Bugs

[Akira]

Okay, well Sunday afternoon Hubby and I went to see a family friend and she has 2 dogs, one of which we got for her because a family member couldn't give the dog the care it needed. Anyways, we show up and the dog she's had all along is missing hair all over the place. She says its dry skin and it happens every year, I tell her to give her eggs, and she says she doesn't like eggs. (what dog doesn't like eggs ) And she quickly changed the subject. I noticed some flea nest residue where there was little bits of hair, and the dog kept rolling around on the ground trying to scratch itself.

So I went to the dog we had gotten for her, (who we took care of for an entire winter before giving him to her) and he wasnt missing any hair and I was petting him and i felt a small flea nest, so i pulled back some hair near his tail, and I seen about 20 little bugs scurrying around in a small area. I can't figure out for the life of me what they are, ive been all over google.
They were black or dark brown, with orange or red on them and they were a little bit bigger then a flea.

This woman has no job right now, in this area most jobs are seasonal and a lot of people are jobless this time of year. I would like to figure out what the bugs are so I can buy from the vet somthing to get rid of them, plus.. I woke up with 18 bug bites this morning in a concentrated area.. So now i'm really worried.

So if anyone has any idea what these bugs are, and even better what you would need to get rid of them and how you would know if they are in your house () I'd appreciate any advice. If it helps, the woman lives on a farm, in a really old farmhouse.

[bendyfoot]

Fleas don't "nest" on dogs...the larvae live in nooks and crannies off of the host; only adult fleas would be seen on a dog.

That dog with the hair missing...the family should try to find the funds to have that looked at. The problem is, vets can't give you any medication unless they've actually examined the dog: it's against the law, the same as for human medications.

Flea bites can, for some dogs, cause a serious allergic reaction (flea bite dermatitis) which can cause severe itching and hair loss. Mange is another critter than can cause patches of hair loss and can be very uncomfortable for the dog if left untreated, and it can spread like wildfire in bad cases.

On the dog where you saw the bugs, the nape of the neck and the tail are pretty classic places to find fleas. Did these bugs jump at all, or only crawl? Look up "bed bugs"...these are also small, reddish brown insects and they will attack pets as readily as people. Bedbug bites on people tend to be clusters of bites.

[Akira]

I know fleas don't nest, but the larvae make little pockets of some kind of residue. I just call it a nest. these bugs didn't jump, they just ran around really fast, and i'm pretty sure they had a bit of orange or red on the back. I can't find any bugs that look like this..

I looked up mites, it wasn't mites that I saw although the other dog could have mites, would explain the severe hair loss. I can't afford to take 2 dogs to a vet that aren't mine and I know she won't take them.

She tries to make it seem like since the dog has been there she has changed his life, she tries to tell us what breed he is, we know what he is, we saw his parents.. and she insists he was skin and bones when she got him, which he wasnt, he wasn't over weight like he is now. He was on nutram before we gave him to her, now hes on beneful . I know she loves him, but should he really be staying with her?

Sorry, kind of ranted there.

[Marcha]

And it's not canine lice?
I'm sorry the dog is in such poor condition. It's enough to make anyone here sad to read about her current state of health (or lack thereof?).

[BenMax]

This is very very sad really. I cannot imagine having to see this and not being able to do something about it. Personally, I could not sit back and watch without saying something to make this better. This is no life for an animal.

[luckypenny]

I don't know about Ontario vets but here, I can pick up 6 months supply of Revolution topical solution (broad-spectrum parasiticide) per dog at one time without an examination (as long as they've been seen at least once that year). Revolution, or Advantage Multi, are usually used monthly as a heart-worm preventative and as a protection against fleas. Akira, can you just go to your own vet and pick some up? You'd have to know the weights of your friend's dogs of course.

[Akira]

Luckypenny- Thats what I was thinking of doing, picking up some revolution for the dogs, but I don't know how I can confront her about this. She loves these dogs dearly, and I know she does. She just doesn't have the funds to properly care for them. Should I just approach her by telling her about the illnesses they can get from not being treated. sheesh :sad: idk what to do.

