Many of us really never think about ticks unless we see them attached to our wandering dogs or cats. If we’re not actively hiking in the woods ourselves, ticks really go into the “out of sight, out of mind” category.

But in the case of ticks, out of sight, out of mind is a dangerous strategy. You see, while a flea bite is a nuisance- and can create a seriously itchy spot if you’re allergic- ticks can, and do, transmit some serious diseases.

Did you know that North Carolina has one of the highest rates of infection for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in the entire United States– with most diagnosed infections occurring in children? At a recent conference I saw a veterinarian review the case of a 2-year old boy that died of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. The pediatrician misdiagnosed the rash, and didn’t start life saving treatment soon enough – a tick borne disease just wasn’t on anyone’s radar.

For many years, transmission of Lyme disease by ticks was thought to be problem only northerners had to worry about, but no longer – Lyme disease is now being diagnosed in humans in Western North Carolina.  If you’d like to see detailed numbers of the prevalence tick borne disease in companion pets click here.

Why is it so important to control for ticks year round in our area?

1. We have LOTS of ticks in our beautiful mountains. Large deer and coyote populations provide hosts to breed lots of ticks. Ticks generally use the “ambush” strategy to get on a host —- they climb onto vegetation and wait for passing hosts to brush against the vegetation. Once they feel the slightest vibration, they extend their forelegs and immediately release to crawl onto the host.  You’re pet may bring that dangerous hitchhiker right into your house.
2. Great weather. It only takes the slightest bit of warmth for ticks to wake up and try to find a meal. Ticks don’t think “hey, it may be 20 degrees tomorrow night”.  Any bit of warm weather takes them out of their dormant state.
3. Some stages of tick are really, really small. A couple months ago I told you about people who didn’t realize they’d been bitten by a bat…. Most people diagnosed with a tick disease don’t remember being bitten.
4. Ticks are really disgusting. For guidelines on what to do about a tick attached to you or your pets, click here.

Here are this month’s recommendations:

1. To reliably control fleas and ticks you must use a preventative on each and every pet in your home and yard each and every month.
2. We recommend Frontline Plus because it controls for both fleas and ticks, in both dogs and cats.
3. If you never want to have to detach a dead tick from your dog, we’re carrying a new product called Certifect. It’s from the makers of Frontline Plus, it has a small amount of a pesticide that rapidly kills ticks. Certifect can only be used on DOGS.
4. For those of you who are fans of Comfortis, the bad news is that it does nothing for ticks. We have Preventic collars at the office for those pets on Comfortis for flea control. The Preventic collar has the same tick killing pesticide as Certifect.
5. When you go hiking with your pets – wear light colored pants so that you can see ticks easily, tuck in your pant lets, stay in the middle of the trail, and give yourself a good tick check when you get home.

At Noah’s Ark you won’t find the same old dietary choices you see at most other veterinary clinics. Our philosophy is to work with you to help you provide the highest quality, most natural diet for your pet possible. We’ve sorted through the hype and only sell foods and treats that we feel good about – products we feed our own pets.

The Todd’s have a long interest in nutrition for pets and people too. Dawn has an undergraduate degree in Clinical Nutrition, and originally moved to North Carolina to run one of Duke University’s weight loss programs. Dr. Todd began experimenting with feeding his dogs a raw diet even before it was fashionable. Together they have over 25 years experience creating optimal diets for your pets. Keep reading to learn more about commercial pet foods and the industry. We’ve also supplied a pet food dictionary so that you can look at the ingredients in the food and treats you’re feeding.

The Pet Food Money Making Industry

The United States pet food industry is currently a $15 BILLION dollar a year industry. SEVEN multinational corporations produce 86% of the pet food sold in the US. Why would huge corporations like this get so involved in the pet food business? Very simply, HUGE PROFITS.

These major manufacturers spend literally billions of dollars each year on TV ads and full-page color ads featuring beautiful dogs running across fields of daisies, or cats dancing for a particular food. There’s beautiful packaging with color photos of the fresh meats, fruits and vegetables the products promise to contain. Ever wonder how these corporations afford production, distribution, marketing, and profit every step of the way – at a cost of less than $1 per pound in many cases?

What most consumers don’t realize is that the pet food industry is an extension of the human food industry. Pet food has become a convenient way to turn slaughterhouse waste, grains considered “unfit for human consumption”, and other “byproducts” from the human food industry into big profits for huge companies.

