Dog Kennels & Flea Control

If you're going on a trip across the country and little Lucky can't accompany you, a boarding kennel might be your best option for good temporary accommodations for the furry sweetie. It's understandable that you'd worry about the transmission of fleas when your pet shares an environment with others. Your task is to select a kennel with a strong focus on flea management.

Respectable kennels help control fleas by always carefully checking their canine clientele for the external parasites before kenneling. They do not permit dogs carrying fleas to enter their accommodations. If a kennel doesn't examine pets for fleas, go elsewhere. When these kennels discover that dogs have fleas, they typically proceed by eliminating them. They generally charge the owners for these extra services. Not only do trustworthy kennels examine dogs for fleas, they also do so for ticks. They make sure that all their doggie customers have received all of their necessary vaccinations, as well.

At some kennels, you'll be asked which specific modes of flea management are acceptable for your pets. You may their pets recently had be asked whether your dog has recently had fleas or any other types of parasites. Kennels vary in terms of flea control options, but they commonly use flea tablets, topical products and flea dips. Modern flea tablets work quickly, removing all remnants of fleas from dogs' bodies within a span of half an hour or so. Tablets aim to prevent mature fleas from doing any more traveling on a pet's body.

Apart from handling fleas on animals' individual bodies, kennels also frequently manage them in the environment, too. They sanitize the kennels from top to bottom using germicidal disinfectants. This gets rid of any lingering flea pupae, larvae and eggs. These forms of disinfectants also generally eliminate ticks. Pesky fleas can take up residence anywhere in a boarding kennel, from seams in the floor to rugs and dark corners.

Dog kennels often go to great measures to ensure that their doggie customers remain free of fleas, but it's hard to guarantee. Carefully inspect your pets upon picking them up from a kennel. Fleas themselves are usually pretty easy to identify, with their tiny deep brown bodies. You might notice these little insects on the inner portions of your dog's back legs or on his stomach. Never assume that your pet doesn't have fleas, especially if he's just been near a lot of unfamiliar animals. If your dog picks up fleas you didn't see, he might develop symptoms such as persistent scratching, head shaking, antsy behavior, chewing and licking the skin, unusual paleness of the gums and patchy fur.