I just searched canine lice, not that either.

And I just found fleas on my dog.........

[luckypenny]

If you're able to pay for it and are just afraid to insult her, just explain that you had some extra and you simply want to help them rid of the bugs. Certainly she can see them and undersatnds it can't be comfortable nor safe? Can you bring your dog and show her how to apply it? Or you can apply it to her dogs yourself.

[Akira]

I'll apply it on the first dog to show her then let her do the second dog.

I'm worried about confronting her because she tried to hide the fact that anything was wrong with them. But I have no choice, i'm sure she will appreciate the gesture anyways.

I would guess both dogs are around 80 pounds.. would it be safe to guesstimate how much the weigh?

[growler~GateKeeper]

Originally Posted by Akira

I know fleas don't nest, but the larvae make little pockets of some kind of residue. I just call it a nest. these bugs didn't jump, they just ran around really fast, and i'm pretty sure they had a bit of orange or red on the back. I can't find any bugs that look like this..

Fleas aren't always only black or dark brown - often they appear that way because they are so small, they can have a orangy-red appearance especially if they have just eaten a blood meal or are a young adult.

Most of the time on a host fleas run~fast, they don't jump from one area to another on a single host be it dogs or cats, on humans they'll usually jump off pretty quick cuz they can't hide. Usually when they first hatch & any host walks by they jump on or when going from one host to another they jump. The rest of the time they run very fast. When my cat was a kitten I would spend time picking fleas off her & her sister. Even when I was "hunting" a fast moving flea (they know when they've been found cuz you're parting the fur in the spot they're at) I never had one jump off. Oh and I haven't seen a flea in about 15 years

[ownedbycats]

If you're willing to go to the expense of getting revolution/other vet recommended brand, is there any way you could get her some spray to use in her house? if you just do the dogs, not the house, the dogs will get reinfested. Aargh, there's a spray our vet sold us last year to get rid of them, but I can't remember the name , it was the same stuff they used though and wasn't too expensive.

[bendyfoot]

Did you ever explore the bedbug possibility?

I'd want to be very sure that whatever medication I was getting for the dog was actually going to treat the problem...and also, even if the dogs DO get revolution, and is IS only fleas, the entire house is probably going to have to be disinfected...vaccumed, swept, all bedding, sheets, upholstery, carpets etc will need to be thoroughly washed...what you're describing is really an infestation and not just a matter of a few errant bugs.

[Akira]

Bendyfoot, I looked into the bed bugs and they didn't look anything like that and after learning what growler said I'm almost posotive they are fleas. If the spray is cheap, I will get it and tell her about the deep clean she needs to do. Will one treatement of revolution and spray and clean going to be enough to keep the fleas away for a while? It actualy snowed a little bit here early this morning.

[bendyfoot]

the thing with fleas is that their life cycle is long...and 95% of a flea infestation actually consists of eggs and larvae. The revolution will take care of the fleas on the dogs and will help prevent re-infestation for about a month, but it won't do anything about the eggs and larvae that are almost certainly still living in the carpets, floorboards etc. They can lie dormant for weeks, months, even a full year. I would do a very VERY thorough cleaning, but I would also keep the dogs on the revolution for at least a few months to help break the reproductive cycle...without a host, any newly hatched adults cannot breed and produce more eggs. Otherwise it's just a very temporary fix.

[Akira]

ah, little buggers eh. Well since my dogs have fleas again, I wont be able to afford to get months of revolution for this woman. Do humaine society's or shelters, anything like that offer flea stuff for cheaper then a vet? My vets a little rediculously priced but other vets won't take us cause they can't steal competition?

[bendyfoot]

I don't think so. There are cheaper topical flea treatments, which would probably be a better idea since I'm guessing the dogs probably haven't been tested for heartworm either (and Revolution also treats heartworm, which you don't want to do with an HW+ve dog). There are likely less expensive solutions.