Ear Cleaning Basics

Your knowledge of fleas and ticks is very important. As a professional groomer you will provide de-fleaing bathing treatments, and you will be regularly asked for advice on flea and tick control. You also need to understand how to maintain your business free of fleas and ticks.

Here we will provide with basic information about fleas and ticks, common pet groomer treatments, additional flea and tick control treatments and links to recommended reading on the Internet associated with this topic.

Flea Basics

Fleas are "parasites." A parasite is an organism that lives in or on a larger organism, and at the expense of the larger organism. Think of the larger organism as the host for the parasite. While some parasites may not cause problems, others can cause an annoyance, discomfort and health problems for the host.

Fleas are small and have no wings. Not only do they choose dogs as their hosts, but also cats, rodents, pigs and humans. Adult fleas suck blood from their hosts, and they can survive for months while waiting for their next victim.

Of the many species of fleas, the most prevalent species is "Ctenocephalides felis," also known as the cat flea. Though it is called a "cat" flea, it may choose dogs as hosts. There is a dog flea too, "Ctenocephalides canis." However, it is less common that the "cat flea."

The female flea lays up to 25 eggs a day. The host pet is often the choice egg-laying site for dog and cat fleas. What humans and pets find a comfortable environment, so do these fleas. They too are comfortable in temperatures from the mid-60's to mid-80's degrees (Fahrenheit). Does this sound like the temperature range of your home?

Eggs must incubate for several days, and then hatch. At this point, they are larvae, and they look to burrow into dark and what they consider to be a safe place. Think furniture and rugs in homes, or leaves outdoors. They survive off dried blood and organic substances for several weeks. Next comes the cocoon stage. During this stage they are in a process called, "pupate." The cocoon protects them extreme temperatures and insecticides. Studies indicate they can remain in this stage for as long as one year or more. When do they hatch? Pupae hatch when the dinner bell rings, in other words, they sense food is near.

Flea infestations can happen year round, but spring is commonly the most intense period. Cold temperatures turning warm along with humidity makes ideal conditions for flea uprisings.

Dogs and cats pickup fleas from other flea-infested animals or environments. After grooming including a de-fleaing the dog can once again pick-up fleas, so pet owners must follow a preventative problem and eradicate fleas from their living environments.

Detecting fleas is simple. Most groomers know how to part the haircoat and look for evidence of infestation. Using a flea comb, available from grooming suppliers, comb the dog on a bright clean surface. Look for tiny black specks on the surface and comb; they might be flea feces. If you wet flea dirt the water may turn red from dried blood part of the feces. Heavily infested dogs will scratch persistently and often irritate their skin further.

Each flea does not spend the whole day on a pet. In fact, it is thought that they spend as little as 10 or 15 minutes a day on your pet. They hop on to eat and lay eggs, and then hop off to hide in carpet, bedding and furniture. Fortunately modern grooming environments typically don't have carpeting and bedding offering a fresh invitation to infestation.

Flea bites can cause red, itchy spots. The flea bite is where the flea has left some of its saliva in the skin. Some pets develop an allergic response to flea bite saliva. When this happens it is called, "flea allergy dermatitis." More dogs than cats develop this reaction. The most common symptoms are excessive scratching around the groin, tail and backside along with small scabs and bumps sometimes along the back and neck.

Fleas can introduce tapeworms too. The infested pet should be checked for tapeworms by their veterinarian. The veterinarian finding tapeworms will provide treatment for the pet, and the pet's home environment.

Tick Basics

If you have been the "host" of one, you know how painful and problematic they can be. Since it is not as easy for a pet to tell us it is the host of a tick, you can possibly provide a lot of relief to a pet with a tick attached by finding it.

Ticks are not insects, but "Arachnids" included with spiders, scorpions and mites. They are commonly divided into two groups, "soft" and "hard." Soft ticks have soft bodies that swell dramatically when they feed. They typically feed at night when they attach to a passing host, feed and drop off. Since most pets are inside, soft tick problems are less common for them.

Hard ticks are the common type found on pets. They are "hard" because their body is shell-like and does not swell as they feed. Their feeding habit is to suck the blood of the host and extracts a concentrate of solid material from the blood, and returns liquid plasma back into the host. The injection of the plasma opens a large door of opportunity for the tick to pass along a disease organism into the host.

Like fleas, ticks have a multi-stage life cycle that requires blood as a food that nourishes them to transform from one stage to the next. When ready to move onto the next stage, the tick finds a host for blood nourishment. It bites the victim and buries its head, and this is not always painful. The tick may stay for hours or days feeding on the host.

