Yay!!! Spring is here!!! Uh oh… that means flea season is here too.
During the flea season I go through their hair with a flea comb on a daily basis. There is no need to go through every inch of your dog’s body. Just inspect your dog’s butt (without the flea comb) because fleas love dirty areas. Then you can comb through a couple of areas with the flea comb and see if anything shows up.
It is time to protect against ticks and fleas. I personally HATE the thought of putting those tick & flea treatments onto my dogs. The last time I used a spot-on treatm
ent, one of my dogs began to tremble, salivate, vomited, and lost her physical coordination within only minutes of application. I bathed her to remove the product. This helped quite a bit and she calmed down. I have avoided these products ever since. People have no idea what these chemicals do to their dogs. Most vets dispense them like candy without providing any information to pet owners. Time is money and commissions are money. These vets know very well about how dangerous these pesticides are. They will sooner tell you how toxic they are for humans than explain the dangers they present to our pets. There is research that proves that these chemicals are hazardous. In fact, there are several reports submitted that document bad reactions to these spot-on treatments which prove their toxicity. Why have I used the term “pesticides” anyway? Isn’t that a harsh term? The EPA categorizes spot-on products as “pesticides.” The active ingredients in these products include amitraz, cyphenothrin, dinotefuron, etofenprox, fipronil, imidicloprid, metaflumizone, permethrin, pyriproxyfen and S-methoprene. Those pesticides are highly toxic. Furthermore, the inert or inactive ingredients are question
able as they sometimes can contribute to the toxicity of these products. Fleas and ticks are becoming resistant to some of the chemicals in spot-on treatments so whether or not they work cannot be guaranteed. If there is a caution printed on the box stating or implying that it is toxic to humans (ex. avoid human contact with the liquid), then you should think twice about using it on your dog.
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The EPA has reports of the following reaction to spot-on tick & flea products:
vomiting
diarrhea
excessive salivation
lethargy
skin redness, sores, and ulcers
itching
hair loss
tremors
seizures
ataxia (lack of control of body movement and coordination)
nervousness
death
[embedyt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ1xA8uJkwA[/embedyt]
I do have affiliate websites that carry the toxic spot-on treatments that I mentioned previously, but I chose not to recommend them and I chose not to include links for them because I don’t want to encourage their use. If I did include the links, I would receive a commission for products that I warn against using. Therefore I prefer to avoid conflicts of interest. As far as the products below, you can find them on the web using a search engine.
What are the Options? This is what I have done:
Pet Wellbeing – Affiliate Website
I have tried Shoo! Tags, but I found no success with them. They work by way of electromagnetic frequencies. Two friends of mine have been using them for their dogs for years with success.
There are also tags that work through sound frequencies to repel ticks and fleas. They claim that dogs don’t hear the sounds, but I believe they actually do. I think that it is very possible that all of the electrosmog is unsafe. I am not sure what levels are considered safe for dogs. I stick with the herbal remedies.
Baths:
I bathe my dogs once a week with a gentle doggie shampoo. Parasites prefer dirty dogs. Do not use anything strong. It’s simply bathing to keep your dog clean.
Shampoo:
HealthyPets – Affiliate Website
There are shampoo products that address fleas. When a dog has fleas you MUST get rid of them. There are shampoos available to kill those fleas that colonize on your dog. Many flea products are toxic and dangerous. There are safer alternatives that should be used.
If you discover fleas, a great shampoo to use is De-Flea made by Natural Chemistry. It was recommended to my by a holistic vet. It is my favorite alternative for killing ticks and fleas to the toxic dips that many people use.
Many dogs have allergic reactions to fleas. Flea saliva can be very irritating to the skin. You can find shampoo that is specifically formulated to soothe skin that has been bitten up and irritated by fleas at the Botanical Dog’s website it is called: Botanical Dog Flea Therapy.
Coconut oil can also be very soothing when it is applied sparingly to irritated skin. You can read more about coconut oil in my article, Coconut – A Natural Miracle.
I add organic raw apple cider vinegar to their food
I have my dogs on a raw diet which keeps their immune systems strong. I add a half a teaspoon to my dogs’ food twice a day of organic unfiltered raw apple cider vinegar. It must be organic raw apple cider vinegar. Another option is adding the organic apple cider vinegar to their water. The apple cider vinegar maintains a dog’s proper acid/alkaline balance. As a result, the chemistry of the dog’s system will repel ticks and fleas.
Earth Animal Flea & Tick Protection:
Botanical Dog – Affiliate Website
I started giving this to my dogs last week. It takes some time to build up in their system it will be effective. I add this natural powder supplement to my dogs’ food. It contains ingredients like alfalfa, garlic (enough to repel pests, but not enough to be toxic), spirulina, kelp, papaya, neem, nettles, and hawthorne. As the garlic is excreted through the skin, the ticks and fleas are repelled by the odor that they pick up (but we are unable to smell it so don’t worry). This is the yeast-free formula. You will find Earth Animal Internal Powder at the Botanical Dog’s website you will also find shampoos to soothe skin that has been bitten up by fleas.
Repellent Sprays:
Natural Wonder Pets – Affiliate Website
TripleSure not only repels fleas, but it retards and kills them as well. It works on ticks, mites, and bedbugs as well. Many products on the market use toxic pesticides that people apply to their pets. TripleSure does the hard work without the use of pesticides. It contains cedar oil and peppermint. You only need to apply it every two weeks because the hair follicles absorb it. It can also be applied to furniture, but it is best to do a spot check beforehand. You can also find my favorite dental product, Dentasure at the same website.
Diatomaceous Earth:
Barfworld – Affiliate Website
I tried the Lumino Diatomaceous Earth which is made from 100% diatomaceous earth. I have been very pleased with it. I have sprinkled it onto the dog bedding and even on some of my furniture. You can even sprinkle it onto carpets or rub directly into your pet’s coat. This is in powder form so it can be messy. Personally, I have only used this on my dogs on rare occasions when I take the girls out into the woods to give them extra protection. It is kind of chalky so I prefer to sprinkle it onto places where the dogs hang out. The product is safe for people and for pets. It contains no toxic ingredients so you don’t need to be worried if your dog licks it. To purchase, just click the link above or the image on the left. On the Barfworld website, you will see a small rectangular icon by the right upper corner that reads “Order Now.” You will notice the food that I recommend and when you scroll down you will see the diatomaceous earth product.
Pet Wellbeing, Pet Herbs Direct, Botanical Dog, Natural Wonder Pets, HealthyPets, and Barfworld
Natural Flea & Tick Repellenthttp://essentiallydogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Border-Collie-Lying-in-Daisies-DeviantArt-micromeg.jpg
