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Get Straight Up Facts On Fleas, Ticks, Heartworm And Kennel Cough

By: Rebecca Foxton The top names in pet flea control are Frontline, Advantage, Revolution and Bio-Spot. These on-the-spot type treatments for dog and cat flea problems all provide one month of complete protection.

Advantage flea treatment kills fleas very quickly. The active ingredient, imidaloprid, acts as a nerve agent that fries their entire nervous system. Ninety eight to a hundred percent of the fleas on the animal die within 12 hours of application.

Frontline and Advantage brand flea killers work nearly instantaneously and keep working for a long time. Your pet should not be a victim of fleas when relief is readily available. The best solution is to pick a good flea medication for your dog.

External parasites that live off of the blood of mammals, reptiles, and birds are often referred to as mites and ticks. While there are 5 species of ticks in North America, the America dog tick is the most widely known.

As far as disease transmission to humans goes, ticks come in at a frightening second place to mosquitoes. Everyone knows that Lyme disease is a tick-borne illness, but ticks also spread Rocky Mountain spotted fever, equine encephalitis, and ehrlichiosis. They also transmit diseases found in pets and livestock.

Another type of mite living in the Rocky Mountains is the wood tick. Tick treatments for dogs include tick collars and flea & tick shampoos. In order for tick control to be effective during tick season, ticks should be checked for and removed completely if found. Part of the tick may be left in the wound, if you are not careful, thus increasing the likelihood of infection.

Unlike diseases passed by ticks, heartworm is transmitted by mosquitoes, and the larva then live in the bloodstream of the animal bitten by the mosquito. The parasites go through several stages before becoming adults. Once adult, the heart worms travel to the heart to live off the blood supply. Symptoms such as coughing and difficulty breathing may ensure, and the end result is heart failure.

If the disease is caught early enough, there are treatments available that may prevent the death of a pet from this parasitic disease. Interceptor for dogs is one such treatment, which also tackles hookworms and ascarid infections in one fell swoop.

Another common infection is kennel cough. Dogs are very susceptible to this highly contagious form of bronchitis, hence the name, as it can spread in areas where dogs are kept in close proximity. Prevention is possible through vaccinating for canine adenovirus, distemper, parainfluenza, and bordetella and the infection itself treated with antibiotics.

Article Source: http://www.lifeweightloss.com

Dog lover Rebecca Foxton can help you protect your pet's health with Frontline Plus. She is a staff writer on the recognized site www.dogbuffs.com with her article series on Flea Control.

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