Ticks proceed like fleas from eggs, to larvae, to nymphs and then to adults. At the larvae stage, most ticks do not pose a significant problem to pets, although a blood meal is necessary. However, as nymphs they may require several blood feedings during molting before reaching adult stage. Each blood meal poses the possibility of the tick injecting the host with undesirable organisms. Ticks are not subject to the problems of the organisms they transmit, but when a pet dog or cat is bitten and injected with the organism, they are likely candidates because of their lack of immunity to the foreign organism.

Ticks are fond of wooded areas with brush and fallen leaves. Your pet visiting such an area is the most common source of their being victimized by a tick. However, removal of the tick usually brings recovery to the pet.

Pet groomers rarely apply tick-killing agents to a pet as a preventative measure. That is the duty of the pet owner and a pet under the care of a veterinarian. Pet groomer de-flea products are often sufficient to kill ticks, but as a pet groomer you must carefully read the product label and information to determine if the product treats fleas only, or both fleas and ticks. Most important, you should notify the pet owner of ticks found on their pet.

As a pet groomer, you see and feel almost all parts of a pet being groomed. That makes you a friendly help to pet owners to help them keep their pet tick free. Pet owners though should be advised to regularly feel their pet from head to toe, even once a day during tick season. Most of the time, ticks are found on the head, neck and paws, but they can be anywhere. The pet with a tick attached may grimace a bit when a spot is touched, it could be a tick, or a spot they don't like being touched. Therefore, go carefully and get your pet used to the exam. In fact, many pets will love the contact when done carefully.

Keep in mind that pets do not have to go out "in the woods" to get a tick. Even residential areas in the suburbs can have a tick problem. If there is leaf litter, shrubbery and tall grass, you have an invitation to ticks. Wild animals coming by, even birds or a mouse, bring the ticks to your suburban yard.

Ticks require humidity and therefore prefer a moist area of mulch. When ready to feed, they climb a tall blade of grass or hang out on leaves awaiting a host to pass by. Very cold temperatures are not for the tick, so spring and summer are prime seasons for tick problems. Of course, it depends upon where you reside, but most of the U.S. and Canada is perfect for ticks. They enjoy a temperature range above 40 degrees Fahrenheit, so winter is not prime time for ticks.

When inspecting for ticks look for a lump either by sight or feel. It is thought that ticks do not transmit diseases immediately, but after the first day in general, so it is important to remove them immediately. We advise veterinarian treatment to remove ticks in order to avoid exposure to common risks associated with tick removal. It's tricky. The use of heat, such as match or cigarette head is not recommended. This method can backfire, and often does. Persons using this method often believe the tick will back out, but experience has shown that that is not always the case, and worsens the eventual removal process.

Advising Pet Owners

Your veterinarian should have handouts available on fleas, flea control, products and health problems associated with fleas that you should study as a professional groomer. Below you will also find additional reading that we strongly encourage you review in order to properly advise pet owners on flea and tick control.

Unfortunately many of the dogs you de-flea are going to return home to an environment populated with fleas in all 4 life stages. Therefore, pet owners have to do more than have their pet groomers de-flea their pets. One good strategy is for pet owners to have their pets groomed including a de-fleaing while their homes and yards are professionally treated.

Ask grooming suppliers about flea and tick products you can sell in your grooming business. There are excellent over-the-counter products available today for flea and tick control that at one time were only available through veterinarians. Grooming business owners should have no problem selling these products to their clients when provided as part of an educational selling approach.

Veterinarians now prescribe oral treatments for flea prevention. The number of these once-a-month pills is growing, and they are now available for both dogs and cats. We have had great success selling "spot treatments" available over-the-counter, and which we apply for pet owners after their pets are fully-groomed.

Flea collars help, but dogs may be allergic to them. Dogs should not get wet with flea collars on them. Using more than one de-flea product on dogs at one time is usually not advisable. Combined flea products may be toxic.

Understanding Insecticides

Pet groomers provide "de-fleaing" treatments, but there are different types of treatments. A "flea dip" is a common term used to describe the de-flea treatment given to pets while they are being bathed. Veterinarians may prescribe special flea treatments to your grooming clients which you should apply as directed by the veterinarian's written instructions, a copy of which you should keep on file.

The focus is of de-fleaing is usually the adult flea. Therefore many treatments are termed, "Adulticides." Some of the treatments also attempt to disrupt fleas in other stages on the pet. Adulticides are chemicals and grooming business owners must safely store and manage chemicals according to O.S.H.A. safety standards. Just as parents prevent small children from coming into contact with poisons and other chemicals, the business owner must prevent people and pet accidents with chemicals on-site.

According to the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, pryethrin treatments are effective and safe with regard to human and pet toxicity, but you will also find other "natural" flea products in use today in pet grooming businesses. It is important for professional groomers to stay informed of developments and products in flea and tick control. Leading grooming trade magazines usually have flea control and product updates several times a year, and advertising of new products as they hit the market. Additional reading selections listed below have extensive flea and tick information we strongly encourage you to read.