About Dog Lice
Fighting Dog Lice
Dog lice is not very common, but if you are a dog owner you should still be familiar with the symptoms and treatments just in case you need them. Dog lice is different from human lice, and only lives on dogs who live inside. Dog lice can effect your dog, even if he is well groomed, and kept clean. You will want to make sure you know what you are looking for as lice can cause serious disease and complication for your dog.
The first thing you will probably notice is your dog itching. This itching can start off slow, and get very severe, some dogs scratch so much that they leave patches of hair missing. Lice causes skin irritation for your dog, which causes them to itch. When you see the first signs of itching it is time for you to investigate what problems could possibly be causing your dogs skin irritation.
There are two types of dog lice. The first type bites the dog’s skin and lives off of dead flakes of skin. The second type of lice is the kind that suck your dog’s blood. This type tends to be more irritating because they penetrate the skin to get the blood.
If you suspect your dog has lice you will want to check the skin to look for the creatures. When you begin checking your dogs skin for lice you are looking for little flat, gray parasites. Lice do not fly, and they do not move much so if you are looking closely you should be able to see them. Due to the lack of movement you may have a hard time finding them if you are not very close to yoru dogs fir. Most people find it easier to see the eggs, the eggs are easier to find because they are attached to the hair, and look like flakes of white dust.
Once you have determined that your dog does in fact have lice you will want to start treating it immediately, if you are not sure how to treat the lice contact your vet. Since dog lice is so uncommon it is easy to treat, your dog has not had the opportunity to build up an immunity to insecticides used to treat the lice and therefore treatment moves along very smoothly.
Your vet will probably suggest that you do an insecticide dip to get rid of the lice, you may also use the insecticide bath or spray. Repeat the treatment until the lice is completely gone or there may still be eggs that will hatch. While treating your dog make sure you get rid of the blankets, or pillows that your dog used for sleeping while he was infested. This will prevent the lice from coming back. After throwing away the infested bedding you will want to make sure you sterilize the area, and surrounding areas as well to make sure all the lice is dead.
Article written by Kelly from OhMyDogSupplies
| 