Read the labels of the food and treats you’re feeding your pets. First, pay attention to where the product is manufactured. On a recent trip to the pet food aisle at Walmart, I observed that the vast majority of the treats were manufactured in China- the source for many recalls. Next, read the ingredients declaration. Like the labels on human foods, ingredients in pet food labels should be listed in descending order of weight.

The Primary Components of Pet Food

Protein: As carnivores, our companion animals have a requirement for high quality protein that is much higher than ours. Cats have even higher protein needs than dogs. Protein in low quality pet food comes from slaughtered animals, after the lean muscle tissue is trimmed away for human consumption. About 50% of every food animal does not get used in human food. What remains- heads, feet, bones, blood, intestines, ligaments, fat trimmings – is used in pet food, animal feed, and other products. These are commonly known as “by-products”. “4D”animals – Dead, Diseased, Dying, or Disabled – are also allowed in pet food.

Grains: If the grain ingredients of many commercial pet foods were combined, they far outweigh the protein sources. Carnivores have no specific requirement for grain. Grains are added to pet foods as low cost sources of protein, and as a source of calories. The most recent pet food recalls occurred because manufacturers are relying on plant sources of protein to boost levels of protein in the “guaranteed analysis”. This crude analysis gives no information about what can actually be digested and utilized by a dog or cat.

Extras: Commercial pet food is loaded with ingredients that have no nutritional value, or may be harmful. They’re included only to make inferior ingredients palatable to pets. Synthetic preservatives are used to ensure a shelf life of 1 year or longer.

Here’s a quick reference to help you understand what the ingredients in commercial pet foods really are:

Meat By Products- Whatever remains of a carcass after parts are removed that are consumed by humans. It’s important to note that by-products contain no measurable amount of meat. They can contain no more than 35% wood shavings. Wood shavings are used to soak up blood on slaughterhouse floors.

Meat meal, poultry meal, by-product meal- The term meal means these materials are not used fresh, but have been rendered. Rendering is an industrial process where raw materials are dumped into a vat and boiled for several hours. The process separates fat, removes water, and kills bacteria, viruses, and parasites. However, the high temperatures destroy or alter the natural enzymes, and protein found in fresh food.

Animal Digest – By definition animal digest is “material that results from chemical and/or enzymatic hydrolysis of clean and un-decomposed animal tissue. The animal tissues used shall be exclusive of hair, horns, teeth, hooves and feathers, except in such trace amounts as might occur unavoidably in good factory practice and shall be suitable for animal feed”. In other words, a cooked-down “broth” that can be made from unspecified parts of unspecified animals. YUCK!

Corn gluten meal, wheat gluten meal- Inexpensive sources of plant protein used to boost protein levels in pet food. This dried residue remains after processing corn and wheat for human consumption. Plant meals are not a highly digestible source of protein for a carnivore.

Soybean meal- Another by-product, from the production of soybean oil, not a bio-available source of protein for our companion carnivores.

BHT, BHA, Ethoxyquin, Propylene Glycol – These synthetic preservatives are used to give pet foods a very long shelf life. During a recent move, a client found an open bag of dog food, long forgotten, in the back of a closet. Although the food was over 5 years old, it was not moldy, and looked unchanged.

Noah’s Tips:

Choose the highest quality diet you can afford. Feed the correct amount to maintain a healthy weight.  Change your pet’s diet regularly to avoid boredom, and provide variety. Supplement your pet’s diet with HEALTHY fresh foods such as cooked vegetables, meat scraps, eggs, raw bones. Both you and your pets should avoid empty calories (foods with NO nutrition except calories) like white flour, sugar, and highly processed snack foods. Be sure you carefully read the label of commercial treats for dogs and cats. Most of them are loaded with salt, sugar, excess calories and poor quality sources of protein. DO NOT feed treats manufactured in China.

We’re here to help! If you have more questions about your pet’s diet, email your questions to:  dawntodd@noahsarkvet.us

Several months ago I wrote about using caution with rawhide in “My Beef with Rawhide”, but I’ve seen enough of these hooves lately in the office, that I thought it might be time to mention the hazards of hooves as well.

In discussing rawhide, we cited the heavy use of toxic chemicals used to get them bleached and to market. I also warned you that it is extremely difficult to find rawhide manufactured in the United States. primarily they are manufactured in Mexico and China – countries with far more lax environmental regulations.

The same is true of hooves – you need to know where they were processed into a retail item. If you’re purchasing them in a pet store or at Walmart, chances are they’re processed in China.

