Fleas and other parasites should always be awarded the top priority by dog owners. Flea bite allergy in dogs is very common and causes concern to many dog owners every year, especially in the summer, although all year round if your dog lives indoors with central heating. This is because flea bites often produce allergic reactions in the area bitten by the fleas, which is very often on the back just above the tail. In these cases, the affected area becomes red and bald due to the dog's continuous scratching of itself.

Heavy flea infestations can cause severe dermatitis in dogs. If the flea bites cause allergic reactions or dermatitis in the dog, it really ought to be taken to the vet, because on many occasions, the dog will be experiencing severe discomfort.

The vet will provide you a cream to ease the itching and reduce the inflammation and some powder or a spray to kill the fleas. Prevention, however, is better than cure and medicated collars are available to treat and prevent an infestation of external blood-suckers like ticks and fleas.

Besides fleas, other parasites like ticks and lice in addition to the internal parasites like hook worms, round worms, whip worms etc. can affect the health of your dog. For example, if hookworm infects a dog, that dog will usually suffer from anaemia. The signs of anaemia become more evident depending on the degree of infection by the hookworm.

Hookworm larvae can pass directly through the skin and cause problems inside the affected dogs. Such dogs may have lesions due to dermatitis on the paws and on the skin. Frequently, skin rashes are the result in such cases and the affected animal passes loose stools, which are tinged red with blood.

Most dogs and all puppies get round worms, which is why dogs can often be seen rubbing their bottoms along the floor. However, if round worms are present in large numbers, infected puppies show a pot belly, which is easily recognized by dog owners themselves. Piperazine salts are given orally for the treatment of this condition. However, broad-spectrum anthelmintics like pyrantel pamoate, fenbendazole etc. are also given to treat this condition.

There are many drugs on the market to treat fleas and other parasites these days, although medications containing the drug 'ivermectin' seem to be preferred by many dog owners to treat fleas and other parasites in dogs. This drug is available for injection or oral use but is now even available for external application too.

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Posted under Dogs