Big Paws Only Dog Forums
BPO Medical Forum => Treatment & Preventative Meds => : Rufus 10536 April 12, 2007, 02:31:26 AM
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I'd LOVE to use something other than Frontline on Rufus since I have young children who can't stay away from him for the day or so after I've given him the once-monthly treatment, but wonder if anyone has had good results with Nature's Remedy or any other herbal tick/flea preventative? The info with the product says it will actually kill fleas/ticks, but since I live in the NE and tick season is well underway (I pulled two off yesterday - poor Rufie), I want to make sure I'm being as vigilant as possible. Thanks for any comments!
Robin & Rufus
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Hi,
I asked about this yesterday and the feed back sounds good.
http://www.bigpawsonly.com/index.php/topic,17060.msg207527.html#new
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Yes...natural essential oils are very effective at repelling fleas and ticks. There are many products on the market to consider, but since I make my own I can't recommend any.
Citronella and lavender are key ingredients for fleas, and palmarosa or rose geranium are key ingredients for ticks.
Keep in mind that the best flea prevention is health - fleas only infest unhealthy animals so if a dog is unhealthy and has a weak immune system, fleas may still be able to set up shop. Any dog however can get a flea or two and this is easy to manage with natural essential oils.
Ticks are opportunistic and will drop on anything it can - so the oils help to prevent them from attaching. I have a dramatic difference in the number of ticks I pull off my dogs on days I don't spray them with my concoction, than on the days I do.
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Yes...natural essential oils are very effective at repelling fleas and ticks. There are many products on the market to consider, but since I make my own I can't recommend any.
Citronella and lavender are key ingredients for fleas, and palmarosa or rose geranium are key ingredients for ticks.
Keep in mind that the best flea prevention is health - fleas only infest unhealthy animals so if a dog is unhealthy and has a weak immune system, fleas may still be able to set up shop. Any dog however can get a flea or two and this is easy to manage with natural essential oils.
Ticks are opportunistic and will drop on anything it can - so the oils help to prevent them from attaching. I have a dramatic difference in the number of ticks I pull off my dogs on days I don't spray them with my concoction, than on the days I do.
I have been using these oils for a while and I have to tell you MY DOG HATES THE SMELL OF IT. Every time I pick the spray bottle I have to chase her for 10 min. Now I spray it on paper towel and wipe her with it (the minimum, so she doesn't go insane from smell).
Do you think it may be too strong? I mix it with water as well...
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Sure....many dogs are very scent sensitive and hate the smell of one oil scent or another. I know a dog who buries his head over the scent of lavender, and one of my girls hates the citronella - very pungent.
Diluting effectively can help - I put 10 drops of each oil in several tablespoons of almond oil - and then put all of that in a large spray bottle filled with water - it is highly diluted but the fragrance is still apparent - this is key.
Also, I never spray on the upper half of the body to keep away from mucous membranes. Ticks usually go for the neck and behind the ears so I dab a drop on the back of the neck. Fleas go for the rear - base of tail and butt where they are out of reach and this is where I generally spray.
If one scent is too horrible for her - you could try testing the scents and leaving one out - or reducing that one significantly and see if the potion still works. It just can't be the palmarosa or rose geranium that you elminate as that is key for ticks.