Last summer was our first on the brewer's yeast and garlic, but Sunni had some sort of allergic reaction to the yeast. Instead, per suggestion of the Golden list, I tried garlic and diluted vinegar. Took maybe a quarter of a cup and mixed it with almost a gallon of water. Kept it handy in a jug and gave them all just a Tbsp or two with their meal that was sprinkled with plain old garlic pwdr. Not a flea in sight this past summer. Was a first! They say that the fleas detest the taste of garlic and vinegar flavored dog skin.Jeannie
Unknown Author Asks:
>Do any of you have an opinion about Frontline?
I started using Frontline on my dogs when it came out, and it works wonderfully. My dogs were on Program for fleas, but we started having a real tick infestation. We treated the yard time after time, ultimately killing off our grass, and nothing would help. ONE treatment of Frontline did the trick.
I have 4 greyhounds along with my dachsie, Raleigh, and the ghs are especially sensitive to chemicals. I also work with Racers Recycled in Houston, a gh adoption group, and Frontline is the treatment of choice for fleas and ticks. If you've ever read anything about the tick diseases and what they can do to a dog, it is of the utmost importance to keep those icky ticks off our babies.
Please ask your vet to reconsider. We haven't had a single bad reaction to Frontline, and it works!
See ya,
Greta
When I worked for vets, I was the "Flea Educator". When I began,
I was still living in the South, so I had alot of practice
orating on the loves and lives of fleas.
In a perfect situation, to treat flea infestation you have
to cover three areas: 1. Your yard 2. Your home 3. Your pet
I know alot of folks that live on an enormous amount of
property, so sometimes it's impossible to treat your yard.
Best bet is to control what you can, your pet and home.
One thing to note, technology and chemicals -- organic or
otherwise -- rapidly change. I recall an organic chemical
that used to be widely used in flea prevention that tended
to be acceptable with a wide range of animals, it's called
Pyrethrin, and it's derived from a type of orchid. You may
want to ask your vets about that. Check to see if they
have any organic options available. I was under the
impression that Program, in the long term could really
damage a dogs liver, kidneys, and pancreas. But I'm sure
the debate still rages. All I know is that anything that
is absorbed by my dog, and is not passed, but accummulates
in its system, is too big a risk in the long run.
Fleas' egg-laying cycle is every 14 days -- so if you treat your
house, do it once, and then AGAIN 14 days later, that way you'll
catch any new hatching fleas.
Put a flea collar in your vacuum cleaner bag. Vacuum thoroughly
after treatment, then THROW THE BAG OUT. Those suckers can
live and breed ANYWHERE. You do not need carpet for fleas
to infest your home.
They only spend about 10% of their time on the host feeding
and pooping (that's what makes the "dirt" you find when you
pull your pet's coat apart and see the brown lil' clumps, it'll
also turn water red because the clumps are really dried blood
which is their fecal matter). The rest of the time they
are making "time" with their flea spouses and laying eggs.
