16 Circular 338, V. S. Department of Agriculture 



Aside from their role as carriers, fleas are not only a canse of 

 discomfort, itching, and irritation to infested dogs, but are especi- 

 ally annoying in that they readily leave their dog hosts to attack 

 man. While a few fleabites cause but little anno3ance to some 

 persons, they cause great discomfort to susceptible individuals, 

 and may cause lesions which are more or less serious and heal 

 slowly. Numerous and repeated fleabites cause intense itching and 

 lead to loss of sleep and of nervous energy, a thing which may be 

 a serious matter in summer, when hot weather makes it difficult 

 to sleep even under otherwise favorable conditions. 



Treatment. — To be effective an}^ treatment must simultaneously 

 lead to the destruction of the fleas on dogs and of the eggs, larvt^, 

 and pupse in bedding and elsewhere. The infested dog may be 

 dipped in a coal-tar creosote solution of suitable strength. If this 

 is not feasible, pyrethrum powder or powdered naphthalene may be 

 used in the manner described in connection with dog lice. At the 

 same time the kennels and runs should be thoroughly cleaned up, 

 all loose trash burned, and the floors and woodwork scrubbed with 

 a strong, hot coal-tar creosote stock dip. F. C. Bishopp, of the 

 Bureau of Entomology, states that complete control is usually ob- 

 tained by means of one thorough spraying with a good grade of 

 creosote oil containing between 10 and 16 per cent of tar acids. 

 Where sticktight fleas are present, the infested fowls should be 

 treated by the application of carbolated petrolatum to the clusters of 

 fleas, and the houses, roosts, and other equipment cleaned and dis- 

 infected. Where dwellings are flea infested, a liberal and repeated 

 use of pyrethrum powder or naphthalene flakes on the floors, rugs, 

 and carpets will serve to control the trouble if the process is 

 carried out thoroughly. In some cases it may be necessary to fumi- 

 gate with hydrocyanic-acid gas, a proceeding which should be under- 

 taken only by some competent and responsible person. In many 

 places dogs and cats are primarily responsible for the presence of 

 fleas in the house and they should either be kept free from fleas 

 or kept out of the house. 



INTERNAL PARASITES AND DISEASES DUE TO THEM 



A large number of different kinds of worms have been found in 

 dogs in various parts of the world, but only a few of the more im- 

 portant need be discussed here. Some are important because they are 

 seriously injurious to dogs, and others because they may be trans- 

 ferred in some stage of their development to man and to livestock. 

 Worms are most prevalent in pups and are more injurious to them 

 than to mature dogs, many pups dying from worm infestations. 

 This high infant mortality, so to speak, among dogs as well as among 

 human infants, indicates that there is a lack of proper care and of 

 sanitation responsible for it. The remedy among dogs, as among 

 people, is proper care and sanitation. The mother of the pup should 

 be free from internal and external parasites before being bred, 

 should then be kept in an area free from parasitic infection, and the 

 pup should be born in clean surroundings and raised there until it 

 can fend for itself and until it has acquii-ed some age innnunity or 

 resistance to ])arasitic infection and to tlie bad effects of infestation. 

 For parasites, as for other evils, the ounce of prevention is worth the 



