Spring is in the air again. The birds are singing. The rain is falling. The flowers are blooming, and – if you own a dog or a cat – flea and tick season is in full effect. These pests can make the summer months a pain in the neck – and the wallet – for beleaguered pet owners. But, if it's a bad time of year for you, imagine how your fuzzy companion feels? Luckily, for every problem there is a solution, and with a little education, this is a battle you can win. What's the first step? Know your enemy!

The life cycle of fleas includes four separate stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. The life cycle can last from as little as two weeks up to a full year. Fleas prefer humidity and high temperatures. For this reason, their numbers tend to expand during the warm summer months.

Fleas are wingless, parasitic insects. These vampiric little guys live off of the nutrients they find in the blood of any number of mammals and birds. Clearly, any encounter with a flea is bound to bother you pet, but a certain kind of allergic reaction to the flea's saliva can lead to irritation, rash, and a significant loss of fur from excessive itching, scratching and biting at the infected area. This reaction is called “flea allergy dermatitis.” These irritated sore spots are prime targets for secondary infections, complicating an already messy problem. Even if your pet isn't prone to this irritation, fleas can also carry Lyme disease and tapeworms.

Ticks are also parasites, but they infect every class of terrestrial vertebrate from mammals and birds, to reptiles and amphibians. Unlike fleas, ticks are not insects. From the class Arachnidia, the tick is more closely related to the spider, and the scorpion than it is to the ant. Despite their numbers – and number of possible hosts – there are only a few varieties of ticks should worry people and their pets. If you live in an area that is populated with ticks, you must take precautions for you and your family. Ticks can transmit serious diseases like Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever to pets and owners alike.

The first step in protecting your family and your pets from fleas and ticks is some solid research – so far so good – and the advice of your veterinarian. Make sure you inform your vet about the kind of neighborhood you live in. Are you an apartment dweller in the city, or do you make your homestead on a wooded country road? Your location as well as your pet's habits and characteristics will help determine the level of protection your furry friend will require.

In order to prevent fleas and ticks from becoming a problem in the first place, your vet will probably recommend a prevention product like K9 Advantix. Products like Advantix - or the Dog or Cat versions of Advantage - are topical flea treatments that are used just once a month. They stop fleas from biting in less than five minutes, and can kill 98 to 100 percent of the fleas on pets within 12 hours. These products will keep on fighting fleas for a full 30 days. Applied before the start of flea season, these products can keep your dog from becoming infested in the first place. Used year-round, it prevents fleas from wintering in your home.

When you are first learning the ugly truth about fleas and ticks it can seem like a horror movie: blood-sucking monsters attacking my pets? Of course, it's not quite that serious. With a little common sense, the advice of your vet, and a proven product that deliver results, it looks like this is shaping up to be a great summer!

Tags: cat, prevention, pet, Rocky Mountain, Pest

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Tick, Tock...springtime Is Pest Prevention Time

There are a number of good flea and tick control pet supplies out there. With the number of products available, it is sometimes hard to tell which products do what. We are going to examine some of the most popular pet supplies available to control fleas and ticks.

There are a wide range of methods available in pet supplies to control these pests. Some of the methods include once a month topical treatments, sprays and mists, collars that are treated, shampoos and rinses, and oral medication that the animal swallows.

First let's take a look at the shampoos and rinses. These are liquids and powders that are either shampooed into the fur and then rinsed out, or they are put on wet fur after a bath and left on with no rinsing. There are numerous brands of these pet supplies available on the market. The main ingredients may differ depending on the brand name, but all these products are intended to kill fleas and ticks. Some of these pet supplies even treat Sarcoptic and Demodectic mange in dogs.

Next we will examine the once a month treatments available for dogs. These treatments are given once a month by rubbing the small amount of liquid into the skin at the nape of the dog's neck. Some of the more popular brands of this pet supply are Advantix, Frontline Plus, and Advantage. There is also a pet supply treatment called Revolution that is given once a month. However, this medication only controls fleas, mange, and ear mites without controlling ticks. It is used to prevent heartworms as well as control certain pests.

An oral medication that is available to control fleas only is called Proban. Flea and tick collars are also great pet supplies to get rid of these pests. These collars are treated with various chemicals that will not hurt the animal, but they are deadly to fleas and ticks. This method, however, is not as effective as others.

Sprays and mists are the last pet supplies we will look at to control fleas and ticks. A lot of these products have Permethrin, or a similar chemical, as the main ingredient in the product. This ingredient kills the pests and may even leave a lingering protection in the bloodstream of the animal. These pet supplies are intended to be left on the fur and skin of the dog to be absorbed into the bloodstream. Any flea or tick that bites and swallows the blood will be poisoned and die.

Tags: tick, flea and tick control, flea, Control, fleas and ticks

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Pet Supplies for Flea and Tick Control in Dogs

The world of drugs introduces new drugs every passing day, and the competition between the companies who are into this business is great. In order to survive in the marketplace, the product in real terms should stand out to face the market pressure and gain confidence of the consumers in terms of the output which is associated with the use of the drug.

K9 Advantix (imidacloprid + permethrin) is a drug which is unique in nature, because it is not only used for killing of the fleas and the ticks, but it also repels fleas, ticks and mosquitoes.  Therefore, it is a more comprehensive drug to be used to treat dogs. The drug should be used on dogs only, which are more than seven weeks old. Then, the use of the drug for the required purpose will be helpful and beneficial.