If you use a flea "dip" on your dog at home. Be sure you
leave the dip on for as LONG as directed, do not be fooled
by those suckers laying still on your pooch. They may look
dead, but if you don't give a chance for the dip to really
permeate, those lil' buggers will be up and jumping in
no time. They are extremely resilient and take a while
to die. Lueree Kavanaugh
To get rid of fleas, you of course must clean/vaccum all floors, bedding (yours and theirs) and shampoo and treat the dog. Once you're on top of that situation, I have found that products containing Tea Tree Oil (Paul Mitchell (human) shampoo, Melaleuca products, Mela-Miracle (dog) shampoo and products) just to name a few, do an excellent job of repelling fleas naturally. The supplement I use on my dog's food (Nupro) is also all natural and contains both brewer's yeast and garlic which is said to provide some natural immunity to these pests, although I had never thought of it for that reason before. I've had dogs loose hair and have other topical type reactions to fleas products, so be careful what you use and go easy! I am really impressed with the effectiveness of the Tea Tree Oil products, and like them so well I would and do use them even without fleas being a concern! Good luck. Cheri MINIDOXIES@aol.com
We live in Florida where fleas are around all year and found Program to be absolutely useless. It made no difference in the flea content of our dog and cat. (We do have carpeting so maybe that made a difference). >Now we are using Advantage and it works much better. Even Advantage is not 100% effective for us but we have become resigned to a certain number of fleas, I guess. Nobody seems to have a flea allergy so one or two or three or four fleas don't bother us. Dani
The thing with Program is that it does NOT kill adult fleas. So if you have a whole bunch of them, it'll be a *while* before you stop seeing them. Program interferes with the development of the *larval* stage of the flea by inhibiting chitin from forming (you know, what makes insects be "crunchy" - chitin is what this "crunchy" exoskeleton is made of, it's a protein). This means that the larvae can never turn into full adults and they die. BUT in the meantime, whatever adult fleas you have you are GOING to have until they die a natural (or *pesticidal*!) death. ;-) In the meantime yeah, they'll reproduce, but eventually the larvae are no-can-do. So it may take *months*, depending on how bad the problem is when you start, before you will notice the flea population decrease (because Program hasn't allowed it to grow). Advantage kills the adult fleas. It therefore gives you the feeling of better flea control, because it just plain gets rid of what you have *right now*. But all you need is one adult that makes it and reproduces, and you simply will never totally eradicate them. Not unless you use something to stop their multiplication as well. I feel the best system is one where you not only kill the adults you now have, but you prevent any more from coming into this world as well. That's why a pesticide approach *coupled* with a reproduction inhibition agent is the best way to go, IMO. Gosh, that all sounds so harsh when you say it like that, doesn't it. ;-) What the heck, if it my angel ANY harm, I DON'T want it around! Marivonne
Skin So Soft works but becareful as it is oily and if you use too much
it will not brush in or out. You can get Oil of Ecuylptus (spelling)
use it 1part to 10 parts in spray bottle wow no fleas ticks don't like
it either
Ellen
Hounds of Bruel
resellen@cnetech
This is the latest poop regarding Frontline. After reading recent Cybercomer concerns (which brought back my old fears), I called my vet and Frontline (800-660-1842). First, the vet explained that it took him longer to be convinced than most vets but once he researched this product, he decided that it seemed safe enough to add to his line. He doesn't feel that this is so much a pesticide as is a "pryphin" sp? (natural chemical), and although the EPA and Frontline calls it a pesticide, the vet tech says it's because of the strict EPA guidelines, who also needs to cover all bases. Frontline themselves say that although it is indeed considered a pesticide, it is more an insecticide (which does not include all pests) and an acaricide (the tick is sub classified as an acari). They say that their product has had no adverse affects on mammals, but they have been forbidding that this be applied to rabbits, for they have shown signs of illness. Now, that does seem like something of concern, since rabbits are used to explore toxicity in humans. Frontline feels that, although they don't know why this is happening to rabbits, they have had no problems with canines (other than a small minority experiencing temporary drooling after licking the product, diarhea or lethargy. Ingredients consist of 99.71% alcohol (inert or inactive ingredient) and .29% "Fipronil" or "Phenylphrazole" (chemical name). Frontline says that this is not a systemic product in that it does not go into body or organs, but instead resides in sebaceous glands (where body oil is secreted). Fipronil has been tested in Europe since the mid 80s (in Great Britain). This Fripronil was discovered to be a good pesticide agent accidently when first being considered as a herbicide. Frontline has been in existence since 93. Is produced and then shipped from Europe to this day. He went on to say that it is no more harmful than table salt and that of all products on the market, FL's labels have the least hazardous materials listed as ingredients. The way it kills the flea and tick is that the "firpronil" acts as a chloride inhibitor and once the insect's chloride is unable to pass through their bodies, they die before being unable to re-produce, lay eggs or bite animal.
That is all I have for now, folks, but it's enough to convince me that it is probably less harmful than the stuff they put in those flea/tick collars and in sprays and pdrs. Okay? Please feel free to call that #, 800-660-1842