Controlling the dog flea population in your house and yard is, in the words of Philip Kass, D.V.M., Ph.D., associate professor of epidemiology at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, a "never-ending battle". But the good news according to Mr Kass is that, "if you're diligent, you can win."

When undertaking a program to rid fleas from your house and dog, its important to understand that fleas multiply exponentially. One flea can build a family of over 200,000 fleas - and that is only within a month. Fleas are a source of discomfort to your dog. They suck its blood, and dogs hair can get patchy if they are chronically infected and scratching constantly.

Whilst you probably won't be able to get rid of dog fleas for as long as you have a dog, there are steps you can take to control the situation and minimize any discomfort to both yourself and your pet.

Probably the easiest way to kill fleas these days is to use a product like Frontline, Advocate's, or Revolution's flea control products. These are very simple to apply - just squeeze the contents of the tube on the back of your dog's neck. The flea control solution is absorbed into your dog's system through the skin, and absorbed into the blood. From here, it kills fleas that are on your dog, and keeps fleas off for about a month. Some of these products, such as Advocate's, also deal with heartworm and intestinal worms. They can be a very simple all-in-one solution.

The drawbacks to using these products is that sometimes they cease to work. I have used both Frontline and Revolution on my cats, and they worked great at first, but after a couple of years, I noticed they did practically nothing in helping me control the flea population. I have switched to Advocate and find this works, but it may run into the same problem over time.

These products can also work out to be more expensive to get rid of dog fleas, especially of you have a number of dogs. For me (with 4 cats), the convenience still outweighs the other factors, but it may not for all.

Other approaches to controlling dog fleas:

1. Give your dog a bath with a medicated or even a non-medicated flea shampoo. A non-medicated flea shampoo won't target fleas directly, but at least it will wash off the current flea population. This (non-medicated shampoo) would probably only work for a dog with a light flea problem. Otherwise use a special flea shampoo.

2. Use a flea spray. Those containing the insecticides D-Limonene or pyrethrins (made from chrysanthemums) are effective and less toxic than some other sprays.  When spraying your dog, be sure to avoid spraying into his eyes, mouth, nose, and ears.

3. If you have a lot of fleas in your house and yard, you may need to get your home professionally treated to kill the fleas. This will greatly help in controlling the fleas that live on your dog, especially in conjunction with treating your dog itself. It will help keep the fleas from getting immune to the active ingredients in the flea shampoos and other products.

If you are doing the house or yard treatment yourself, use products that contain methoprene or fenoxycarb, which is a flea control hormone.

4. Vacuum your house regularly! Especially where your dog spends a lot of time. This will help remove flea eggs. And discard the vacuum bag every time, to prevent dog flea re-infestation.