What Fleas Look Like on Dogs
WouterThere are a few ways to detect a flea infestation in your dog. First, you should look for flea dirt. This is a dark granular substance that turns red when wet. It will appear as a small red bump on your dog’s skin. You can treat your dog with flea shampoo and collars to get rid of the infestation.
Flea dirt is rust-colored and contains blood traces. By contrast, regular dirt is brown or black. Flea eggs are clear ovals that are laid in clusters of 20. These eggs will fall off your dog’s fur and can be easily detected by sticking them to a piece of damp tissue paper.
Symptoms of flea infestation include irritated skin, excessive scratching, and hair loss. Your dog will also be itchy and may even have water in its ears. Additionally, it may have a red scab or skin spot that’s caused by fleas.
A dog with fleas will have raised red bites or hotspots, but these may be hard to spot because the fleas are fast moving. Another sign of flea infestation is patches of lost hair or patches of red spots. It’s important to treat your dog quickly if you suspect your dog is infected.
Adult fleas are about an eighth of an inch long and reddish-brown in color. They can be difficult to spot visually, but you can often see the fleas through a magnifying glass. A dog’s coat may also have dried blood specks on it, which turn brown when rehydrated.
