Even with the winter weather in most areas of the country, fleas can still be a concern. Fleas are one of the most common causes of itchiness and skin problems for dogs. However, fleas can sometimes be hard to find, especially if your dog only has a few of them. This can cause a frustrating situation when a person cannot find fleas on their dog, yet the dog is displaying symptoms of having fleas.
One good way to find fleas is by using a flea comb on your German Shepherd Dog. A flea comb is just a small fine toothed comb that will go through your dog’s hair but catch any fleas that are there. You can usually pick one of these up from your vet or a pet store. You simply run the comb through the dog’s fur over and over, picking out any fleas that you find. A flea comb will also help pick up some “flea dirt”.
Flea dirt is what the fleas leave behind. You can often see this on the dog’s stomach if you roll them over. It can just look like dirt, but a good way to tell the difference is to smear some on a wet white paper towel and see if it turns a reddish color. The reddish color is from the digested blood that the fleas eat.
Fleas are most often found around your dog’s base of his tail, stomach and back of his hind legs. These are the areas where you should concentrate your search.
Remember, if you just see one flea, you can be sure there are many more that you have not seen. Visit my past articles on how to protect your GSD from fleas and also how to protect your house from fleas.
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