Fleas and ticks are persistent problems that can plague your furry friend at any time. If you’ve tried shaving your dog to get rid of these pests, you may be wondering if it’s an effective solution.
Unfortunately, shaving your dog is not a solution for getting rid of fleas and ticks. Instead, you can try warm water baths, regular vacuuming, washing your dog’s bedding, using a flea comb, raking your lawn, using cedar chips, planting flea-repelling plants, and keeping your dog away from unfamiliar dogs to eliminate fleas and ticks.
In this post, I’ll share nine easy steps to help you permanently eliminate flea and tick problems in your dog. Additionally, I’ll provide you with the perfect shaving techniques to help keep your furry friend looking and feeling their best. With the right approach and tools, you can ensure that your beloved companion is happy, healthy, and pest-free.
Can you shave your dog to remove fleas and ticks?
Fleas are not fans of hair! They are fans of blood.
So when you try shaving their coat, they don’t go off as they attached themselves to the skin.
So the best possible thing you can do is bring them to a vet and let them treat your do.
Fleas and ticks can transmit terrible diseases, so have your vet run some tests and make sure they do okay.
Shaving will not get rid of fleas and ticks on dogs as they set their camp on the skin most of the time. But this can reduce the flea problem for a minimal amount.
Says Dr. Sudharaka
What are the possible problems after shaving a dog?
There are few things you should know about the coat of the dogs.
- Their under-coat works as a jacket to keep them warm in the cold and insulated against the heat in the summer so the shaving can remove this facility and also expose them to the sun
- Their skin protects them from insects, heat, and ultraviolet radiation. So cutting off the hair can affect them as there is no protection for the aforementioned causes.
- Sometimes it can affect the hair follicles and causes slow growth of hair and change of color.
What are some other ways to get rid of fleas and ticks on your dog?
Getting rid of fleas or ticks is all about removing fleas already in the body while preventing future invasion of them.
You should focus on not only your pet but also the house and the yard in this process as these two are the most likely places where your dog can get those fleas in their body.
1. Warm water bath
This is one of the best methods to free your dogs from fleas.
First, wet your dog. Then put shampoo all over the skin and make sure to cover up the head too.
But be mindful not to get any water to your doggo’s eyes or ears. Rinse and repeat the process a couple of times, then brush and dry your dog.
2. Vacuum Regularly
Regular vacuum can reduce the number and spreading rate of the fleas by sucking up the fleas and their eggs on the carpet, cracks in the wood floors, and also in the curtains.
Also, mind that you have to vacuum the places where your doggo anchors most, like sleeping and eating places.
And last but not least. Don’t forget to empty the vacuum cleaner bin to the outside after the vacuum.
All of your work is useless if they could sneak back to their habitat after you force them out.
If vacuuming is not done significant damage, try sprinkling salt or baking soda on your carpets and furniture. These two can give free death tickets to fleas and ticks who give you a headache.
Leave it on for 24 or up to a week before you vacuum it.
3. Wash the bedding
If you can wash the bedding of your doggo in hot water, it would reduce the chance of the fleas spreading, and make sure to dry it on the highest heat settings after each washing.
But make sure the chemicals you use for washing are okay with your dog.
4. Use a flea comb
You can use a flea comb and do a random combing. Especially focus on neck and tail area as those are the hotspots for fleas.
It’s better if you can use a topical flea preventative or a tablet to prevent this flea issue from occurring in the future. Ask your vet for his recommendation for these medicines.
Most of the time, one dose a month is enough. And if this flea treatment is not working, ask your vet to switch to different treatment products or methods. And make sure to use flea treatment for all the pets in your house.
Another thing about future flea prevention.
Just because your dog is flea-free doesn’t mean your whole house is liberated from the fleas.
Your curtains, blankets, clothes, and shoes also might be full of fleas. So you have to entirely remove those fleas as soon as you get your dog off the fleas.
You can use a steam cleaner if it is possible. Steam cleaners give no chance for fleas as the combination of heat and soap does provide a clean death to the fleas.
But not only in the house. You also have to worry about your garden and the yard. These are the places that your dog can get fleas on its body in the first place. So how can you minimize the chances of that?
5. Rake your lawn regularly.
The grass layer is a perfect house for fleas and ticks. They love to hide behind tall grass. So regular rake can expose them to outside and control.
6. Remove the dead
Remove all the debris, such as leaves and twigs. If you can, expose those shady areas to the sunlight.