The more immediate danger when using hooves as a chew treat for dogs is how hard and undigestible they are. During the 32 years I’ve been practicing veterinary medicine I’ve surgically removed pieces and shards of cow hooves countless times. Not only do we get intestinal blockages, but I’ve even seen intestines being perforated by sharp pieces.

Many years ago Dee, whose dobermans you see in our front office, had a favorite doberman Yoli nearly die from a perforated intestine brought on by a hoof shard— before I was her veterinarian.

Why risk it? I’d advise you let your dogs chew on raw beef or bison femur bones – we have an assortment of sizes available at Noah’s Ark. We also have bully sticks, they don’t last as long as marrow bones, but they’re quite digestible. The great thing about regularly letting your dogs chew marrow bones is that it really stretches the time needed between dental cleanings.

Here are the top FIVE reasons why regular physical exams can actually save you $$ and are good for your furry family:

# 1. Annual physical examinations help us catch problems early, when treatment is less expensive, and we often have a better prognosis. For pets over 7 years old, regular exams are more important than ever – six months in a senior pet’s life is the equivalent of 3 – 4 years in our life.

Annual wellness exams are when we review your pet’s entire health picture.

# 2. Parasite screening is an important part of wellness exams. Did you know that some parasites dogs and cats carry are “zoonotic” – meaning they can be transmitted to you and your children? We recommend year round preventatives for intestinal parasites, heartworms, fleas and ticks – not only to keep your pets healthy, but also to keep your family safe. Parasite testing is part of your pet’s annual examination.

# 3. Dogs and cats need dentists too. Dental disease can wreak havoc on the health of people and pets. Unlike human doctors, veterinarians play the role of dentist in your pet’s life. Mouth infections, cracked or fractured teeth are one of the most common findings we make during the physical exam.

We were recently completing a six-month geriatric progress exam on one of our favorite pug patients Winston. He’d been rubbing his head on the sofa and his dad assumed his ears were bothering him. What Winston really had was a painful tooth abscess.  After some minor dental work and a course of antibiotics, he’s good as new.

# 4. Staying trim is as important for pets as it is for us.  We’re not just your pet’s doctor and dentist; we’re also the nutritionist! Over 50% of the pets we examine each year are obese. Excess weight creates the same problem in pets as it does in people. Diabetes, common in overweight pets, is extremely expensive to manage, and it shortens life span- sometimes dramatically.

At Noah’s Ark we track your pet’s weight through the years, and even create weight loss plans if your pooch or kitty packs on a few extra pounds. Whether you want to purchase food, or make your own raw or cooked diet – we’ve got a solution for you.

# 5. Don’t take a shot in the dark. During your pet’s annual wellness examination we review your pet’s age, lifestyle, history and make recommendations for which vaccines, if any, your pet needs. While we don’t have room for a long discussion about immunology here, what you need to know is this: Your pet does not need every vaccine, every year.  The wellness appointment is where we make sure your pet is protected from deadly diseases, but not over-vaccinated – which can create it’s own set of problems.

Why Use Noah’s Ark?

We’re not your average vet office.  Here are just some of the things that make us better:

#1. EXPERIENCE: Dr. Todd has over 30 years of experience. All of our doctors complete over 40 hours per year of continuing education to stay informed of all the latest developments in the field.

#2. HOLISTIC APPROACH: Our practice philosophy is to find the root of the problem a pet is having. This is in sharp contrast to conventional practices that tend to focus on symptoms. Our goal is to get your pet vitally healthy and happy from within. We don’t use a cookie cutter approach to this process, we treat each case individually.

#3. AAHA ACCREDITED: The American Animal Hospital Association is the body that inspects and accredits animal hospitals in the United States and Canada. To be accredited, Noah’s Ark was evaluated on over 900 standards covering patient care, client service and medical protocols. Only 15% of hospitals achieve this distinction. Noah’s Ark is dedicated to providing the very highest level of service to patients and clients– we’re the only hospital in our area to achieve this distinction.

#4. PREVENTION SERVICES: Our doctors do thorough, hands on, nose to tail physical examination of your pet when they see us for semi-annual or annual exams. You’ll also leave with a comprehensive PET HEALTH REPORT CARD that details the doctor’s findings and recommendations. Two weeks after your pet’s visit, you’ll also receive a PET HEALTH ID CARD with your pet’s picture and a summary of their medical record – very convenient for travel or boarding.

#5. HAVE IT YOUR WAY: We do our very best to accommodate your wishes. Need to get in same day? We do our best to make a same day appointment- even if it means extending our hours that day. Have a favorite doctor? You choose who you want to see.

