Types of Fleas in Dogs | Vet Explains

Sorry. This is probably what one of the fleas feels like as they are dying from the medications. So the video today is going to be regarding the flea life cycle, the different kinds of medications, how they kill the adults and the larva, the way that they're delivered. So some are delivered in shampoos, pills, and the collars, and then also what the possible reactions are and how long the medications last for. Guys, stay tuned. We'll get into that information momentarily. All right, guys, so we're talking about flea medications. How do you keep these little creepy crawlies from coming in onto you, onto your pets, and crawling into your bed? Yes, they can go into your bed. They can go on the carpet if you like to lay and roll around on the carpet. They also like to get in the couches and the crevices and on the rugs and that kind of stuff. So how do we do. How do we go about keeping. Keeping them from getting there? So first thing we got to do is we got to figure out what's the life cycle, how do these things come here, you know, where do they come from, how do they grow up, that kind of stuff. So the first thing is, was it the chicken or the egg? I mean, the flea or the egg? We're going to go with the flea this time around, but that question could be up for debate, philosophically speaking, per se. The flea, adult flea is going to come in, and the adult flea is going to feed on the host, typically the dog, and they are then going to lay the eggs. From those eggs will hatch a larva. I can't think of the movie, but there's a movie of some guy that comes out of some sort of thing, like a bug. Ace Ventura coming out of the rhinoceros. Okay. I may be dating myself a little bit, but that's okay. As long as we have fun. That's what's important. So you have the larva. The larva comes out, and the larva eats the poop. I know. Kind of gross if you thought that the Ace Ventura thing was a gross reference. Now the baby is eating the poop, which is digested blood of the adult flea. From there, that larva kind of worm kind of thing will then kind of create this cocoon, and it'll turn into what we call a poopa. Not a poop, not a poo poo, but a pupa. And so what that ends up doing is that is a stage that is very difficult for us to go ahead and do much with. The only things that typically we can do in that particular stage is maybe vacuum them up and dump them off site. Eventually then what will end up happening is as that flea turns in from a larva into an adult flea or a baby flea, it'll wait for either some sort of vibration, it'll wait for some sort of heat, or it'll wait for even potentially something breathing to sense a change in the carbon dioxide. At that point, the flea will jump out. The flea will jump out and jump onto the host and then start the cycle all over again. Now, in regards to, what are the different kinds of medications that we can use to go ahead and deal with those different parts of the life cycle? So most of the medications are going to be targeted towards the adult flea. Those are things like topical medications, like the little oil that you put on the back that sometimes be annoying because of the, you know, if you touch it and you gotta go ahead and let it sit for two days and you can't bathe them for two days before, and you gotta wait two days after. And so that's, that's one of the things. Something else that we have nowadays are the pills that you can give or a treat that you can give to your dog and that will go ahead and that will kill the adult fleas. These work really, really fast. You don't have to worry about the waterproof or if they go swimming, is it going to come off? Or if you bathe them too much, or if you touch them and you have to worry about, oh, I touched it, now I gotta, am I gonna, am I gonna have a difficulty with something this, that and the other. No. So that's a good thing about the, the, the flea pills. The good. The other thing about the flea pills, and this is one of the things that the, the parasitologist explained to me at one of my continuing educations was how do you think a flea gets drunk faster? Or how do you, how do you get drunk faster? Either by drinking the wine that is drinking the blood from the animal, or by pouring the wine on your head. Now that is the topical flea stuff that they touch it and then it gets into them and they die. Obviously, the way that you get drunk the fastest, just in case you've never done this before, is actually drinking it. So it does require that the fleas actually bite your pet, and that could be uncomfortable. That being said, it is also the fastest acting. So that is something to keep in mind. The other things that they have are shampoos, and so those will again kill the adult fleas. And then we also even have the collars. There's a collar out there that lasts. There's only one collar that typically is recommended by veterinarians, and that collar lasts for about eight months. The other flea medications, the oils and the pills, those will usually last for about a month. There is one pill that lasts for about three months. If you guys know which one lasts for three months, leave it in the, in the comment box just to see what you guys know. If you guys know the one that lasts for eight months, that's a collar, leave that in the comment box just to see if we can get some people engaging with us and try and make this more fun than we have before. That being said, there's also a medication that goes ahead and deals with the flea at the pupa stage