Nobody wants their dog to have parasitosis, especially one like the one caused by lice. These insects are tiny creatures that live on the skin and lay their eggs on hair shafts, causing a particularly nasty infestation because it spreads easily among dogs, causing a lot of itching. However, the good news is that it is a relatively easy condition to eradicate; you must be constant and take care of every animal that has come into contact with the infested one, as well as thoroughly clean the environment in which the dog lives.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Finding out if your dog has lice
Step 1. Look for the characteristic symptoms
Pediculosis causes itching, so the first sign you notice is likely to be your dog continuing to scratch excessively. you may also see an increased amount of dandruff on his fur.
Lice bite the animal and suck its blood; when the infestation reaches dangerous levels, it can also cause anemia
Step 2. Recognize what the parasites look like
Dog lice are similar to those that affect people: they are very small insects, hardly visible to the naked eye, they have six legs, each with claws to hold on to that allow them to maintain a firm grip on the hair shafts and spend the entire their life cycle on the host's body.
There are two types of lice that infest dogs: Trichodectes canis, more common, and Linognathus setosus, less common; however, the treatments are similar for both types
Step 3. Look for parasites in the pet's fur
Use a specific comb with very fine teeth to analyze the dog's fur and check its hair follicles. Head lice attach themselves to the hair shafts and can appear as small, sparkling dots. You may also notice the eggs, or nits, which look like shiny specks and are "glued" to the fur by insects when they lay them.
These parasites move slowly; if the animal is infested with it, a careful inspection of the fur with the help of a specific comb should allow you to notice both insects and eggs
Part 2 of 2: Treating Pediculosis
Step 1. Use a lice comb
You can physically remove parasites using this fine-toothed tool; this method offers the advantage of not using chemicals, but it requires a lot of time and effort; it can be a valid solution for a short-haired dog like the Chihuahua, but it is obviously impractical on a Bernese Mountain Dog.
- The fine-toothed comb against lice and nits represents an integrative tool in the fight against parasites, but cannot be used as the only strategy.
- You have to make sure 100% to treat all the fur of the animal and not to neglect any hidden corners; It is very important to pay attention to the animal's armpits, groin and ears as well. These insects attach themselves firmly to the hair, so you may find yourself combing the entire fur but not being able to detach all the lice.
- It is necessary to repeat the procedure every day for several weeks (even 4 or 6) if you want to catch and eliminate the nymphs (the "pups" of insects) that have just hatched from the eggs.
- Kill any lice you removed by soaking them in boiling water for a few minutes.
Step 2. Wash your dog with flea shampoo
Many of these products contain pyrethroids and organophosphates which are effective against lice in combination with the comb treatment to be performed immediately after the bath. However, washing loses its effectiveness once the hair has dried and no shampoo is able to penetrate the eggs; So be prepared for a new generation of insects to develop within 2-4 weeks. You should proceed with spot cleansing treatments every 7 days for at least 6 weeks.
Follow the directions on the package carefully. The most important detail concerns the duration of application of the product on the skin before rinsing; if you do not respect the processing times, the treatment may lose its effectiveness
Step 3. Use insecticides
There are no specific chemicals to kill dog lice; however, some are known to serve your purpose. Specifically, consider those containing fipronil (Frontline, Effipro), permethrin, phosmet, fenthion, and selamectin (Stronghold).
However, keep in mind that although most of these products have monthly applications, when you use them as a head lice treatment it is advisable to apply them every 2 weeks, as they partially lose their effectiveness after 15 days. Since no product is able to penetrate the hard shell of the eggs, it is essential that the active ingredient maintain a constant level of effectiveness high enough to be able to kill the nymphs that hatch
Step 4. Treat all dogs you have at home
Head lice are very easily transmitted from one animal to another, but they can only live on the host dog's body. Regardless of the number of animals you own, you need to make sure you are all subjected to the same treatment; you must consider them all haunted and therefore devote the same care to each of them.
Step 5. Keep the dog in quarantine
Due to the highly contagious nature of this parasitosis, you should not keep the infected animal with others (not even in dog care facilities) during treatment. If you want to avoid spreading this annoying infestation, you need to isolate the lice specimen for about a month after treatment.
Step 6. Clean all its accessories
For example, you have to wash the fabrics of his kennel by setting a washing cycle with very hot water; repeat the same procedure every time the dog is treated, so as to keep his accessories clean and not risk infesting him again with the contaminated kennel.
Take special precautions to disinfect grooming utensils, as they are excellent means of spreading lice among animals. Disinfect the brushes and combs after using them for a specimen by soaking them in boiling water for 10 minutes
Step 7. Get home head lice treatment
It is not very difficult to kill adult parasites using the steam cleaner; this is a particularly useful procedure for furniture or furnishing components made of soft material, such as a sofa or carpet; however, the nits are much more stubborn. You have to wait for them to hatch and repeat the steam cleaning to kill the parasites as they become more vulnerable in adulthood.
Alternatively, use a room spray insecticide, such as Nuvan, Acclaim, or others, which are specific against fleas, larvae, and eggs. These products offer the advantage of being effective for several months, so you can even get rid of eggs with just one treatment; however, they contain very strong chemicals which are not suitable for environments where birds, reptiles or fish live, as they are toxic to these animals and can kill them
Step 8. Clean your house regularly
It can be difficult to understand when the lice eggs hatch, so it is important to maintain a constant cleanliness of the environments. The entire life cycle of these parasites (from the nit stage to adult) lasts between 2 and 4 weeks; taking this into account, the best solution is a weekly steam cleaning regimen for a month and a half, although it certainly doesn't hurt to clean more frequently or for a longer period.
