If your pet is being bitten by fleas, it will likely be intensely itchy. You may notice your dog or cat scratching itself constantly or biting and chewing on areas that it can't reach with its claws. An animal being harassed by fleas may also act jumpy or irritable. If your pet is scratching and biting itself a lot, it may begin to damage or wear away its fur. Additionally, allergens in the fleas' saliva can cause hair loss. Check your pet for bald spots and rough or unusually dirty looking fur. Cats with flea allergies often lose hair over large portions of their bodies, while dogs typically lose fur around the base of the tail. A flea-bitten pet may have obvious spots and scabs, especially in areas where they scratch or chew the most. Look for sores and scabs in areas like the tail, rear end, legs, and neck. You might also notice general redness and irritation or areas where the skin is thickened or discolored. If your pet is allergic to fleas, they may develop sores that ooze or crust over. Even if you never see the fleas themselves, they often leave behind tell-tale black flecks in your pet's fur and bedding. Try running a comb through your animal's fur to see if you can find flea dirt (feces) and live fleas. Try combing your pet over a white surface, such as a piece of cloth or paper, so that any falling dirt or fleas are more obvious. To prevent the fleas from escaping and moving around your home, you can also comb your pet over a sink or tub with a little soapy water in it. This way, any fleas that you comb out of your pet's fur will die when they land in the water. Since flea dirt is primarily composed of blood, it will turn red or reddish brown if you mix it with water. Focus on the parts of your animal where fleas are most likely to be active. For example, fleas most commonly gather on the ears, neck, lower back, and base of the tail on dogs. On cats, fleas may concentrate on the back of the neck and top of the head.

Summary: Look for persistent scratching or biting behaviors. Check for rough, patchy, or thinning fur. Keep an eye out for scabs and sores on the skin. Check your pets' fur and bedding for flea dirt.

If there is any residue, you can wash it off with some rubbing alcohol or white vinegar. You could also measure down 1 inch (2.54 centimeters) from the base of the neck, make a mark, then use that mark as your cutting guide. Use a box cutter or craft blade to cut the bottle. Some plastic soda bottles have a molded line. If your bottle is one of those, you can use that line as a cutting guide. Otherwise, cut off 1 to 2 inches (2.54 to 5.08 centimeters) off of the bottom of your bottle. If you'd like, you can make the bottom smoother by pressing a hot iron against it for 15 to 20 seconds. Don't do this for the top hole, or the plastic bags may get caught. Use the highest setting on your iron. Your holder is almost complete, but you can make it look nicer (and less like a plastic bottle) by spray painting it or by covering it with scrapbooking paper. Attach the scrapbooking paper with double-sided tape. This is now the top of your plastic bag holder. Alternatively, you can also punch just one hole, thread a short piece of ribbon through it, then tie the ribbon into a loop. Pull the plastic bags out, one at a time, from the bottom hole. Refill the bag by stuffing more plastic bags through the top hole.

Summary: Clean a plastic, 2-liter soda bottle, then peel off the label. Cut off the top portion of the bottle so that you have a 2-inch (5.08-centimeter) wide opening. Cut the bottom off of the plastic bottle. Use a pair of scissors to trim away ragged edges on the top and bottom. Paint or decorate the bottle, if desired. Punch two holes on both sides of the cut bottom edge, and thread a ribbon through them. Use the plastic bag holder.

This variation adds an extra challenge to Hide and Go Seek. You have your seeker and your hiders -- but the hiders don't only just hide, they have to get back to home base, too. Without getting tagged! So while the seeker is seeking, they have to come out of hiding, risking their safety. It's like Hide and Go Seek: The Intense Version. The hiders don't have any way of knowing what's going on in the game. Another element to this version can be that all the hiders have to get back to home base before everyone else is tagged. Or they're out! Instead of those poor lil' hiders that have been found just milling around doing nothing, have them assigned as additional seekers once they've been tagged. All of a sudden it's 4 people looking for one person -- where could they possibly be? Still start with one "It," starting the game the same way -- just have the first ones found team up to help look, too. Or have a couple seekers from the get-go! The first person tagged is still "It" for the next round, they just get to practice their seeking skills this round, speeding up the rest of the game. This makes the game even spicier. As players get found, they have to go to "jail." Generally this is a specific room, porch, or just designated area. The object of the game is for the seeker to put everyone in jail. However, those not in jail can free the ones in jail! They just have to get to jail without being tagged. Pressure's on! Once someone is freed from jail, they can either go hide again or sit out the rest of the round, enjoying their freedom. If someone frees a few people in jail but some are still hiding, the same principles apply. Of course, you can add any flavor you like! This is technically hide and seek -- only backwards! You have only one person hiding and everyone trying to find them. But when they do find them, they hide with them in the same place! So by the time the last person finds them, what they're really finding is a pile of smushed people. Kind of like a can of sardines! Oh, and play in the dark! It's much, much more fun that way. When you find someone, ask them "Are you the sardine?" And if they tell you yes, they are, join 'em! . This is like jailbreak, but team style. You have two teams (preferably of 4 or more) and they're each assigned a home base. The teams go hide around the other team's home base and try to make it back to theirs. When everybody makes it back home without being tagged, they win. This is best played in really, really large areas, like parks. And if it's nightfall, even better! Just make sure no one gets lost and you can communicate. People have to know when the game is over!
Summary: Play with a home base. Play with multiple taggers. Play jailbreak. Play sardines. Play manhunt