Dog Fleas

How They Breed And Affect Pet Health

 

Dog fleas belong to the insect order known as Siphonaptera.  Dog fleas are commonly known pests which may attack many mammals, including humans.  While many insects are seasonal, dog fleas can be a year round problem as they infest not only our pets but also the home of the pet owner. For this reason, treatment of the pet alone may only temporarily solve an infestation of dog fleas.

Although differing varieties of fleas will feed primarily on one type of host animal, common cat and dog fleas will readily consume blood from a variety of host animals, including man. Flea infestations of pets and their homes will more likely involve the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis and occasionally dog fleas, C. canis.

 Dog Fleas — Physical Characteristics

Dog fleas are small (2 to 4 mm in length), brownish to black parasites characteristically appearing flattened from side to side.   Dog flea adults are wingless and capable of jumping relatively long distances. Adult dog fleas, in true parasitic nature, feed exclusively on blood through their piercing and sucking mouthparts. When not aggressively feeding, adult dog fleas will often hide in locations frequented by the host animal such as dog bedding, sofas, or flooring materials (i.e. mats, carpets, etc.).

The life cycle of dog fleas.

Dog Fleas — Egg Laying Practices

Cat and dog fleas breed throughout the year. After feeding and breeding, female dog fleas will deposit her eggs, and usually on the host. Numerous flea eggs are laid daily, with female dog fleas laying up to several hundred eggs over a lifetime. Eggs often fall off the host animal into bedding material, or onto other soft surfaces hatching within two weeks.

Eggs from dog fleas build up in areas where the host animal spends most of its time. In addition, adult dog fleas defecate small dark pellets of digested blood which drop off into their surrounding environment. A flea comb will often gather fecal matter from dog fleas at the base of the tines providing solid evidence of an infestation of dog fleas. A combination of white flea eggs, along with black dried blood specks will appear like a sprinkling of salt and pepper where an infested animal has slept.

Dog fleas undergo a complete metamorphosis, meaning, they have a growth pattern involving four developmental stages: the egg, the larva, the pupa, and finally, the adult. Immature dog fleas don’t resemble adult dog fleas at all.

Larvae from dog fleas are tiny, light colored, and, worm-like, without legs.  Dog fleas in this stage feed primarily on close by debris and organic material, which may include the droppings of dog flea adults.  Larvae from dog fleas occur indoors and outdoors wherever eggs from dog fleas have fallen off the host animal. In homes, larvae from dog fleas live in carpeting, upholstered furniture, bedding and other protected areas with high humidity.  Larvae from dog fleas also live in the outdoors where animals routinely spend time.

Larvae dog fleas depend on the adult dog fleas fecal pellets of dried blood as a food source, dog fleas in this life stage cannot live in outdoor areas unless host animals visits those areas frequently enough to allow those digested pellets to drop off thus providing this food.

Depending on the specific type of dog fleas and the suitability of the primary environmental conditions, the larvae will typically pupate in one week to several months. The pupa from dog fleas is found in a loose silken cocoon often covered by debris. Under normal conditions, the life cycle of dog fleas requires somewhere between 30 and 75 days but can take much longer. Adult dog fleas still inside the cocoon are known as pre-emerged fleas, and will stay in that state for weeks or even months if no host animal is available.

Once disturbed by the presence of a host animal such as vibrations created by near by movement, or the sudden release of carbon dioxide from a sniffing pet, dog fleas emerge in mass and attack the host animal in a true parasitic manner. This is how people can return to a house or apartment which has been vacant of people and animals for many months, only to find it full of fleas.

When the usual host animal is near by and accessible, dog fleas may feed several times a day.  Dog fleas are capable of surviving extended periods of time without food.  In average household situations, the normal host animal is a cat or dog.   However, if the normal host animal is removed, starved dog fleas will readily seek other sources of nutrition and most often humans are the next best thing. In severe infestations, dog fleas will attack people even though while normal host is present.  To dog fleas, the presence of multiple hosts appears to be a buffet style of dining.

Certain species of dog fleas have been known to carry and spread such diseases as the bubonic plague as well as murine typhus. In recent times, these diseases have not been a major problem. The major problems with dog fleas is the irritation they create for our pets. The irritation and itching from flea bites results in severe scratching and the development of a potential secondary infection.  Dog fleas may also carry and transmit the double-pored dog tapeworm to host animals such as dogs and cats.

Persistent attacks from dog fleas can sometimes cause severe allergic responses in some people as well as pets. Once it has bitten their host, dog fleas and in particular, their bite may produce symptoms such as hair loss at the base of the tail, dermatitis, and noted intense itching. In worse cases, puppies and young kittens can also died from serious infestations of dog fleas.

Dog fleas will never be a big issue as long as there is proper environmental pest control management in place.