As a pet parent, it is your responsibility to ensure that your canine friend is well taken care of. Apart from ensuring that your dog is well-fed, they must be protected from fleas and ticks as well.
Luckily, there are various medication options for dogs with fleas and ticks. Among other things, you can choose pills, spot-on medications such as revolution for dogs, and flea colors. While prevention is the single most effective way to ensure your pets are protected from fleas and ticks, the use of proper medications can help eliminate a flea infestation.
Even so, with the many flea treatments available, choosing the best medication can be a daunting task. Luckily, you have stumbled on the right post. Here, we shall look at the various flea treatments for dogs. Read along to learn more.
Topical Flea and Tick Treatment for Dogs
One of the commonly used tick and flea treatments for dogs are tropical treatments. There are various topical treatments for ticks and fleas, including shampoos, revolution, powders, dips, etc.
Revolution Treatments for Dogs
Revolution treatments for dogs fall under the spot-on flea and tick treatments. As such, it is applied to your dog’s skin to protect them from fleas.
Ideally, Revolution flea and tick preventives for dogs protects your canine friend from flea, mites, and even heartworms for 30 days after application. You can also use it to protect your pet against tick infestation as well as controlling sarcoptic mange.
Do You Need a Prescription to Buy Revolution for Dogs?
Unfortunately, you can only buy revolution treatments for dogs only by prescription. Ideally, your vet will test your dog for heartworm infestations before prescribing this medication. This way, they will be sure that your canine friend is getting the right treatment.
Can You Administer Revolution Treatment to Your Puppy?
While you can use revolution treatments in puppies, they shouldn’t be applied for puppies less than six years old. However, puppies six weeks old and above will not show any adverse effects. To that end, if you notice any side effects after applying revolution treatment for dogs, contact your veterinarian immediately.
Shampoos and Dips
You can also use shampoos to eliminate fleas and ticks in dogs. Ideally, these shampoos will kill any ticks and fleas they come into contact with. Even so, unlike revolution treatments, this method will not last long.
On the other hand, dips are concentrated solutions that you can massage into your dog’s skin. As with any other medication, ensure to follow your veterinary doctor’s advice when massaging this solution to your dog.
Oral Flea and Tick Dog Medications
Pet parents can also opt for oral flea and tick dog treatments. Ideally, this can be in the form of chewable tablets or pills.
Most of these oral medications will enter your dog’s bloodstream and kill the flea and ticks that are attacking your pup. The best thing is that, unlike shampoos and dip, this type of flea and tick medication cannot be washed away when your dog is bathing.
Flea Collars
You can also use flea and tick collars to treat a flea infestation. Ideally, you have the option to choose between preventative flea collars and those that help eliminate the existing infestation or both.
You’ll also need to be keen on the quality. While some will last about a month, others will last for up to 8 months. Since there are many flea collar brands, consider asking for suggestions from your vet. This way, you can be sure to choose an effective product.
Consider Using a Flea Comb
You’re probably using a flea comb to check your dog for fleas. Well, you can also use it to eliminate fleas and ticks as well. Ideally, a flea comb will come in handy if you’re looking for a way to get rid of any fleas you might have missed after rinsing.
Even so, when doing so, ensure that you have soapy water in a bowl that you can use to drown any fleas that you come by.
Treat Your Home for Fleas and Ticks
Even after taking any of the above measures, your dogs will not be completely free of fleas and ticks if you don’t treat your home for ticks. Failure to treat your environment thoroughly for fleas and ticks will mean that they can find their way back into your pets.
Since the life cycle of a flea takes long, it is advisable to vacuum and clean your home regularly. This way, you will eliminate fleas in your home.
Also, it is imperative to wash your dog’s beddings regularly, preferably using hot water. However, before you use a dryer to clean your pet’s litters, ensure to check the washing instructions first.