For years, when I tuck my nieces and nephews in after their bedtime story I say, ”Good night, sleep tight, and don’t let the fleas and ticks bite!” To an under 10 year- old audience, this is always hilarious.

I’m now considering changing my parting goodnight words to “Goodnight, sleep tight, and don’t let the bats bite”.

On December 16^th and again on December 30^th, the public health departments of South Carolina and Massachusetts respectively confirmed cases of rabies in humans.  Both these sad cases are confirmed to have had the little brown bat as the source of the rabies infection.

Rabies in humans is still a terrible problem in many parts of the world, causing and estimated 55,000 deaths per year. About 99% of these human cases are caused by a rabid dog biting a human, usually a child. In the United States, thanks to widespread vaccination of dogs and cats, human cases are rare.

These two recent cases of human rabies, so close together, got me thinking about the discussions I’ve had with clients in just the past few months about rabies vaccination for their pets. One woman called our office insisting that she would not become a client of Noah’s Ark unless she could waive rabies vaccination for her pampered housedog. “He has absolutely no chance of exposure, he’s always with me, or I walk him on a leash.”

Let me tell you a true story. Many of you will remember Barb Abel, our former Patient Care Coordinator. Barb left to become a full time student at Montreat College in Black Mountain, just east of Asheville. Barb sent me this text on September 24, 2011:

“A fox just attacked me in my backyard! It came out of the woods and grabbed my pants leg with its teeth and wouldn’t let go until I started kicking at it! It didn’t break the skin, but it scared the crap out of me! I never had anything like that happen before!”

Barb called Animal Control, and it seems this fox had already bitten a neighbor. Within a day, Animal Control caught the rogue fox and it did in fact test positive for rabies.

When a fox or raccoon attacks you, it’s quite memorable. But apparently, very small bats can make their way indoors undetected. They have very small, very sharp teeth. A sleeping person who is bitten, may be unaware a bite has occurred- and that seems to be the case with these most recent human cases.

I don’t know about you, but bats haven’t really been on my radar, pardon the pun, when it comes to concerns about rabies exposure. To tell the truth, several years ago I found a bat lying in our driveway. I had the sense not to directly touch it, but only because it was bearing those tiny, sharp teeth in my direction. I put him in a box and brought him into our house! The little guy died shortly after my attempted rescue, but I look back at my actions and think… that was really stupid!

When the Centers for Disease Control compiled 2010 data, North Carolina reported 411 confirmed cases of rabies, 25 of those cases were in domestic animals. As the case with Barb, and the recent bat cases illustrate, we’re not always in control of our risk of exposure.

Here’s what you should do to protect yourself and your family:

1. Keep your pets properly vaccinated against the rabies virus.
2. If you find a bat inside your home, do not touch the bat! Do not release it outside. Carefully trap it in a container and take it to Macon County Animal Control or the County Health Department. They’ll send the bat off to the state laboratory to test for rabies.
3. If you find a bat outdoors that your pet has had contact with, the same applies. Don’t touch the bat, trap it in a container and take it to Animal Control for testing.

About the Rabies Virus:  Rabies is generally transmitted by a bite that introduces infected saliva into a wound. In humans exposed to the virus, the disease incubates in as quickly as a week, but can take up to a year. Once a human is showing the symptoms of rabies, it is nearly 100% fatal.  In the US, post exposure treatments are available if they are started as soon as possible after exposure (within a few days). All mammals can be infected with rabies. The wildlife most infected in our area: raccoons, foxes, bats and skunks.

Once again treats from China are making the news, and not in a good way.  Last month the FDA issued another warning advising consumers who feed their dogs chicken jerky products made in China to watch their dogs closely for a range of symptoms- vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, increased water consumption and urination– some dogs have even died. The FDA has not issued a recall, because scientists have not been able to identify a specific contaminant that is making dogs ill. This is the third warning about these products from the FDA. Complaints about these products began surfacing in 2007.  Click here to read the full warning. 

I shopped the aisles of the Franklin Walmart and Kmart. Although you really have to read the fine print, every chicken treat they sell in these two stores is manufactured in China. They go by different names — Chicken Jerky, Chicken Bites, Chicken Chews, Chicken Chips– but although “American Owned Company” is prominently displayed on some of this packaging — bring your magnifying glass, because the fine print tells the whole story.

Let the price be your guide. A 3.3 oz bag of Milo Chicken Jerky costs $2.48 at Walmart. While the company boasts being based in San Francisco, these treats are manufactured in China. The ingredients are: Chicken breast, Glycerin, Sugar, Salt, Natural Flavors, mixed tocopherols.

