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Dog Fleas
Of about sixteen thousand species of fleas on earth and about twohundred and fifty in North America, there arc four common types of fleas important to dogs: the human flea, dog flea, cat flea, and sticktightflea. The human flea may breed on dogs and cats as well as on humans.The dog flea and the cat flea infest either dogs or cats, but prefer theirspecific hosts. When they bite humans it is only because they lack adog or cat to feed on. The sticktight flea is most often found infestingthe rims of the eyes of dog but may also be found attached to otherparts of the body. Fleas produce large numbers of eggs which drop off the host. Theeggs sometimes get into cracks in the floor, into a sandbox, or into thefurniture where the pet sleeps, and they may lie there in a dormantstate for many months before conditions become right for their devel-opment. Some hatch very soon after they are dropped. Moisture andtreat are essential for hatching. The egg is deliquescent, absorbing wa-ter from the air, no that whenever the weather becomes warm andhumid, flea eggs soon hatch. In excessively dry climates fleas are almostunknown. Out of the egg conies a worm, the larva. The worm feeds on organicmatter such as scales from dog skin. It grows quickly. When it reachesthe size of a very small maggot, it spins a cocoon and pupates like thecaterpillar. Out of these cocoons come males and females, and at thisstage they look very much alike. They are able to jump prodigiousdistances and are remarkably well protected against pressure. If you rollone tightly between your fingers and let it go, it will jump about as wellas it did before. After they hatch, fleas crawl up anything vertical and wait there, about a foot from the ground or floor, for a host to pass. If your pet isremoved from your house during the summer, you may find after a fewweeks that the fleas are attacking you instead. The fleas you find in thehouse have developed from eggs that were dropped from your pet, andsince the original host has been removed, they use you as a substitute.Nor are the fleas confined to the house or kennel. You may easily beflea-bitten in the garden if your pet had the run of the grounds andeggs were dropped there. Sticktight fleas do not move about or jump but cling to the skin,often in large clusters. The female burrows into the skin and lays hereggs in the ulcers she produces. After the eggs hatch the larvae fall tothe ground, where they complete their development in about fourweeks, when conditions are right. This flea is more prevalent in warmclimates than in cold. Not only dogs, cats, and other four-legged petsarc infested by sticktight fleas, but birds as well. This is a good fact toknow where sticktight fleas are a problem; it may help you keep yourdog free of them.
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Dog fleas are those little elusive insects that jump so far and those big,brown, long-bodied insects that crawl about on our pets are fleas. Thebig ones are always females; the little junipers may be either males oryoung females. Fleas are a serious threat to the health of dog. Theycarry and spread tapeworms and bubonic plague. They also cause sum-mer skin diseases, loss of weight, and poor coats on their hosts.