Most of us think of fleas as the tiny bugs that make our dogs itch and scratch. While there is some truth in that statement, fleas can be a severe problem for your dog and your home. They can enter your home through your dog and multiply quickly. Within a short period of time, your home can become infested with these tiny bugs. Ridding your home of a flea infestation can be costly and time-consuming.

Medical Issues and Fleas

Fleas can not only make your dog miserable from itching and scratching, but they can also cause serious illness. Some of the medical issues caused by fleas are:

• Skin problems– Fleas can cause allergy problems for your dog and can also cause skin infections. A skin infection may require antibiotics to help your dog recover.
• Anemia – Fleas suck blood to survive which can cause anemia (a low red blood cell count) which affects his/her immune system and can make your dog more susceptible to other diseases. A young puppy is small enough that a few fleas could suck enough blood from them to cause them to die.
• Tapeworms – Your dog can become infected with tapeworms if they eat an infected flea while licking or grooming themselves. Tapeworms are parasites that live in your dog’s intestines.

Animal General Hospital can help rid your dog of fleas and can help prevent fleas in the future. Call us today (706-568-4848) and let us help free your dog of fleas.

Ticks

Ticks can easily attach to your dog as it walks through tall grass or wooded areas. Ticks can carry deadly diseases like:

• Lyme disease
• Rocky Mountain spotted fever
• Ehrlichiosis
• Babesiosis

Ticks can easily go unnoticed yet can cause your dog serious problems. If your dog is outside in tall grass or wooded areas, you need to inspect your dog for ticks regularly. If you discover a tick on our dog, please call us at (706-568-4848) soon as possible.