These treats could be ½ sugar  or more, since both glycerine and sugar are sweetners. I don’t know any dogs that need their chicken sweetened before they’ll eat it!

I’ve talked directly to the production manager at Bravo– our manufacturer of choice for “clean”, healthy treats. It takes approximately 1.5 pounds of chicken tenderloins to yield 4 oz. of their dry roasted chicken breast strips. Bravo Dry Roasted Chicken Breast Strips have exactly one ingredient: Chicken Breast Tenderloins. We retail them for $8.99, with a very small mark up. It’s expensive to take real meat, process it safely, package it, and ship it.

You all know the old saying: “If it seems too good to be true it probably isn’t.” I think we can adapt that to the arena of pet food and treats…. “If it seems to cheap to be healthy, it probably isn’t!”

Dr. Todd and I advise you to entirely avoid any type of treat manufactured in China.

My dear husband Dr. Todd has a habit of eating the treats we sell in our office. It’s not that he’s hungry; he just wants to know how edible they are. Now that got me thinking… Are you willing to eat the treats you feed your dog?

Throughout the week I generally create two or three recipes for home cooked diets for our patients. I usually get around to asking, “What do you feed for treats?”. I did it yesterday with a client who was already feeding a high quality diet, but wanted to begin cooking for her pampered pug Trixie. To my surprise, Trixie gets “biscuits with a marrow filling” and “Beggin Strips”.

Now the “marrow treats” we’re talking about aren’t the real ones that we have at Noah’s. Long frozen bison femur bones that still have real marrow in them. I’m talking about those little crunchy treats with the bright red center. The Beggin’ Strips might resemble a strip of fried bacon, and have a peculiar bacon-ish scent, but check out the ingredients of each of these treats:

Ingredients Milkbone Mar-O-Snacks:

Wheat Flour, Meat and Bone Meal, Sugar, Dried Poultry By-Products Digest (Preserved with BHA, Propyl Gallate, and Citric Acid), Cooked Bone Marrow (Preserved with BHA, BHT, and Citric Acid), Beef Fat (Preserved with Tocopherols), Salt, Corn Starch, Annatto Color, Red Iron Oxide (Color), Red 40, Sodium Metabisulfite (Used as a Preservative)

Ingredients Beggin’ Strips:

Ground wheat, corn gluten meal, wheat flour, ground yellow corn, water, sugar, glycerin, soybean meal, meat, hydrogenated starch hydrolysate, bacon fat (preserved with BHA), salt, phosphoric acid, sorbic acid (a preservative), calcium propionate (a preservative), natural and artificial smoke flavors, added color (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1, Yellow 6), choline chloride.

As a health care professional, I advise you NOT to eat these treats; I’ll go further and say be sure to wash your hands after you touch these treats! While wheat, the first ingredient in both these treats, may not be inherently bad in small amounts, there’s not one other ingredient in these that you’d want to feed your pet. If you’ve got the stomach for it, look at the glossary below to see exactly what some of these ingredients really are.

What should I feed my pampered pooch for treats you might ask?

I often advise clients to just eliminate mass marketed commercial treats completely. But if you want to buy a treat, here are two simple tips:

Tip # 1. Look for “Made in the USA” – Not China, the land of many recalls. How could you possibly make something in China, and ship it all the way to Franklin, NC, and still make a profit? I’ll tell you how. The ingredients may be misrepresented, are very poor quality, and may be adulterated. Beware also bags that say vaguely “America”, with some version of a flag. That can also be Mexico (legitimately in North America), but where regulations are far more lax. I recently strolled the treat aisle in Walmart. I couldn’t find a single pet treat on the aisle that was made in the USA.

Tip #2. Look for treats with a single ingredient, or recognizable ingredients – Keep it simple. When you read a label, you shouldn’t need to have a dictionary in the other hand. The products we sell at Noah’s all have ingredients that are familiar to you. Our dry roast chicken treats have one ingredient – Chicken Breast Tenderloins– and that’s the way it should be.

Then there are treats the good old-fashioned way … what you have at home, that you might actually eat yourself. I recommend lots of baby carrots, apple slices, fresh fruits and veggies of all kinds, low sodium mini rice cakes, small pieces of cooked chicken, beef, fish or turkey – fresh or frozen. Bone Appetit!

