Out damn flea!

 Anyone who has been here for more than a few posts knows that I prefer a natural approach to medicine.  Give me acupuncture, aromatherapy, homeopathy or Ayurveda before Western medicine any day.  One of the main reasons I respect Dr. Oz so much is that he's a Western trained surgeon open to all healing modalities.  May all human beings be so open minded. And may those values be shared with our companion animals.

Fleas are a case in point.  They are disgusting creatures whose only goal in life is to suck the blood out of our dogs and cats and make their lives miserable.  But I have grave reservations about flea medicine that's put on a dog's skin or taken in pill form.  How can it be that a poison introduced to kill fleas will have no negative effects on a dog or cat? 

I'm in the process of investigating and trying out natural remedies and I'd love to know if you've had any success with specific products.  I just received a natural flea and tick home spray from www.VetsBest.com website.  Charlie and our environment will be treated today and I'll report the results in the coming weeks. I also wanted to share two websites I visit often and whose newsletters educate me on a vast array of subjects.  First up is Dogs Naturally Magazine http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/ and next is wonderful holistic vet Dr. Karen Becker http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/dr-karen-becker.aspx.

My boy Charlie (a Havanese/terrier mix) gets frequent baths with Aloe and Oatmeal Shampoo from VET Solutions. You don't have to invest in expensive (and toxic) flea dips because any soap suds will suffocate fleas if left on for about 5 to 8  minutes.  You probably have Corn Starch in your kitchen and it's comforting to flea bitten tummies.  It will suffocate fleas on contact and is safe for the dog to ingest after all we know he's going to lick some of it off, right?  I thank my Los Angeles based holistic vet Dr. Megan Bamford of www.RedRowan.com for these tips.  She also suggested buying the cheapest flea and tick collar and cutting it up into pieces that you pop into your vacuum cleaner.  If you suck up and flea eggs they'll be wiped out rather than given a nice place to breed.  Isn't that genius?

You don't have to change the way you care for your pets because of this post.  I do hope however you'll be open to considering a few natural alternatives. The old slogan 'Better living through chemistry' has limits.