K9 Advantix stops the biting of fleas, and the killing percentage is about 98 to 100 percent within 12 hours which is great. It increases the consumer's confidence on the workability of the product. There are many benefits and advantages of the drug which include:

1. K9 Advantix repels and kills flea, ticks and mosquitoes.
2. K9 Advantix provides fast relief to the pet and stops the biting of the fleas within three to five minutes after the application.
3. K9 Advantix kills adult fleas within 12 hours, after the application.
4. The drug kills flea larvae within 20 to 30 minutes after the application.
5. K9 Advantix repels the infectious carrying mosquitoes from the pet.
6. The drug stops ticks from attaching to the body, which provides protection against diseases which are linked with ticks.
7. The drug works even after the swimming period of the pet.

There are certain precautions that need to be taken, if you intend to use the drug on your pets. K9 Advantix flea should not be used on cats, and you should never put the medicine on the skin of cats and kittens. The drug should be applied externally on dogs, and the user should be cautious of the fact that there are certain side effects which are natural. After the application of the drug, the pet will experience burning and itching. But, do not worry, because this natural. Gently shampooing the dog will make the pet feel much better and comfortable.

With regard to the application of the drug, it should be applied in bulk at one spot on the body of the dog. K9 Advantix is a fine drug which is highly recommended for use on dogs.

Tags: Advantix, adult fleas, drug, pet

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K9 Advantix Flea

The environment is filled with microbial pathogens which your pet cat and dog must face everyday. As their pet owner, you have the duty to protect them from the risk present in their environment. Vaccination is the best way to shield them from this infection for if they are properly vaccinated; your pets have very little chance of contacting diseases. The importance of vaccinating your dogs and cats cannot be taken for granted for the following reasons:

1. Vaccination is the most effective method of preventing infectious diseases, in particular, viral infection which can lead to serious illness, even death. Thus, vaccination against viral diseases established the basic of animal health that must never be overlooked. You give your pets the opportunity to live longer and healthier.

2. Animal health handlers are unanimous in considering the important role played by vaccination in preventing death and diseases of animals worldwide. It is your obligation to provide your pets with the proper vaccination which begins with your puppy or kitten and continued all the way to adult booster shot that is given yearly. When you protect the health of your pets, you are also protecting the health of your family. Transmittable diseases, as rabies, can be prevented.

3. Vaccination stimulates the immune system which then produces antibodies that protects your dogs or cats against a number of diseases that might contaminate them through the environment. When an immunized pet later exposed to an infectious agent, its antibodies will react quickly, attacking and destroying the disease.

4. Vaccine is the safest and most effective means of preventing a number of diseases. But if the animal is in poor health, its immune system will not respond well to vaccine. Before the shot, have your pet examined by the veterinarian and be sure it is given a clean bill of health.  Vaccination is the pet owner’s best line of defense against contagious diseases.

Vaccines are healthy products that trigger the protective immune system in pets and prepare them to future infection from disease causing agents as bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi.

Vaccinations for dogs are canine parvovirus (virus attacking the gastrointestinal tract), canine hepatitis (viral disease affecting liver and other substance), parainfluenza (contagious respiratory infection), adenovirus (respiratory virus), distemper and rabies. Available are vaccination for giardia (intestinal worms), Lyme disease (virus affecting the body systems), and bordatella (kennel cough).

Vaccines for cats are panleukopenia (feline distemper), rhinotracheitis (viral infection of the upper respiratory tract), calicivirus (gastroenteritis virus), feline leukemia and rabies.

Start the first vaccination when your pet is about six months and booster shot yearly. But before giving the vaccine, have your veterinarian examine your pet. Have a yearly physical check-up of your pets.

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So dog and cat owners, please be conscious of the importance of vaccinating your dog and cat. Remember that a healthy pet is a happy pet.

Tags: Vaccinating, pet, contagious diseases, health, Vaccination, microbial pathogens, Importance

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The Importance of Vaccinating Your Dogs and Cats

If you are one among the people who enjoy having pets at home, then you should definitely know more about how to safeguard your pets from ticks and fleas. One of the biggest problems faced by pet owners is controlling fleas. Read on to know more about how to get rid of ticks and fleas from your lovely pets.

Taking care of your pets has become easier than ever before. The revolutionary improvement in the medical field has come out with new solutions to safeguard your pets from ticks and fleas and even unknown diseases. You need not to spend too much of your money by taking them to pet clinic and buy expensive medicines. Now-a-days there are many quality medicines available online at affordable rate and also they are delivered at your doorstep. By doing this you can save lot of your time and money. You can enjoy this time with your pets rather than waiting at a pet clinic.

Your lovely pets have many possibilities to get attached by ticks, bugs, lice, vermin, parasites and other diseases. The fleas will irritate your pets causing them with unusual activities and make them uncomfortable at home. You also have the risk of getting diseases if you are playing with your infected pet. Children are fond of pets and they love to hug, touch and play with them. There are many possibilities that the infection may spread to your children. So it is definitely a must for every pet owner to consider the use of right medication to safeguard your pets as well as your family.

There are certain medications that can be used to control or permanently kills the ticks and fleas. Some of the well known and good quality medicines are K9 Advantix, Capstar Flea Killer and Frontline Plus. These are considered to be effective in killing ticks and fleas in cats and dogs.

A lot of pet owners have understood the advantages of using these medications to keep their pets happy. K9 Advantix is a very effective and easy to use. The result of administering the medicines can be seen within a time period of 20-30 minutes. K9 Advantix is the best option which can be used for all pets with relevance to the problem of fleas. The occurrence of infection due to fleas is extremely dangerous and hence pet owners should make sure to keep their pets free from the infections and other diseases.

Tags: pet, Help, time, Read, quality medicines, Plus, Controlling

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Controlling Fleas With the Help of K9 Advantix and Frontline Plus