What’s in Pet Treats? A very short glossary:

In the US, ingredients allowed in pet foods are determined by AAFCO:

The Association of American Feed Control Officials is an organization and not a governmental agency such as the FDA. Members include employees of state, federal and provincial agencies as well as employees from pet food companies. This group sets standards for what’s allowed in pet food.

Animal Digest:

AAFCO Definition: A material which results from chemical and/or enzymatic hydrolysis of clean and undecomposed animal tissue. The animal tissues used shall be exclusive of hair, horns, teeth, hooves and feathers, except in such trace amounts as might occur unavoidably in good factory practice and shall be suitable for animal feed. If it bears a name descriptive of its kind or flavor(s), it must correspond thereto.

In plain English, digest is a cooked-down broth made from unspecified parts of unspecified animals. The animals used can be obtained from any source, so there is no control over quality or contamination. Any kind of animal can be included: “4-D animals” (dead, diseased, disabled, or dying prior to slaughter), goats, pigs, horses, rats, roadkill, animals euthanized at shelters. Because the industry received such bad publicity for using euthanized companion animals, there’s been pressure to completely end this practice.

Beef & Bone Meal:

AAFCO Definition: The rendered product from beef tissues, including bone, exclusive of any added blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen contents, except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices.

In plain English, a byproduct made from beef parts that are not suitable for human consumption. It can incorporate the entire cow, including the bones, but the quality cuts of meat are always removed. This is an inexpensive, low quality ingredient used to boost the protein percentage.

Chicken Byproduct Meal:

AAFCO Definition: Consists of the dry, ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines — exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices.

In plain English, chicken byproducts are much less expensive and less digestible than the chicken muscle meat. The ingredients of each batch can vary drastically in ingredients (heads, feet, bones etc.) as well as quality, thus the nutritional value is not consistent. Byproducts consist of any parts of the animal OTHER than meat. If there is any use for any part of the animal that brings more profit than selling it as “byproduct” it will be used for another more profitable use. Byproducts are the very end of the food production chain.

Sugar:

Can include sucrose, cane sugar, caramel, corn syrup and others.

Sugar or sweetener is an absolutely unnecessary ingredient in pet foods, added to make the product more attractive. Pets get “addicted” to foods that contain sugars, so it can be difficult to make them eat something healthier, especially cats.

If you’re interested in learning more about the devastating effects of sugar and high fructose corn syrup on our health, watch this lecture: Is Sugar Toxic?

I do nutrition and behavior consultations for Noah’s Ark clients. Over time I realized that I answer as many questions about fleas as I answer about diets and behavior problems. So I set out to make myself the flea expert at Noah’s Ark. I’m going to go into quite a bit of detail in this blog, but try to bear with me. Understanding how such a small creature is so difficult to wipe out is more complicated than many people think. A little understanding can save you money (which many people waste on ineffective treatments), and help you defeat this pesky opponent once and for all.

First you need to understand that our war with fleas is a perpetual one. Why? Because it never ends – these tiny pests are reproduction machines. Most people I talk to really only think about fleas during the summer months – but the key to having a peaceful summer is treating year round for these tiny tormentors.

If you just want to know what works – go directly to the section titled  “Becoming Flea Free”.

A Flea’s Life Story in Four Acts:

Adult fleas, the ones you can see, account for only 5% of the total flea population. That means for every 5 live fleas you see, 100 more are in various stages of becoming an adult. The flea’s entire life cycle can be as short as 2-4 weeks, or as long as 2 years (for instance in an empty house). To understand why fleas are such a persistent pest, it really helps to have a basic understanding of the flea’s life story, and this story starts with the egg.

Act One- Once Upon a Time There Was a Very Tiny Egg

Female fleas have just one mission in life, you guessed it – to lay eggs, and it’s something they’re very good at.  One female can produce up to 2000 eggs in her lifetime. In just one day, a single female can lay up 50 eggs! These eggs are not sticky- they fall off your pet and into the environment. Think of your pet as a “salt shaker”, sprinkling flea eggs wherever they go. Many people think it’s just carpets that provide a place for fleas to hatch, but flea eggs are so small, that researchers have discovered they can develop in the cracks of a hardwood floor. In ideal conditions, eggs can hatch in 5-10 days.

Act Two- The Tiny Egg Becomes the Very Hungry Caterpillar

OK, in this story that very hungry caterpillar is called “Larva”. But they’re just what you think – tiny little caterpillar like creatures that grow and eventually spin a cocoon. But unfortunately, this cocoon won’t hatch a beautiful butterfly. The length of time for larva to make their cocoon (called a “pupae” in the case of the flea) depends entirely on the weather – the temperature and humidity of the environment, whether inside or outdoors.