or pupa stage, and then also deals with the flea and the larva stage. Okay, now the way that this particular medication works, it is a medication that the pets have to take by mouth. And the larva have this little tooth, almost like a snake that they use to break through the eggshell. And when they eat, the poop of the flea that has been ingesting the blood that has this medication in doesn't allow them to develop that tooth very well. And it's not sharp enough so they can't ever hatch out of the egg. The other part that this affects is when the larva start actually eating the poop. If they hatch before or if they're laid before the their parent, their mom, lays eggs and starts sucking the blood with that particular drug in it when they go to create a cocoon and shed their exoskeleton. So it's that layer of armor that they have when they're larva, they can't shed it because this drug is in that poop. Now, just so that you have an idea, the adult fleas, what we actually see is only 5% of the flea population. That is correct. I said 5. So. So that you have an idea. Each female flea lays anywhere between 44, 0 to 60 eggs per day per the parasitologist. It's a lot of eggs and by the time that you actually realize it, it's probably going to be a few days. So you're going to have a decent amount of flea eggs in your environment or in the pet's environment. So that's something to keep in mind. Like I said, there is no particular medication that works on the pupa that is like almost like a force field that they have around it. It's a very, very strong protective coating. They can stay in that coating for long months on end. I've heard stories of, you know, people who were snowbirds that left their apartment with their pet. The pets didn't have any issues. They had fleas when they went up there, no big deal. Came back down. Owners or the pets and. Or the pets got fleas when they came back into the apartment or the house. That's because those poopa or those larvae were in the eggs waiting for the host to come by and for them to hatch. So just something to be aware of. Now, in regards to the possible reactions to the different kinds of medications, you can have a burn or hair loss or irritation as to where you apply those topical agents. You can have vomiting, you can have diarrhea, you could have potential seizures with the newer classes of oral medications or the flea pills. You could even potentially see some choking. I think I've heard even death potentially caused in the neighborhood of 2500 cases. I thought, if my mind, if my memory serves correctly, from that collar that a lot of veterinarians recommend, and you would say, well, why the heck are veterinarians recommending that collar? Honestly, I didn't know until I started doing research for this particular video that that collar was something that had shown to have 2,500 potential cases of death associated with it. I only typically recommend one flea medication on a regular basis. And so if you guys, you know, it's not head and shoulders over, you know, better than the other flea medications that are pills. It's just the one that I'm comfortable with. And I haven't seen anybody on the Internet or I haven't heard stories of people tearing up that particular reputation of that flea medication. So those are the different kinds of potential side effects that you can see. And then how often do you do it? Well, we talked about it. There's one flea medication that will only last for about 24 to 48 hours, but it works with within 30 minutes. So that medication is really, really cool if you're trying to get a really quick kill. Then you have the more common ones that last about 25 to 30 days. Then you have that one oral flea medication that lasts for about three months. And then you have that flea collar that lasts for about eight months. So that's about the duration of the different flea medications. And then in regards to my own personal usage of flea medication, if I'm being honest, you guys have seen, if you haven't seen Ruby, Ginger and Raven, those are my three dogs. Ruby and Ginger are two cavapoos, and they live inside my house. The majority of the time, they come with me to my office. They stay inside my office. They go in my backyard, which is mostly pavers and artificial turf and gravel. And I don't really give them any flea medication unless they are going somewhere. And Stephanie, if you're watching this, that's my wife. Yeah, I only give it to them when they need it. Okay. But if you're not watching this, don't worry. So the flea medications are extremely effective. And so I have more confidence because my dogs are not at a higher risk. I'm okay with not giving them that flea medication on a regular basis. Now, Raven, who I take for walks twice a day, I take her to dog parks. I, you know, we'll go hiking with her, she does get the flea medication on a monthly basis. And so it's not a one size fits all philosophy. It is something where you have to go ahead and determine how much certainty do you need with how much protection your furry family members are going to get. So if you guys found this video helpful, please give us a thumbs up on the on the bottom. If you guys really like the video, go ahead and share it with somebody. And if you think that you found this content interesting and maybe I was a little good on the wacky side and not completely bored out of your mind, subscribe. Let's see if we can go ahead and get you some more fun and exciting content. So again, thanks for watching and have a blessed day.