Flea infestation is one of the worst problems dogs have to face until the owners treat the fleas properly. In fact, the owner also feel the agony of their dogs when they see the infestation on their fur-baby. In the same manner, all we want is that our dog shall not suffer as less as possible.
Anyways, can fleas kill a dog if we take some time diagnosing the infestation?
This question has tickled most of us until now! Because now we have an answer to the question and it seems that infestation does not kill the dog in ideal conditions, however, some factors can lead to the infestation outburst and even kill the infected dog.
Flea Infestation – Can Fleas Kill a Dog?
Dogs are flea magnets which means they can catch the flea infestation easily. In fact, humans can catch a flea infestation from dogs or vice versa.
Further, the fleas are a type of parasite and require a host to nourishment. These fleas will dwell on any type of host until the blood of the host is available to them. As the matter of fact, the fleas can live for two to three months of time with the constant supply of hosts’ blood.
Whereas the flea can die within a few days if cut out on the blood supply. In addition to that, the female fleas will require the first blood intake in order to lay the eggs. Adding to the fact, as soon as the female flea gets first the nourishment she can start laying eggs after a couple of days.
In this manner, the flea infestation will keep getting worse and worse day by day.
Moreover, any stray animal i.e. cat, squirrel, etc. who are infested can leave the fleas on your lawn. We all know the jumping capabilities of fleas, they can use the lawn or short plant as their base until your dog invades. Then the whole become theirs once your Fido passes through the lawn.
Diseases Caused by Fleas
Fleas can cause many problems right from the itching, irritated skin, rash, infection, etc. Moreover, the fleas will form their colonies on their host with rapid reproduction rate.
Additionally, the fleas feeding on the host’s blood will consume the red blood cells leading to weakness due to anemia.
This can be serious for sick pooches or the infants. Although healthy adults will survive this stage they will become lethargic due to weakness.
On the other hand, the fleas release their saliva into the bloodstream to control the fluidity of the blood. Saliva from fleas will lead to the disease called Flea Bite Dermatitis. It causes the skin redness and severe irritation.
–In the same manner, tapeworms can end up making the situation worse. Fleas who have bitten the tapeworm-infected host can pass it to your dog. Tapeworms can enter inside of the dog once the fleas bite the dog.
Also, the infected pooch can have pruritis due to flea bites. Which will lead to the formation of scabs and a ton load of vet bill burden!
Not to mention, these adversities of the diseases can even kill a dog if not cured in time.
Other Infestations
Flea infestation is very prominent in dogs. Because of the furious reproduction cycle, the flea-colonies will flourish faster than you can expect. In addition to fleas, the dogs can even suffer from other problems we have described below.
Firstly, dogs can be host to many parasites at a time. Tick being one of them causes severe skin inflammation, rash. As the matter of fact, the ticks can lead to Lyme disease which is even worse to consider along with the flea infestation.
Along with that, mites and lice also cause many health issues for healthy dogs. On the other hand, these infestations can even cause the puppies and sick pooches to die.
Methods to Save Dogs From Infestation
As we mentioned, fleas or other parasites can settle on your dog’s fur from other infected sources. Also, these parasites will temporarily dwell on the garden of your house, furniture, etc.
Hence, you can use the flea repellent sprays, treatment products to keep fleas away at the first place. Also, you can choose to feed flea oral pills to your dog for mild infestations along with flea-treating your whole house and yard.
The EndNote
An answer to ‘Can fleas kill a dog?’ will be yes for a few pooches but at least all the dogs will have to deal with the sufferings. Hence, prefer using the flea repellent pills, sprays as a preventive measure.