68 Your Dog June 2019

ABOUT ANNABroadcaster, nutrition and behaviour expert Anna Webb has studied with the College of Integrated Veterinary Therapies. She lives in London with English Toy Terrier Dexter, Miniature Bull Terrier Prudence, and cat Gremlin. Find out more at www.annawebb.co.uk

Keeping these nasty parasites at bay requires organisation and persistence, particularly if you want to take a more holistic approach, explains Anna Webb.

“Only fi ve per cent of

the fl eas are actually on your pet... ”

fleaOperat ionIt only takes one fl ea bite to create an allergic

reaction in dogs prone to atopy. But for 10 years, despite rarely giving Molly, my fi rst Miniature Bull

Terrier, spot-on treatments, she never got fl eas.Every dog and cat is an individual, with his own

idiosyncratic immune system, so some will always be more susceptible to parasites than others. To be honest, until Gremlin moved in with us as a kitten, and got fl eas, they had never really been on my radar.

When it happened, I applied a spot-on straight away, but then found out the hard way that this isn’t always the foolproof solution that you might think it is.

Molly only got bitten once, while Gremlin turned into a threadbare apparition.

Possibly Molly’s ‘immunity’ to fl eas was helped by her raw food diet. Fleas are sugar junkies, and they relish sweet blood created by high-glycemic foods like most kibble.

After a spot-on, a fl ea will only bite your pet once! But there will be other fl eas waiting in the wings for a tasty nibble.

Only fi ve per cent of the fl eas are actually on your pet, 95 per cent will be nesting in your furnishings, your carpet, even your clothes!

Very quickly, if you’re not careful, you have an environmental problem.

Cat fl eas live for a week, laying 30 eggs a day. Hatching in six-week periods, they cleverly trick you into thinking they’ve gone when they haven’t!

I hadn’t realised that 80 per cent of the world’s fl eas are cat fl eas, otherwise known as Ctenocephalides felis. They thrive on any host — a cat, a dog, even (occasionally) a human, whereas a dog fl ea will only live on a dog.

Super-resilient, they’ve adapted so well that they’re practically indestructible. They’ve developed a cuticle wax that prevents water from entering their respiratory system, making it almost impossible for them to be drowned!

To keep Gremlin fl ea-free, I treat him

preventatively with a spot-on every three months, especially through the spring and summer. Once bitten — I’m twice shy!

Once fl eas take hold, it’s a long haul. They are much harder to get rid of in carpeted homes than in those with wooden fl oors. However, both types of

fl ooring require regular steam cleaning before spraying with a silicone-based product,

like FLEE. Less ‘toxic’ than many insecticide

sprays, FLEE works by suff ocating the new eggs before they can hatch. I’d leave the spray to work for a day before hoovering thoroughly, disposing of the hoover bag outside in a sealed

bin. Longer term it’s best to work preventatively to stop any fl eas

hopping off your dog after a walk in the park and settling down in your home. You can use a natural,

herbal fl ea-deterrent spray rather than insecticide-based products. Dogs sniff fl oors, and could inhale the insecticide residues, which, holistically, are considered environmental stressors.

Like air pollution, insecticides and pesticides can compromise the immune system over time, ironically making pets more prone to fl ea bites.

When Prudence, my current Mini Bull, was six months old, she got bitten and it erupted into a full-blown allergic reaction.

I used lavender, rosemary, and citronella-infused herbal products — in the home, the car, everywhere! Diatomaceous earth is used by organic farmers as an insecticide alternative, andI used it as a natural fl ea powder. Applied all over Prudence, it killed all bugs through suff ocation. Neem oil, despite smelling like old socks, was eff ective in soothing her itchy, bald patches. And investing in an Equafl eece Summer Suit provided a silky barrier and stopped her incessant scratching.

Mind you, nothing beats fl eas better than using a simple fl ea comb daily, plus I boosted Prudence’s immune system with antioxidants like blueberries.

Slowly but surely her allergy eased without any chemical intervention. But I’m not complacent!

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Prudence with some of her lotions and potions!

A silky summer suit stopped Prudence’s scratching.

70 YD Anna Webb CS(SW)ok.indd 68 18/04/2019 14:36