Fleas – A Problem That’s Larger Than It Looks #12BRAVECTO

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Summer is well under way here at the Jersey shore. We’ve already had some really hot and humid days and as it’s only early July, the worse is yet to come. Much like humans, dogs try to find relief from the heat as well. When Dobby gets warm enough he will come to the back door and come inside. But sometimes he will lie down on the ground underneath the big tree in our back yard. Sounds ok, right? It can actually be rather problematic.

You see, ground here at the Jersey shore is often very sandy. Believe it or not, in my experience it’s an environment that’s pretty conducive to fleas. And in case you didn’t already know, fleas are the pits. You would think that the most common parasite found on dogs would be fairly straightforward to fight. They’re not.
Ever been playing with your dog and gotten a good look at his belly, only to discover a tiny flea strolling around like he owns the joint? Or maybe looked down and saw a tiny speck moving on your white sock? You probably removed it and killed it. If only the problem ended there. It’s frustrating enough seeing fleas on your dog, but that isn’t the worst part of a flea problem. Getting rid of them is.

Fleas can be very difficult to get rid of, and can even carry and transmit some serious diseases to our furry family members. Why are they so easy to kill? Fleas have a very long life cycle. By the time you actually see fleas on your pet, it’s likely you already have an infestation or that one is in the making. You see, what you see is not what you get when it comes to fleas. The number of fleas on your dog and the number hiding under all the fur can be a big difference. Let’s say you see 10 fleas on your dog, there could be 40 or more hiding. With 40 fleas you can expect approximately 80 pupae (cocoons), 280 larvae, and 400 flea eggs hiding in your carpet and even in between your floor boards. Heck, if you let your dog on the furniture like we do they could be in your couch or on your bed! And what do those numbers mean? They mean that you can expect to continue to see fleas for several months as all these life stages mature (CAPCvet.org accessed May 10th, 2016). With a long life span such as this, it’s important to use a product that will help treat your current flea problem as well as ensure that it doesn’t worsen. BRAVECTO® (Fluralaner) can help you do that.

You’ve probably seen monthly flea treatments. Give one treatment a day or two late and you’ve caused a gap in protection that will permit the infestation to continue and get worse. In my opinion it’s far simpler and more convenient to use an extended control product. BRAVECTO® is a tasty, chewable extended duration flea and tick control product. BRAVECTO® offers up to 12 weeks of flea prevention. Providing fast acting flea control, BRAVECTO® starts killing fleas within 2 hours and kills 100% of fleas within 12 hours. For tick control, it kills ticks (black-­legged tick, American dog tick, and brown dog tick) for 12 weeks. That’s nearly 3 times longer protection than a monthly treatment! It also kills lone star ticks for 8 weeks. (Go to Bravecto.com for full prescribing information.)
Because BRAVECTO® offers up to 12 weeks of protection, that means you’re only giving four doses per year instead of twelve! Dobby will eat almost anything, so a chewable dose would be greatly preferred to something I might have to hide in a food. Even though four doses is far easier to remember to give than twelve, the folks at BRAVECTO® know how important it is to be timely with these things so you can be reminded when it’s time to give the next dose by text, email or even stickers. These reminders are almost as convenient as the ability to give one does offering twelve weeks of protection in one tasty chew!
BRAVECTO® is for dogs six months and older. It is FDA approved, and is available only from your veterinarian or veterinary clinic. You can find a participating veterinarian on the website. Once you find a vet, be sure to schedule a visit to get your pet started on BRAVECTO®, so you can make sure your home and your pet are flea free.
You can learn more about on the BRAVECTO® website. You can also keep up with BRAVECTO® on Facebook and Twitter.
Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information published. However, it remains the responsibility of the readers to familiarize themselves with the product information contained on the USA product label or package. More product information is available here: https://intervetus.naccvp.com/product/view/1047512?e=d97b22ed63e734e84c1a5910a9c8f531z1688.