Fleas and Skin Problems

Fleas like to bite pupppies

Fleas are nasty little critters, and they like to go after the nice warm blood of your puppy. When they bite Barney, he has no choice but to suffer the consequences. He can tell you about how he feels when he gets a bite, and he does this by scratching.

Hot Spots

Your dog's flea bites can create something called a hot spot on his skin. This an irritated area of skin that causes extreme discomfort. It can worsen through your dog's natural tendency to lick, scratch and bite at himself. Left untreated, these hot spots can become infected, causing pus to develop. The pus can then get trapped in your dog's hair.

Infection

Your dog's excessive licking of a hot spot can create a condition known as lick granulomas, an acute form of moist dermatitis. This is a raised spot that contains an ulcer, which creates pus. As the pus oozes into the skin, a bacterial infection invades your dog's body. This infection is caused by its original source, which is the flea bite.

Hair Loss

A flea bite can cause permanent hair loss in affected areas. Hair loss leaves the skin vulnerable to sunburn and extreme dry skin. Without the protection that hair provides your dog, unfavorable skin situations are waiting to happen.

Prevention/Solution

You can prevent flea bites, and their accompanying skin problems, with flea control products. These products come in a variety of different brands and methods, including topical solutions that you apply to the back of your dog's neck each month, as well as flea sprays, powders and collars. You can use flea shampoos and dips when grooming your dog. Herbal remedies and other flea control supplies are available in natural and pet stores.

Flea Allergies

Your puppy dog could have a tendency towards flea allergies, or he could develop a flea allergy at any time in his life. Flea allergies make the normal skin problems caused by flea bites a chronic problem. If your dog has, or acquires, a flea allergy, he will need constant veterinary intervention and treatment.

References

• Fleas On Dogs and Cats and What You Can do About Them
• Fighting the Dreaded Flea
• Flea Products for Dogs