The fastest way to ruin a nice coat, besides cutting it off, is to let your Yorkshire get parasites so he can scratch and chew it off. A parasite-free dog is more comfortable, and certainly more pleasant to hold and pet. Controlling fleas and ticks and mites used to be a non-stop job, but newer products now make it comparatively easy.

Fleas. Fighting fleas used to mean treating your dog, his bedding, your house, and your yard, along with daily vacuuming and flea combing. No wonder the fleas won. Now dog owners have options that are easy and effective.

The best course of action is to vary the type of flea product you use, so that fleas have less chance of becoming resistant. For example, use imidacloprid one month, fipronil another, and metaflumizone another. You can also use them in conjunction with lufenuron to prevent fleas from reproducing. Most of these products are available only from your veterinarian, and although they cost more than the traditional flea sprays you can buy in the grocery store, they’re worth it. They’re safer, more effective, and because they have residual action, you’ll spend far less money in the long run.

Ticks. Ticks are persistent pests, but they, too, are gradually being beaten by newer products. Still, the old-fashioned way of dealing with ticks is worth knowing. If you’re in tick territory, examine your dog in the tick-favored spots: on his ears, neck, withers, and between his toes. If you find one, use a tissue to grasp it as close to the skin as possible, and pull it straight out, without twisting or squeezing.

Caution: Fleas and ticks not only cause intense itching and scratching, but fleas can cause flea allergy dermatitis and tapeworms, and ticks can cause ehrlichiosis, babesia, and Lyme disease, among others. Your veterinarian can order blood tests if these conditions are suspected. And be careful yourself; you can catch some of the same diseases from exposure to these parasites.

Mites. Mites can also cause problems. Sarcoptic mites cause sarcoptic  mange, an intensely itchy disorder that you can catch (it’s called scabies in people). It’s often characterized by small bumps and crusts on the ear tips, abdomen, elbows, and hocks. The condition can be treated with repeated shampoos or with veterinary-prescribed drug treatment.

Demodex mites cause demodectic mange, a non-contagious but often difficult to treat condition. A couple of small patches in a puppy are common place and will usually go away on their own, but many such patches or a generalized condition must be treated with repeated dips or with drug therapy. Cases involving the feet can be especially difficult to cure.

Flea Treatments

Imidacloprid: Spot-on, 1-3 months. Kills 98% of fleas in 1 hour, continues for 1 month.

Fipronil: Spray, spot-on, 1-3 months. Kills fleas, and to a lesser extent, ticks for 1-3 months.

Lufenuron: Pill, monthly. Renders fleas that bite the dog sterile.

Pyriproxifen: Spray, every 3 months. Renders fleas that bite the dog sterile.

Selamectin: Spot-on, monthly. Kills and sterilizes fleas: prevents heart worms.

Nitenpyram: Pill, as needed. Instantly kills fleas; no residual action.

Metaflumizone: Spot-on, monthly. Kills fleas in 48 hours; Continues for 1 month.

Amitraz: Spot-on, collar, monthly. Kills ticks for up to 1 month.

Permethrin: Spray, spot-on, as needed. Kills fleas, and to a lesser extent, ticks. No residual action.