Quote:
Originally Posted by gustavo
I don't like to apply on the back or feed my dog poison, so I don't use the common treatments. I do have a bottle of natural insect repellent (smells like orange and lemon) if it is warm and going for a walk away from my house or in high grass I will shoot one or two spritzes under his belly.
I had been giving him heart worm medication since day one and then was informed that the medicine had a recall and was basically ineffective, so had to have a heart worm test and it was negative. Also told that even if it was effective the dog still may get heart worm so the need for the test at least annually.
Twice (over a year apart) since we had the dog I saw evidence of fleas, 3 or 4 crawling on the underbelly, immediately gave him a bath in Dawn dish detergent. All the fleas died and there were no further signs. I truly believe one of the times he got them at the groomers.
BTW, the groomer never reports any sign of fleas at any of his grooming sessions.
So just saying, the standard regime of exposing your pet to monthly or bi weekly doses of poison does not had to be the norm. Additionally, for those worried about the high cost of these poisons at the vet will find my method much cheaper than even the internet sites. For me, it was not about cost but the health of the dog that guided me to this routine.
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If I had a 20-lb dog with short hair, I might try that. In fact, I did try that on our first golden, and it cost a hundred dollars to fix him and the house.
I will go with the flea medication (and I believe calling it poison is inflammatory and an attempt to make us believers feel guilty) and keep my 88-lb current golden flea free and Lyme disease free.