For pet lovers, it can be such a nuisance when your cats or dogs are catching fleas. With the ability to jump further than any other insects, fleas can easily feed off your furry friends’ blood and also bite you. If it’s urgently necessary to tackle fleas on your dogs, then Noble Pawtrait will guide you on the simple and most home-made remedies to treat those nasty parasites.

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What Pet Owners Should Know About Dog Fleas

What Are Dog Fleas?

Fleas are one of the most common parasites that your dogs can easily catch. They are dark and tiny, about 1-2mm in size. Their average longevity is 7-14 days. However,  they can easily lay up to 40 eggs a day, which then hatch into larvae, develop into pupae and finally emerge as adult fleas. These fleas jump (as far as 13 inches) onto your dogs and start the life cycle again.

As fleas’ hosts, your furry friends are subject to skin-related problems due to fleas. Due to itchy flea bites, you may also develop allergies such as flea allergic dermatitis (FAD). Though fleas are generally thriving in summer, you still need to get rid of them on your dogs, even in winter.

How Can I Spot Dog Fleas?

You should notice some distinctive signs of your dogs, such as persistent scratching or, occasionally, over-grooming, which eventually causes bald patches on their coats. When your furry friend develops a flea allergy, their skin will have some scabs and red, sore areas. Based on these symptoms, you can know whether your dogs have caught fleas.

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Moreover, due to its comparatively small size, sometimes it is hard for pet owners to detect. However, you may notice them in your carpet or see black specks of flea dirt when combing your dogs’ fur. When you put some of these specks onto damp tissue paper, they will turn red if they are flea dirt because of the digested blood they contain. 

Best Ways To Getting Rid Of Dog Fleas

You can use many remedies to remove irritating fleas from your cute dogs with no harmful chemical use.

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Wash, Spray, Dip & Rub

Essential Oils Spray

Several essential oils, namely peppermint, eucalyptus, citronella, tea tree, rosemary, etc, can help you fight against fleas on your dogs. You need to dilute some of these essential oils and directly spray them on your dogs’ coat. To be more specific, since it can be toxic to your dogs, you have to mix a small number of essential oils (3-4 drops) with about 300-400 ml of water.

Apple Vinegar Spray

Apple vinegar possesses a remarkable capability of balancing your dog’s pH levels and treating fleas naturally. Similar to essential oil, you should dilute water with vinegar to ensure safety for your dogs. Specifically, you need to mix 4 cups of water with six cups of apple vinegar, put a dash of salt in it, then spray it on your pet’s coat.

Aromatherapy Spray

Those who know about aromatherapy can regard it as an effective way to deal with dog’s fleas and prevent future occurrences. It also acts as a natural soother that makes your dogs become better smelling. You can choose lemon oil as the base oil and then add a few drops of oils such as lemon eucalyptus oil, standard myrrh oil, geranium oil, lavender oil, to name but a few.

Lather Bath

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Existing fleas on your dogs can be killed with shampoo that yields a lather. Keep in mind that you should pick an organic shampoo containing no harmful ingredients. After sufficiently lathering your lovely friends, you can let the shampoo stay on their coats for a few minutes.

Rosemary Dip

Rosemary dip can be another way to save your dogs from nasty fleas. You can follow these simple steps to create a rosemary mixture: steeping rosemary leaves in hot water, straining the mixture, and diluting it in warm water. Then, pour the mixed solution over your lovely friend and allow it to dry naturally.

Organic Soaps

Dog owners can choose to use organic soaps, e.g. organic rose soap or organic peppermint soap, instead of the usual dog shampoo. Organic soaps ensure that your dogs might not suffer from any harmful chemicals when you wash them. Importantly, there will not be any fleas, and you will feel satisfied with a good-smelling dog.

Coconut Oil Rub

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Coconut oil is effective in repelling and killing dog fleas because it contains lauric acid. You can rub coconut oil through your pet’s coat to repel fleas, moisturize its skin and reduce its body odor. Coconut oil has antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties; hence, when you add it to your pet’s regular food (1 teaspoon/20 lb of body weight, twice daily), this kind of oil can contribute to treating its intestinal parasites.

Collars

Oil Flea Collar

Do you cherish another shrewd way to protect your beloved pets from fleas? If you don’t like spraying or rubbing your puppy with the mixture, you can turn to a flea collar. You can either buy or hand-make one collar, dilute some drops of cedar oil or lavender oil in water and apply the mixture to the collar.

Vodka Flea Collar

It can be a surprise for many when vodka can act as a good alternative for treating fleas on dogs. You can make or purchase a dog collar, soak it with unflavored vodka and allow it to dry. If you like a scented collar, you can add some essential oil drops you like, but just vodka is a rational option for those whose dogs dislike oil scents.

Combs & Sachets

Lemon Comb

Lemon is widely known for its diverse functions: to repel and do away with dog fleas. This natural solution ensures your dogs are not subject to any potential harm. You can easily use lemon juice to dip comb/brush and apply it to your dog’s hair as usual.  If you have a short-haired dog, you can also dip a cloth in lemon juice and it still yields the same benefits.

Flea Comb

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Flea combs are mostly free from harmful chemicals and are explicitly designed to eliminate dog fleas and their eggs from dogs’ coats. If your dog has been infested with fleas already, flea combs are a sensible way to eliminate existing fleas before adopting different flea home remedies to keep away possible infestations.

Flea Sachet

If you detest spraying or applying products directly to your cute dogs, you can use flea sashay. It is a small bag containing breathable fabric, like muslin or hessian, lavender buds, lemon peel, and cedar chips. Put flea sashay beside your pet’s sleeping area. The bag’s mixture can lose properties after roughly a month. Hence, you should replace the bag’s ingredients with new ones every month.

Food & Drink

Vinegar Drink

Apple cider vinegar or dilating vinegar can help you to prevent and fight against fleas on your dogs effectively. You can mix one teaspoon of vinegar of your choice with 4 cups of water and let your dogs use this mixture as drinking water.  This solution helps you keep fleas at bay and brings benefits to your dogs’ skin and coat.

Brewer’s Yeast

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The best but least apparent strategy to deal with fleas on dogs is to start from the inside out. It’s the truth that a healthy do is less flea-prone. And one of the effective ways to better your dogs’ health and ward off fleas is to add half a teaspoon of brewer’s yeast to their daily food. Only a tiny portion of the yeast added to your pet’s typical meal can turn out to be a good remedy for fleas.

The Final Thought

There are various ways you can select to combat and prevent irritating fleas from your cute dogs without needing to use any harmful chemicals. You can rely on your personal preference and your pet’s habits to adopt the most effective method. Also, you should call in professionals when your efforts to handle fleas are of no avail. And then, you will no longer have to suffer the discomfort and worry when seeing your cute pets greatly suffering from fleas.