Get Rid of Fleas and Tapeworms with #SentinelSpectrum

But have you known a dog to praise his fleas? - W.B. Yeats 

If Mr. N had to rank the world's evils, he would probably categorize them as one, not being able to go with me everywhere, two, fireworks and three, fleas. His flea allergy send him into a licking, biting frenzy and then we have to cone him and give him allergy medication. He shows his disapproval by using the cone as a weapon and jamming it into our legs. 

The fleas that you see on your dog are a tiny percentage of the actual population while the rest can survive in a home for up to a year before finding a host. Even in cold climates, they can survive as adults on dogs, cats, wild mammals or in a pupal casing in protected environments. 

And they breed like... fleas. Female fleas start egg production within 20 to 24 hours of their first blood meal and they can produce 40 to 50 eggs per day. And under normal circumstances, the majority of adult fleas generally live for two to three months. If you do the math, that's a lot of fleas crawling around your house and on your dog. 

Mr. N is bathed regularly due to having hair not fur. The payoff for barely shedding means high-maintenance grooming and frequent baths. It's a price we are willing to pay. Mr. N has his own opinion on the matter. Such regular water exposure can be a problem when using topical flea treatments. 

Virbac® SENTINEL® SPECTRUM® is a chew which means that it can't be washed off (which is good because it is long lasting but side effects may be harder to eradicate) and is evenly distributed. Sentinel brand products work through an unique ingredient, Lufenuron which prevents fleas from maturing. The majority of fleas are flea eggs and maggot-like flea larvae. By stopping them from developing into adults, you can prevent re-infestation and infestation before it becomes a problem. Prevention is the best medicine.

Mr. N has found dead fish, rats, a raccoon, birds and more. 

The unholy trifecta for contracting tapeworms include ingesting fleas during self grooming, chewing and licking at a flea bite, and eating dead animals. Mr. N rarely gets the chance to eat dead animals and he's more inclined to roll on them but he does enjoy a self-grooming session and flea bites mean lots of chewing and biting at the base of his tail where he tends to get bitten. 

If you see small white worms on your dog's rear end, in their feces or where they live and sleep (i.e your home), your dog may have a tapeworm infection. And who wants worms in their house or bed? Mr. N is on year round flea and parasite prevention for precisely this reason. As few bugs as possible in the house.

Last month's survey's results were turned into an infographic. The majority of people stated that heartworm and flea protection were a high or very high priority. 79 percent said their dog is on flea prevention all year long while 20 percent said they only apply protection during the spring and summer. Survey participants were well-informed on tapeworm infestation with 70 percent saying a dog can contract tapeworms from infesting just one infested flea and 90 percent saying tapeworm segments can be found near a dog's rear end, in feces and where the dogs lives and sleeps. 

Is your dog on a regular preventative? If you're looking for a reliable parasite prevention method, ask your vet if SENTINEL SPECTRUM is right for your dog. 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Virbac® SENTINEL® SPECTRUM®. The opinions and text are all mine.