Fleas:

Probably one of the more unpleasant aspects of doggy ownership is the cohabitation of fleas. It may come as a shock to Emmie that what he is scratching is actually the Cat Flea: the most common dog parasite. In order to control this critter, we must first learn a bit about its life cycle, and then decide what we can to, er, interrupt it.

Fleas hatch from small eggs, which can live up to 6 months under the right conditions. In fact, there are often millions of these eggs in a typical Lab house. They hatch into larvae, pupate, and then become adults. They feast on dead skin, but require a blood meal in order to reproduce. That is where you and your dogs come in: They inject a very irritating saliva (this causes the itching) and gorge themselves on blood. They then lay eggs, and the cycle repeats.

To gain control, you must treat the DOG, the HOUSE and the ENVIRONMENT.

DOG: For many years, the only thing you could do was the ol' bathe-and-dip ritual, which was not pleasant for either the dog or owner. Today, there are two ways to treat fleas, topically and systemically.

Topical treatment involves applying a low-mammalian toxicity pesticide to your dog, which is formulated with a special dispersant. "Advantage" is arguably the most effective, and will kill fleas for about 30 days. Beware of low-cost imitators: the pyrethroid pesticide is the same, but the true effectiveness is achieved through the dispersant. Advantage works!

Systemic treatment uses some high-tech "insect growth regulators" to interrupt the life cycle of the flea. The dog gets a pill once every 30 days. The medication remains in the bloodstream, and the biting (e.g.reproducing) fleas get a dose each time they seek a blood meal. It does not kill the flea! It actually prevents development of the chitin "beak" that the flea larvae needs to peck its way out of the egg. Thus, the flea bites once, and it can never reproduce. Unlike older-generation "flea pills," which were organophosphorous pesticides, these are very safe, and very effective. Emmie, Beau and Jeff each get their "Sentinel" tablets on the first of each month.

House

The most potent weapon in flea control is the vacuum cleaner! We installed a central vac that removes hair, flea eggs, and dust to the outside of the house. If you don't want to go this far, just get a good vacuum, and change the bag outside every time you vacuum. If you have carpets, some of the borate-based powders can effectively prevent fleas from living there. If you must spray, use a pyrethrin-based spray or wettable powder, and spray cracks and crevices.

Environment

Face it, you cannot control your Lab's entire outdoor environment. However, selectively spraying his favorite lay-down-and-dig areas with a pyrethroid spray will help keep things down to a dull roar.