Flea Shampoo For Dogs

Let’s start off with a tip not directly related to dog flea shampooing, but important nonetheless: the water temperature you or I may use for our bath may be too hot for your dog. It’s okay if the water is lukewarm, but a temperature hot for humans can be dangerous for your dog. So keep the bath water lukewarm, or even a little cool. Fido won’t mind, and it’ll save money on your heating bill.

A dog flea shampoo will in some ways act like a regular shampoo, in that it will clean your dog’s coat while giving him or her a softer, shiner coat. The main difference is that unlike most regular pet shampoos, a dog flea shampoo will also likely to contain an insecticide like pyrethrin, which is designed to kill fleas.
Before using any dog flea shampoo, be sure to read the instructions carefully. The amount of flea shampoo you need to use can vary greatly depending on the breed and size of your dog. Generally it is not advised to use a flea shampoo on puppies under 3 months of age, and some experts say not to use it on extremely older dogs too.

Many experts recommend you pay particular attention to washing the dog’s neck area, so as to keep the fleas away from prime hiding spots in the animal’s ear and eye areas. You should leave the shampoo on the dog for five minutes, which should give the insecticide enough time to be effective. Be sure to try to keep the shampoo out of the animal’s eyes.

A high quality, effective dog flea shampoo will rinse easily off your dog’s coat. But just to be safe rinse your dog thoroughly, as the residue from a flea shampoo can dry the animals skin.

A final point to keep in mind is the while a dog flea shampoo can initially kill off the bugs bothering your dog, it may not necessarily have a long lasting effect. In fact, a flea shampooing regime may only be effective for only a couple of days, especially if nothing has been done to combat fleas in the dog’s living environment. Obviously a dog flea shampoo does nothing to address the fleas who have dug in and live in your home, or the dog’s bed, for example.

Used in conjunction with a proper flea control medicine program, the use of a dog flea shampoo can help play a major role in ridding your dog of these insidious pets for good.