Fleas are small, dark brown or black insects that are about 1-2mm long. They are oval-shaped and can crawl or jump. Flea eggs are hard to see, but they are oval and light-colored. Flea larvae look like tiny worms. Flea dirt, which is essentially dried blood meal that fleas excrete after they’ve fed on the host, looks like small, dark brown specks or grains, resembling ground black pepper. Fleas can be found on various parts of a dogs body, but common areas include the lower back near the base of the tail, the neck, and the belly. To check for fleas, you can use a flea comb to part the hair of the dog and look for them on their skin. Flea combs have very tightly spaced teeth, which are designed to pull fleas away from the hair to better identify them. The hair at the base of the dogs tail is a good place to start looking for fleas.