Read this to understand what to do when your dog won’t let you remove ticks.
7. Cedar chips!
Observe the places your dog likes to lie down when they are in the yard and spread cedar chips as they benefit insect control.
This will help to stop the invasion of your dog by fleas and ticks in the yard.
8. Flea repelling plants
There are some plants that fleas are not fans of. These plants have specific oils, compounds, and chemicals that make an uncomfortable environment for fleas.
So you can place these plants as little beacons in your garden and drive away from the fleas.
Pennyroyal, chrysanthemums, lavender, and spearmint are some of those plants.
9. Train your doggo
Train your dog to lie down in areas that are safe and flea-free. You can easily assign them some places and when they get there to reward them some treats.
Moreover, supervising your dog to keep it away from other strange dogs and cats is essential.
Suggested Reading: Why is your dog’s belly look dirty?
Here are several practices to follow when shaving a dog to get rid of fleas and ticks.
Shaving your doggo is fine, but there are some things to consider when you are doing it.
1. Get good equipment.
To do a good shave you might need a clipper, a comb to attach the clipper, a brush, and some lubricants. You can buy a clipper specially designed for dogs at a pet shop.
If your little fella is afraid of loud noises, pick a one that won’t make large noises.
You can buy an E comb. This comb is specially designed to leave an inch of hair left.
2. Keep the clippers cool.
Your clipper can overheat during the shaving that can damage your dog’s skin by burning. Lubricate the blade also and adequately use little intervals to stop the blade from getting too hot.
3. Clean the hair
Clean your dog’s hair as it is harder to shave the hair if there are clumps in it. You can wash and brush your dog to clean out the skin for the shaving.
4. Keep your dog steady.
You can restrain your dog by its collar. It is easy if you can prevent your dog from moving while you do the shaving.
You can seek the help of a second person to restrain your dog while you do the shaving.
5. Shave with the growth of the hair.
If you do otherwise, shaving against the growth of hair can create harsh lines.
There is a tip for figuring out what direction you should shave. Use a credit card and rub it along your dog’s fur.
If you started picking up hair and pulling in the other direction, possibly you’re pushing against the grain of the fur. You have to shave in the opposite direction.
6. Start shaving sensitive areas.
When the shaving process is kept going, your dog could be nervous and start to caper.
So it will be hard to shave sensitive areas. So do start with the sensitive areas and then move into other parts.
You can go like head, underarms, under tail behind the head, backsides, belly.
Do not shave the face unless you are certain the dog is not frightened and stay calm.
7. Attention to underarm.
Shave the underarms. If your dog is standing, lift its arm in a comfortable stance.
8. Shaving the bottom
You can raise the tail and shave around the bottom.
Stop shaving short-haired breeds as it is not suitable for them since their coat acts as a thermal reservoir and shaving it off can imbalance the thermal regulation process.
And also, it can increase the risk of sunburn. Even though you doggo’s coat is long, just shave at least leaving one inch of hair all over his body to prevent the aforementioned problems.
Careful enough to use the right equipment. Professional grade clippers and sharp blades will make it easier to shave.
If you are not good with the clipper, leave it to experts. There might be a chance of you cutting your dog with clippers if you are not familiar with the clipper.
By the way, read this to understand why your clippers won’t cut dog’s hair.
Things to be aware of.
There are two kinds of dogs according to their coats. They are single-coated dogs and double-coated dogs.
In double-coated dogs, they have a soft inner coat of hair close to their skin. This inner coat acts as an insulating layer and keeps the dog warm in cold weather and also cool in hot weather.
In summer they shed most of this underlayer and the remaining hair helps with regulating the temperature.
So shaving the dog can make him susceptible to heatstroke and can result in improper hair growth and the possibility of follicle damage.
And another bad result is that when shaved down to the skin, the undercoat layer grows back faster, which can alter the texture and color of your doggo’s coat.
Golden Retrievers, Border Collies, German Shepherd Dogs, Labrador Retrievers, Siberian Huskies, and English Springer Spaniels are double-coated dogs and be extra careful when you are about to shave these breeds.
Conclusion
Shaving is not an option for flea and ticks problems. But we have so many other options to remove the fleas on your dog and prevent future invasion of them. Incorrect shaving can harm your dog’s skin in many ways and depend on the breed even proper shaving can sometimes do the damage(double-coated dogs)
