Jensen Pet Services

27/07/2024

We do love a senior dog, most are so chilled. Megan at 13 can still bounce around the garden and bark non stop when it is dinner time. Stairs are taken at a more leisurely pace. Love her

15/07/2024

Looking for Nose work classes for Harry, but while looking working through these suggestions from the Blue Cross

Dogs use their nose for so much and it is a skill that comes very naturally to them. Read on to find out which games they'll love!

11/07/2024

Fleas
Although a year-round problem due to the fact we live in nice warm houses with carpets, central heating etc fleas do make more of an appearance during the summer months as the warm weather provides them with their ideal environment.

To be able to treat a flea infestation it is vital to understand the flea lifecycle, it is not just a case of killing the adult flea, all stages of the lifecycle must be addressed.

The most common flea found in domesticated animals is the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis).

The Flea Lifecycle:

• Newly emerged fleas will head towards the light and a host, they will start feeding on the hosts blood within minutes and mate after 8 hours. The adult flea rarely moves form host to host and can stay on the animal for up to 4 months feeding and reproducing.
• Within 24 hours of being on the animal and after a blood meal the adult female flea will start to lay eggs (40-50 eggs per day, 1500 in a lifetime).
• The eggs fall into the environment, they do not stay on the animal.
• The larvae hatch from the eggs in 1-6 days.
• The larvae are negative phototaxic, they will move away from any light preferring to hide/burrow in dark cracks, crevices, under furniture and in carpets.
• The larvae must feed on flea dirt (contains dried blood) in order to develop, they also consume other organic debris including tapeworm eggs.
• The tapeworm develops within the flea, they are ingested when animals groom themselves and inadvertently swallow the infected adult flea.
• Depending on the environmental conditions the larvae will spin a cocoon/pupate within 10-20 days.
• Adult fleas can emerge from the pupae in 20 days or up to 2 years depending on environmental conditions.
• Optimal temperatures for fleas are 21-29⁰C.
• At optimal temperatures the flea lifecycle can be completed in as little as 12-22 days.

Percentage of flea infestation in the home:

• Adult flea: 5%
• Egg: 50%
• Larvae: 35%
• Pupae:10%

Flea control is based on:

• Killing the adult flea before it can lay eggs.
• Treating the environment with the correct insecticides, insect growth regulators, hot washing bedding (fleas cant survive above 56⁰C, a 60⁰C wash is recommended) and daily vacuuming.
• Using a combination of methods.

Why might the flea control I am using not seem to be working?

• It is vital to use effective products, speak to your vet for advice on this, there are many products available which do not address all areas of the flea lifecycle and therefore will be limited in their efficacy.
• Although there is no published data some flea products that are available may not be as effective as they used to be due to the flea building up a resistance to the active ingredient.
• Are you following the manufactures instructions to the letter? It is very important to do this in order for the product to work on all stages of the flea lifecycle.
• Are you treating all the pets in the household?
• Are you treating on a regular basis as per product instructions?
• Are you bathing your pet before or after you have applied a spot-on treatment? Check the datasheet to see when you can and can’t do this as you might inadvertently be washing off the product or creating an environment where it can’t stay on the skin.
• Do you have other visiting pets in the home that may be bringing a fresh flea supply with them?
• If you are doing everything correctly and still have a problem there is a very small chance the infestation is not with cat fleas, you will need to speak to your vet regarding this. If it is a rabbit flea it is unlikely to infest a home as it needs a rabbit hormone in order to reproduce.
• Be aware it can take up to 3 months to successfully treat a flea infestation, sometimes even longer.

What else can I do?

• Put a flea collar in the hoover bag to kill any adult fleas that are sucked up, otherwise they will hop back out again.
• You will need to treat all areas in the house, not just the ones the pet has access to, eggs and larvae can be transported by you, not just your pet.
• Frequent hoovering will help eliminate eggs and larvae but not the pupae as it is very tough and has a sticky outer coating which anchors it to fibres etc within the environment.
• Wash pet toys, bedding, soft furnishings in a hot soapy wash.
• Treat the car as well if your pet spends time in there.

Written by K. Stubbs RVN CertVNECC MBVNA

References
https://www.vettimes.co.uk/article/fleas-three-cases-of-control-breakdown-and-how-to-rectify-it-cpdparasitology/
https://mypetandi.elanco.com/en_gb/parasites/fleas/the-flea-life-cycle-and-how-to-break-it
https://www.petmd.com/dog/parasites/evr_multi_understanding_the_flea_life_cycle
https://www.theveterinarynurse.com/review/article/flea-infestations-epidemiology-treatment-and-control

23/06/2024

The Girls and Harry❤️🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕
Breakfast walk with new doggo Nellie (new to us) and old friends Luna and Bella.

19/06/2024

Summer will get here, maybe.

Read our summer dog care tips for some steps you can take to make sure your dog stays cool and happy during the hot weather.

17/06/2024

Beautiful day for a walk in the woods. Teddy and the girls.

13/06/2024

Should have one of these every month 😁🤣🐕🐕

05/06/2024

Mid afternoon walkies with Benson.
Perfect weather too 🌞 😎🐕

28/05/2024

Saturday mooch around the fields at Lynstead. The girls did good, a few grumbles at first but all got on and sniffing together eventually 🐕‍🦺🐕😁👍

24/05/2024

Benson practising his dance moves

27/04/2024

As Harry snoozes on my bed🥰

28/02/2024

Bells jumped into the car as I'm trying to get Bobo out.
Any car door that is open Bells will investigate.

28/02/2024

Let's find this cats owner 😿

26/02/2024

New friends Bells and Jess. First walk together. Considering Jess can be reactive to unknown dogs (esp if off lead and get into her face) she did fab.

15/12/2023

Just saying!!! 😁👋🌲🤶🎄

20/11/2023

Hum. Jan, I've got something stuck to my face!! Oh Bella. Your face, your ear, your leg. I hate these things

18/11/2023

17/11/2023

Teddy out with the ladies

09/10/2023

Had a long weekend looking after this little lady. Loved our walks around the near by fields.

14/06/2023

Also protecting ourselves from heat stroke.....

⚠️⚠️I would rather loose money than a precious dog ⚠️⚠️ and a huge shout out to my fellow professional dog walkers & sitters your all going above and beyond to ensure your charges are well cared for, extremely early starts, late nights, loss of income proud of you all 🙌 x

13/06/2023

Not so much the sickness but Megan frets and can get very anxious on car journeys. The odd thing is it is on the journey home, when we leave home she is fine. Odd, I know. We cannot work it out.

No one likes cleaning up barf in the backseat. If you deal with dog car sickness, these natural remedies will help.

12/06/2023

Luna helping Jerry tie his shoe laces, getting in the way more like 😉

10/06/2023

Walkies at the orchards, Boo loving the freedom to sniff and roll, not in anything stinky, thankfully.

07/06/2023

I did see a squirrel, it run up this tree.

05/06/2023

Ralph out with the ladies. Lovely day for a run round the orchards.

26/05/2023

Lunchtime walkies with some of the gang. Megan is hiding behind Kizzie.

22/05/2023

Love these two girls.

08/04/2023

Love this 💜

Greyhound Logic