Act Three- The Pupa’s Patient Wait

The pupa is the flea’s  “cocoon”, the dormant stage in the flea lifecycle. The pupa has a very tough protective “armor” that can’t be killed by any flea control product. The flea develops in this hard shell – emerging in two weeks when it’s 75 degrees with 78% humidity. However, under 50 degrees, that cocoon can lie dormant for close to a year. Rising temperatures, a physical vibration (like you walking by), or carbon dioxide exhaled from any mammal can signal adult fleas to emerge and begin their feeding frenzy. Everyone’s heard the story of someone who comes back into a house that’s been empty for months, only to find themselves eaten up by hungry fleas.

The Finale - Victory or Defeat for the Mighty Flea, You Decide…..

Newly hatched adult fleas lie in wait for something to move by them. Once anything comes between the flea’s light source and the flea, the flea makes an instinctive jump. And boy can they jump. Using high-speed cameras at Cambridge University, scientists watched the tiny flea jump 38 times higher than the length of their bodies. That’s the equivalent of a six-foot tall man jumping to the top of a 28-story building!

This unwanted hitchhiker first eats a meal of the unsuspecting host’s blood, and then looks for a mate- all to start the life cycle again. Once an adult flea jumps onto their new home (or your pet), they begin feeding within minutes. Females begin laying eggs within 24 hours. An adult flea can live up to four months, and once they’ve found a nice warm, furry home, they don’t come off unless they’re killed (by treatment) or eaten (cats are particularly good at grooming off fleas).

The Big Three Problems With Fleas

1. Misery: If your home becomes infested with fleas, it’s pure misery, and it’s going to take a real effort to eliminate the enemy. That’s why I urge people to take steps to ensure you never get an infestation in the first place. When a flea bites you or your pet, a small amount of saliva gets deposited in the skin. Many of us develop an allergic reaction to this saliva, which tends to cause severe itching – worse in some people and pets.

2. Anemia: Each season we see pets at our hospital that have been bitten by so many fleas and/or ticks, that they develop full blown anemia- which can be a life threatening condition.

3. Tapeworms: Dogs and cats become infested with tapeworms because they ingest an infected flea. Tapeworm segments can be seen in the stool and look like rice.

Becoming Flea Free Forever:

Step 1.  Relieve the pet’s discomfort by killing fleas on the pet that are biting and feeding. To kill all existing fleas on your pets, remember the 3 C’s:

CORRECT FREQUENCY- apply product to ALL companion animals EACH month. Most people find it easiest to remember if they always apply on the same day of the month – the first day for instance.

CORRECT APPLICATION TECHNIQUE – If you’re using Frontline Plus, you must part your pet’s coat between the shoulder blades, and apply the entire dose directly to the skin. Hold your pet still for a minute so that the oil can begin to disperse, and your pet doesn’t “shake” a significant amount off. If you’re using Comfortis, you must give this pill with a full meal for maximum absorption. All veterinarian sold flea products take from 4 – 24 hours to kill 95% of the adult fleas your pets. But remember, that does not mean that new fleas from the environment will not jump on your pet.

CONSISTENCY – In your battle against the mighty flea you must be consistent. One of the biggest mistakes clients make is to wait until they see fleas to resume their war against fleas and ticks. If you don’t start treating until you see adult fleas…. you’ve got a project!

Step 2. Eliminate the infestation on the premises. If you continue to see fleas on your pets after they’ve been treated with a product sold at Noah’s Ark, adult fleas are continuing to emerge in your environment– either indoors, outdoors, or both. These adults re-infest your pets. Although you’ve applied a product, this does not stop new adult fleas from hatching**. Many assume that if they see fleas on their pet, the product isn’t working – this isn’t true. If you regularly treat your pet with Frontline Plus, fleas that come into contact with your pet’s fur will die, but it does take a couple of hours. New fleas can jump on at any time. There is NO product available that acts as a “force field” and prevents fleas from getting on your pets.

Fleas thrive in temperatures of 50 – 90 degrees, and relative humidity of 50 – 85%. At 85 degrees, flea eggs hatch into adults in less than three weeks. At 65 degrees it can take 7-12 weeks for flea eggs to hatch into adult fleas. The persistence of the flea in its developmental stages makes it essential that you treat year round.

**Frontline Plus contains an IGR (insect growth regulator). With repeated use, the eggs and larvae will not develop into a cocoon – breaking the flea’s life cycle.

