber bands. Roundworms can be ingested through a contaminated surface, rolling through the grass, sniffing, or by eating contaminated mice. The larvae of the roundworm make a trek through the body. In doing so, they can cause damage to organs such as the lungs of our dogs, but also of people. For example, if they reach the eyes of children, this can cause problems with the vision. To prevent problems with a worm infestation, it is important to deworm dogs, to clean up dog faeces immediately, to not let dogs out at children's playgrounds, to close sandboxes so that animals cannot get into them and to wash your hands thoroughly.
The tapeworm
Your dog can get tapeworms by licking fleas or lice, these parasites are the intermediate host of the tapeworm. But also by eating prey animals such as mice and/or rats. It lives in the small intestine of the dog, its head is attached to the intestinal wall with barbs. Every time a segment with eggs is ripe, it lets go and crawls towards the anus. They are visible in the feces, or stick to the hairs around the anus. The dog mainly suffers from itching around the anus, it can sled, or slide its behind over the ground. There is also the fox tapeworm and the dog tapeworm. The fox tapeworm is mainly found in Central and Eastern Europe, but also in Limburg, the Belgian Ardennes, Germany and part of France. The fox tapeworm is, unlike the normal tapeworm, dangerous for humans and animals
Other worms
There are many more worms that can occur in your dog. Such as hookworms, whipworms, heartworms. If you want to know more about these worms, take a look at https://www.licg.nl/honden/wormen-bij-de-hond/.
