You are listening to Bark & Wag’s 15 Minute Vet Talk and I am your host Polly ReQua Today we are talking with Dr. Susan McMillan, owner of Vet to Pet Mobile Veterinary Service in Burlington, Vermont to learn more about fleas. How do dogs get fleas? What do they look like? And how do you prevent fleas. Welcome Susan…. How Do Dogs Get Fleas? Dogs can catch fleas just about anywhere. Here are some of the most common ways your dog can pick up these pests. Is your pup a walking flea magnet? In order to stop future infestation, you’ll need to track down how your pet contracts these bloodsuckers in the first place. Here are the four most common ways dogs get fleas. DOGS GET FLEAS FROM OTHER ANIMALS Dogs’ social nature may work against them when it comes to flea control. The most likely way your pet will come in contact with fleas is through exposure from other animals. Fleas can easily jump onto your dog from carriers in close range and start up a new colony.   So which flea-infested animals are a danger to your dog? The variety is unfortunately very wide ranging. Dogs can contract fleas from feral animals, as well as other household pets, including cats. Though the dog flea, Ctenocephalides canis, prefers to subsist on dog blood, cat fleas do not discriminate and will happily start up a colony on your pup. Common house mice will also spread their fleas to your dog, if not directly, then by infesting areas around your home. Outdoor animals that carry fleas include: rodents birds ferrets squirrels skunks opossum rabbits deer raccoons foxes