Step 3. Prevent future flea infestations. The most common reason our clients think their flea control is failing is because they don’t use product 12 months a year, on all the pets in the house and yard. They stop when the weather gets cold and they no longer see adult fleas. This big mistake lets the flea get way ahead of you as soon as the weather warms up in the spring.

It’s important to remember that companion pets are far from the only hosts for fleas. Wildlife that roams in your yard is another source of flea eggs. The number one host for fleas is opossums, followed by raccoons, coyotes, rabbits, and feral cats. Interestingly, squirrels and birds are not hosts for the common flea that infests our domestic house pets. Sometimes clients overlook other flea hosts in their home – domestic rabbits, hedgehogs, and ferrets can be hosts to fleas.

Once a flea finds a host/ home, it stays on that host until it is killed (by flea control products) or groomed off either by the pet or a flea comb. Adult fleas develop where the flea’s host spends most of their time- both indoors and out. It’s important to be very through in cleaning and clearing areas that are ideal for flea development. Couch cushions, cracks between hardwood floorboards, cracks around baseboard, pet beds and rugs are key places indoors where eggs can continue to hatch into adult fleas.

Outdoors, adult fleas do not survive in sunny, bright areas- so treating sunny lawns is futile. Fleas thrive in shady, even better if sandy, areas under bushes, decks, porches, sheds. These are also areas that opossums, raccoons, and feral cats often hide out. So if you do treat outdoors, concentrate on those areas, not sunny ones.

Many clients feed semi-tame cats at their home. These cats come close enough to feed, but they’re not so tame that they can have flea control applied. We like to “troubleshoot” these cases individually. Even if you don’t feed stray cats on your porch, our area is rich in wildlife. Depending on your property, it may not be realistic to expect to never see an adult flea on your pet – but we can certainly help you gain reasonable control, and make sure your home does not get infested.

Goal #3 – Prevent Re-infestation

Once you’ve eliminated an infestation, it’s vital to continue to treat all of your pets year round. Many animals, such as feral dogs and cats and wildlife, move through the neighborhood and yards carrying fleas. These flea-infested animals are continually depositing flea eggs in the outdoor environment, which can start the problem all over again. By keeping pets on year round flea preventative, when fleas jump onto a treated pet, the fleas will either be killed or their eggs destroyed—before the population of fleas explodes. In this way, future flea infestations of your home and companion pets will be prevented.

What Weapons Are Available at Noah’s Ark?

Frontline Plus – This is our number one recommended product. Prices have steadily fallen on this product, and the company provides a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. It’s what we use on our dogs and cats, and with 10 – 15 furry occupants in our home, we never have a problem.  Kills adult fleas, eggs, larvae. Also kills ticks. Active within 4-12 hours, lasts at least 30 days. Safe for dogs and cats. Not absorbed into the blood stream – distributed in the naturally occurring oil in the pet’s coat, waterproof. The active ingredient is a neurotoxin, so you will see fleas appear on top of the pet’s coat, and act “hyperactive” while they’re dying. If you need help with a Frontline Plus application, just come to our office and a member of our staff will be glad to assist you with application free of charge!

Certifect – This new product has all the protection of Frontline Plus, but has a small amount of an additional pesticide that kills ticks very quickly, AND causes them to detach. This is revolutionary since I’ve never met a human that doesn’t find ticks to be absolutely disgusting. Ticks also carry some really nasty diseases that humans can contract. If your dogs have a lifestyle that allows them to pick up ticks, you may consider switching from Frontline Plus to Certifect.

Comfortis – Kills adult fleas. A pesticide available in pill form that is absorbed into the bloodstream. Comfortis is available only for dogs. Begins acting within 4 hours and lasts for up to 30 days if given with a full meal. Fleas must bite and take a blood meal to die.

Capstar – A very fast acting systemic pesticide. Begins killing adult fleas within 30 minutes after the pill is given. Kills 90% of adult fleas in four hours, but lasts only 24 hours. Provides very fast, but not long lasting relief. Can be used in cats and dogs. We often recommend this product as a way for clients to try to determine whether their pets are picking up fleas indoors, or outdoors. Contact me by email if you’re interested in learning more about how this works.

Flea Buster Powder – A great value. Very fine Boric Acid powder. Great for treating indoor environment- carpets, hardwoods, under cushions. Kills adult fleas as they hatch. Lasts until you deep clean. When you have an infestation, we recommend application of this product in the home, in addition to treating all pets with Frontline Plus.