Imagine your dog aching to scratch an area on its back it can't reach. Imagine wearing that much fur, so that scratching an itch takes on more effort. Imagine not just one itchy part on your body, but many, and they're all itching at the same time. Your pet will thank you for the relief it will feel when you administer flea medicine on it. People who really love their pets can vividly imagine the pain their pets undergo when the flea-itching won't stop. Should your dog continue to exhibit a lot of scratching, it may be time to rethink whether the flea medicine you're using on your dog is working. Here's how you can do that.

1. You might as well ask your vet. Even long time pet owners can make mistakes by assuming they know all there is to know about their pet's conditions. Don't take flea medicine lightly, as there are various factors one should consider before buying or administering it to one's dog. These include whether your pet is pregnant or lactating, whether it is of a specific breed or age, and whether it is taking on another treatment concurrent with the flea medication treatment. You don't want to take chances when it comes to your pet's welfare.

2. Talk to other pet owners. For some, it may not be enough to get sound tips from their vets - they have to hear about it from other pet owners to be reassured about what they're doing. You can expand your knowledge about these matters by asking some pet owners you know. These could range from relatives, co-workers, neighbors, people at the gym you work out in, or even those who take their pets for a walk in the park. It's always prudent to ask ahead.

3. Read articles online. It's harder for some people to read articles on a computer monitor, but the info articles can provide is probably worth more than just reading up on sales pages. As a good rule of thumb, when you punch in the keywords on the search engine bar, be sure to add "article." This will bring you a page result of links leading to actual articles (most of them anyway), instead of landing on sales pages. Gathering information this way can lead you to surprisingly useful bits of help.

4. Write down the recommended brands. Unless the flea medicine your dog needs requires a prescription, it would be prudent to have a cellular phone handy in case you need to call your vet to confirm the brand name. So write it down and keep the piece of paper with you. You could also use your cellular phone - many models sport a notepad-like feature where you can punch in text and save them for later retrieval.