well, i’ve heard it was a bad fall for fleas. but then, i hear that just about every fall, and every fall finds us flea-free.
as some of you know, here at scruffy dog headquarters, we’re raw-fed, low-vaccines, and no chemicals unless absolutely required … and that includes topical treatments that may not be needed. as always, i’d rather treat as needed vs. using a bunch of chemicals as a preventative for something that may never be an issue. this decision is based on my own experience with my dogs over the years, as well as having researched a lot about the treatments, side effects, and actual cases of reactions.
so, with fleas, i’ve used Advantage maybe once every two or three years. about six weeks ago, we found a flea on the goober. for the next hour i was like a monkey picking through his hair, only to find ten more! and running a flea comb through matea i was shocked to find a couple more of the little buggers, but also a lot of flea poop.
over the weeks, i take time out to search for them on the scruffies, believing i could stave off any impending infestation “manually” … and while the numbers of fleas were no more than two or three a week on merrick and one or two on matea, and even though we ourselves have not been bitten in spite of the goober nestled between us all night every night … last night i’d had it.
so, out came the Advantage, and all three of them were treated (even though Aslan did not appear to be carrying a single flea). trouble is, matea’s coat is far too thin and after applying the dastardly chemicals, she sat for a couple of minutes waiting for her treat, while we did the other two … and by the time i got back to her, the chemicals — applied to the back of her neck and top of her shoulders — had run all down her back! and two minutes later, she’s wanting to lick it.
so all last night she wore her Back on Track “blanket”, but it’s not to be worn more than 8 hours … so, today she is sporting a lovely T-shirt …
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so pretty …
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tomorrow morning i’ll take it off and bathe her back so that there are no more chemicals that she can reach.
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of course, no resident-scruffies blog entry would be complete without the goober … so here he is …
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hoping you’re having a fabulous first week of the year!
MelissaAnother raw-feeding, no/low-vaccines “Mom” :). In addition to cleaning and bathing, I use food-grade Diatomaceous earth (mixed with water and sprayed) as a preventative. I’m in a “flea hot zone” and have been very lucky as we’ve never had a problem. I know that it was probably a difficult decision to use chemicals (we’ve seen an influx of fleas that seem to resist the chemicals). Good luck with the flea-war!!
CrystalI’ve found that the two most effective flea preventatives are to vacuum frequently (daily or every other day regularly, 2-3 times per day if there is an active flea outbreak) and bathing the dogs once a week if they have fleas on them, using a few drops of neem oil mixed into their very mild shampoo, then using a small amount of vinegar to do the final rinse. It appears to be at least as effective for my household as the chemicals, which tended to not work effectively all of the time.
Tucker's MomWe are the same way with flea treatments – and we’re also raw-fed and minimal vaccines (only after titer testing except for rabies which we can’t get out of because its state law) – and so far, knock wood, we haven’t had to treat in over six months. Sorry you did, but sometimes it is necessary.
Happy New Year!
Michal od wirtualnycGive him garlic, it’s anty-flea.
greetings from Poland.
Michal
JulieFlea infested here this winter in Washington state too. It’s the first year I’ve had to treat the dogs in winter. Pink is definitely is Matea’s color.
JustynaSo poised and pretty in pink 🙂