Get ready for ticks and fleas this season

With winter having been mild, we are already seeing more ticks and fleas this season. Pugs are especially reactive to flea bites and some to flea remedies. Although we use Frontline (and Advantage for the one who is allergic to Frontline), we have found alternative therapies for pregnant or nursing pets because we try to be as holistic as possible, reducing the number of chemicals in the environment.

One thing to understand is that healthy dogs attract few fleas. Keep them on a highly nutritional diet and the problem will already be reduced. Also, the addition of garlic and brewer's yeast to their diet allows the dogs to give off an odor that repels insects (but not an odor that I've been able to detect with my human nose). A nice combination tablet that I've seen is Love Drops through JP Pet's website.

With two pregnant dogs this summer, we wanted an extra boost, though. So after doing some research we found some nice alternatives at Nature's Pet and ordered a few. So far we've only had time to try one - Critter's Oil, but we've been very pleased with the results! And the combination of oils has a pleasant scent. One of our females hates getting squirted with Frontline, but she found the oil dabbed behind her ears and above her tail was not only tolerable, but enjoyable. We are going to use Critter Oil as her primary repellant unless we feel it is not as effective as we'd like.

But whichever method you choose, be sure to keep on top of the insects this year! May you have an itch-free summer!