142 North East Rd
A normal chicken’s leg is a thing of wonder: shiny, evenly spaced scales completely cover the leg and top of the foot, giving you the unmistakable reminder that chooks are really little pet dinosaurs.
You know a normal leg when you see one, but it’s harder to notice when it’s not. Scaly leg in chickens often goes unrecognised in flocks until it either gets bad, or you end up at the vet for another reason.
Continue reading “How To Treat Chicken Scaly Leg Mite”
Hair loss, itching and skin wounds are one of the most common and frustrating skin conditions of rats.
Continue reading “Causes Of Itching, Scratching & Hair Loss In Rats”
There’s a new health scare in dogs and cats. Four common flea and tick treatments are being linked with nervous system disorders like muscle tremors, twitching, unsteadiness and even seizures.
Most of the discussion so far has been from the USA, but Australians have a unique perspective on this. The drugs we’re talking about are the best chance we’ve ever had to end the greatest fear of many pet owners: tick paralysis.
Continue reading “Do Popular Dog Tick Treatments Cause Seizures?”
The most common health problem in guinea pigs is itching and scratching caused by mites. It’s a simple problem with a simple solution. However, as you’ll see, there’s also a lot of rubbish being said.
Continue reading “Help! My Guinea Pig Has Mites”
When faced with the bewildering array of heartworm and flea treatments, dog owners have two choices:
An amazing number of dog owners using option 2 will buy Sentinel Spectrum. One look at our chart of the flea and heartworm treatments for dogs and you’ll see why. It does ‘everything’.
Why did working with Red Panda change my views on flea control? The answer contains an even bigger message about product safety and feline health.
Continue reading “Why Pandas Made Me Care About Flea Control”
Every seen a mangy dog? Probably not, at least not the way I mean. You have to be my age or older, or travel to disadvantaged places, to be likely to say yes these days. What passes for ‘mange’ now is nothing compared to what it looked like up to a generation ago.
Continue reading “What Causes Mange In Dogs?”
I’ve previously discussed ways to kill fleas on pets and stop them coming back. Part of the solution may also be environmental flea control.
Continue reading “How To Kill Fleas In The House” ‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ Emergency Care
Do you keep finding fleas on your dog, cat, rabbit or ferret despite your best efforts? Frustrating isn’t it? It seems so simple and yet so many people have the same problem.
Here are a few reasons:
I’ll now explain each of these points…
Using flea products recommended by vets is the most important step to having a flea-free pet. In many cases, it’s the only thing you need to do. The same applies for cats, rabbits and ferrets.
The reason most people can’t kill every last flea is that they are using outdated products. Until the mid 1990s the only products available could not eliminate fleas. Pets with flea allergy kept on suffering. The shocking news is that these products, mainly shampoos, sprays or rinses, are still widely sold, and resistance has only grown.
However, these products aren’t perfect either. Some, like Frontline or Nexgard have been shown to kill fleas more slowly than others (or not at all in the case of Sentinel) and resistance is suspected for others. I haven’t even mentioned Capstar as it’s far too short-acting. Nowadays I get best results with the flea tablets Simparica, Bravecto or Comfortis, and Advantage still works well.
Although the new flea controls are very safe, they remain unpopular with people wanting to get rid of fleas naturally. If you want to do this, it is possible and we’ll support you, but you have to have lower expectations of success.
Fleas on the animal are no more that 5% of the total. That other 95% comprises eggs, larvae, pupae and adults waiting to jump. These are found wherever your pet, or any other dog or cat with fleas, has been.
You don’t have to kill all the fleas in the environment to eliminate them. The weak point in the flea life cycle is the need for adults to get a blood meal in order to lay eggs. Therefore if you’re not in a hurry, all you need to do is use a good flea killer on your pet and wait.
However your pets or children may disagree. If infestation levels are high, they will keep getting a lot of bites, even if each flea then dies. You or your family may also be getting nasty itchy welts on the ankles and legs.
To learn more please visit our separate page on treating fleas in the household and garden.
That famous jump is how fleas get on passing animals, so unless you keep your dog or cat in a glass box they will keep getting flea hitch-hikers and bringing them home for everybody to enjoy.
The good news is: once you’ve eliminated fleas from your pet and home almost any good flea control will stop reinfestation. You’ve just got to remember to do it. Here’s some suggestions:
Have something to add? Comments are welcome below and will appear within 24 hours of lodging.
By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. These help topics are from a series regularly posted on email and Twitter. The information provided here is not intended to be used as a substitute for going to the vet. If your pet is unwell, please seek veterinary attention.
What if common treatments recommended by your vet are causing deaths in dogs and cats?
‘Does Bravecto Kill Dogs?’ is a popular Facebook group with over 25,000 members dedicated to fighting the use of the popular 3-monthly flea control.
Continue reading “Does Bravecto Kill Dogs?”