tail wagging tuesday - a new weekly link up!

hey yall! hope every is enjoying their first few days of fall (i know i am!) but i have some exciting news - one my bests, Megan (MADNESS) and I are going to be hosting a new weekly link up, check it out!

so if you love your dog as much as we love ours we encourage you to join us! post about anything and everything DOG! i talking from food and toy reviews to adopting to doggy health and wellness. pictures and video encourage - be sure to link up!

okay so what is the deal with FLEAS this year???!! ugh. bodie had a case of them- its was quite the tragic situation.

this is how bodie feels about fleas - yells about them all the time! 

he got fleas even when we use frontline plus religiously!

this is what bodies vet suggests- what do you all use?

so last year was the first flea outbreak that haunted the my good friends the Wills - and then ventured over to my apartment. what did i learn from this catastrophe last year?

dawn soap.... amazing

to use dawn soap. LOTS AND LOTS of dawn soap. my best friend alex (of the wills') did her research and this stuff kills those annoying little pests. i mean lets think about it -- if this stuff can save baby otters from oils spills it can certainly take out those damn fleas! i threw the bodster in the tub, lathered him up, let it sit for as long as bodie would allow and then rinsed him. 

and the dawn soap doesn't stop there! next up were floors and upholstery. first you want to take any and all washable items .. and WASH them. then vacuum your space like you never have before and dawn-it-up! put a combo of water and dawn soap in a spray bottle, spray the carpets/upholstery with this magical mix and then wait. repeat. wait.... etc etc until you see no signs of fleas!

let me also say.. I AM NOT AN EXPERT!!! this is just what worked for me and i didn't see any more fleas (praise the LORD).

so as mentioned.. that was last year. now back to 2012. the fleas arrived. and bodie was ITCHY like craaaazy. i dawn soaped the shit out of my apartment and him -it was intense. all was well... except bodie was still itching/licking like a lunatic. i bought special shampoo/conditioner, NOTHING. so a week after the dawn soap throw down of 2012, and bodie is still itching and is SUPER pink (his belly tends to be on the pink side but this was extreme) - i inspected the bodster ... and what do i see. TWO FLEAS! these fleas were resilient - they would NOT DIE. and were apparently causing bodies itching issues. off to the vet because this was out of control! 

prognosis: bodie is allergic to fleas. so, not only would bodie be biting/scratching to get the flea off... but they are now causing him EXTRA itchiness due to an allergy. wtf. who knew??! i sure didn't! needless to say that day bodie got a cortisone shot to stop the constant itching, a special pill (in ADDITION to his already used frontline plus) that kills fleas within 30 minutes of landing on the body and a special oatmeal bath to sooth is hot mess skin. 

so bodie has finally recovered. AMEN! it was terrible not knowing what the issue was and that he was clearly uncomfortable. I also learned a lot about fleas (which is making me itch now - ugh). below you will find the life cycle of a flea if you care to educate yourself a bit. weirdest fact i learned? the pupae stage (its like a cocoon) can last a VERY long time. by long time i'm talking if they get to the pupae stage in your house... but then it gets cold (fleas aren't down with the cold) they can stay dormant for UP TO 12 MONTHS. that means when it gets warm again and the nasty little flea wants to arise from its cocoon... it can. and will. GA-ROSSSSSSS! 

yuck - fleas are bad

basically...with that being said... if you think you have a bad flea situation, forego the dawn and get a professional to come in a take care of business. normally, if there is still a flea problem they will come back and re-flea-bomb free of charge if the issue isn't fixed. 

okay so i know that was not the most pleasant post - but informational none the less! be sure to link up with Meagan and I every Tuesday about your awesome dog stories!

peace love & NO MORE FLEAS! xoxo.b