Re: Dog Question
I would just keep an eye on your dog knawing at his tail. Fleas can be pretty undetectable without a flea comb (a metal comb with
really close tongs). Fleas aren't always those big high-arc jumping buggers. They can be just as happy never moving from one area of a dog and be really tiny. To avoid a vet visit, you can always try one of those drip-down-the-spine tick treatments and see if anything changes, although it takes a while to regrow fur. I would also check for dry skin, which can be fixed by just getting a bottle of spray moisturizer for dogs. Another possibility may be ants, as sitting will make the tail the most vulnerable spot for ant bites which (as I can attest) can be seriously annoying for days at a time.
When it comes to food, it is very importsant to check the ingredients list, as most dog foods have corn as the top ingredient istead of meat (dogs are carnivores, so corn serves them no purpose at all). We settled on Purina One lamb and rice and chicken and rice, and we swap between them each bag to keep things interesting for our dogs. Sometimes we'll treat them with a salmon and rice (they only sell it in small bags). They also get plenty of our food as well. We recently went to the vet for a check up and they gave the vet a snobby look when she offered them a milk bone.. it was so funny. They wouldn't even touch that corn-meal crap
A vet checkup is only $40 most places as long as you refuse all the crap they try to up-sell. Blood work is about $150 and is needed prior to any real dental work, so you may wish to just have a dental visit happen at the same time and save money.
