Well, they’re much bigger than fleas, so these parasites can’t swallow them. Besides, fleas only eat blood. You can use them to squish the bloodsuckers, but that’s too tiring.
Kidding aside, you need to do something quick if you see your dog scratching and biting his fur. You can’t let those tiny freeloaders thrive in your dog’s fur for long or they’ll soon be all over your house and feed on your or your kids’ blood too. You must deal with them before things get out of hand.
What to do? The most convenient and cost-efficient way is to give them regular flea medication, which keeps these parasites from reproducing every chance they get and reduces their number into insignificance. Flea meds, however, won’t be as effective as when they are used with other flea-control products recommended by pet doctors. That’s a testament to the fleas’ survival instincts.
Flea tablets are orally administered medication for dogs suffering from infestation. They are taken regularly, much like vitamin pills or heart meds. The frequency of intake depends on the proven length of efficacy of each tablet.
Most flea tablets work by destroying flea eggs, thus ending the vicious life cycle of fleas. Each tablet carries an active ingredient that is then absorbed in your pet’s bloodstream, turning the blood into flea poison. The parasites are poisoned as they sink their suckers into their host’s skin and start sucking. Fleas won’t sense the killer chemical in the blood since they are voracious suckers that have neither noses nor taste buds.
Flea tablets are a lot more convenient for pet owners compared to topical remedies and other flea-control products. You don’t have to worry about getting wet or staining your carpet. Simply add a tablet in your pet’s food and minutes after swallowing it, the fleas in your pooch’s fur will start to die. If your dog senses something funny in his food and refuses to eat, don’t worry. Choose food-flavored flea tablets. Beef flavor would be excellent.
However, flea tablets alone won’t suffice. They must be used together with other flea killers. That’s because there’s an inexhaustible number of fleas outdoor, each one waiting to hitchhike on your unsuspecting pooch. It is impossible to get rid of parasites once and for all, as impossible as having an action flick without a villain, so flea-control measures must be used continuously. That will keep fleas outside the comfort of your home.
In other words, flea tablets are supplemental, not stand-alone solutions. They merely put an end to the vicious life cycle of fleas that are already in your dog’s fur. Once the tablet’s effect wanes, fleas outdoor won’t miss any chance to hop in for a furry ride, and you can’t just give your dog a tablet a day.
Fleas become more aggressive during warm months, as pets usually go outside often to play. It’s flea season, and veterinary clinics will have to hire extra hands to care for dehydrated, anemic flea-stricken dogs. Pooches suffering from serious flea infestation will need intravenous feedings, antibiotics and re-hydration, and therapeutic dips to stay alive.
If you don’t want that to happen to your pet, start planning an effective flea-control program for him. Giving your pet regular flea tablets is advisable (once a month if the product promises 30-day efficacy period), but not as a single, cure-all fix. You should also consider the use of flea collars, dips, shampoos, combs, powder, sprays, and, if your house is already swarming with these bloodsuckers, flea foggers.
Most topicals – Iiquids administered by placing a drop or drops of them in pets fur – claim to protect pets for 30 days. You can use any topical remedy together with the tablets if you want to be sure your pets are well covered. It won’t work as promised, however, if your dog loves getting wet in the rain, pool or puddle.
Some flea tablets act like birth-control for fleas, which are rendered unable to reproduce by the tablets’ active ingredients. Adult fleas sucking on your dog’s blood die out, leaving no heirs to their food source.
Other flea tablets are not subtle. They act quickly and fatally, targeting the fleas’ nervous system, not the reproductive system, paralyzing the parasites until they expire.
The thing is – it’s not important how they kill the fleas, as long as they can do the job well. And don’t forget: there are still fleas waiting outside, so your plan must include other flea killers.