Ticks

[amanda L]

Just thought I'd let you all know, 2 weeks ago my cav (Elliot) got very tired and was't eating that much, I noticed a tiny black spot on his belly(well hidden under his coat). Brought him to the vet, and he pulled out a huge tick which had completely burried itself into his belly. The vet was quite worried about it and warned me that tick bites can be very nasty and that he may develop sepsis as it had possibly entered the bloodstream. He was given an injection and put on strong antibiotics for a week and luckily (tg) he improved. I used the "spot on" treatment in May, and was told to keep using it during the summer months. He's fine now, however, im keeping a close eye out for those ticks!!! Just wondering what anybody else uses to prevent ticks, did'nt know that they could have such bad effects!

[Kingofthehouse86]

amanda

i use Frontline Plus (orange one) and i also feed nupro (a dietary supplement that has a flea/tick repelent, but not enough as the topical one) also its heartworm season as well as flea/tick season so make sure ur givin heartworm tablets/topical as well...

[Nicki]

Sorry to hear about this Amanda, thank goodness Elliott is ok.

I don't usually use anything chemical because of Rupert's seizures - but we are not in a heartworm area, so realise that's not an option for everyone.


I read in a book recently about putting an Amethyst crystal in the dogs' water bowl to help prevent fleas and ticks...well I didn't really believe it, but as I had one anyway I thought it worth a try. The really amazing thing is that it WORKS!!!

What's strange is that if you put Bach Flower Remedies, or cyder vinegar {to stop the boys' wee smelling so strong} in, it seems to affect it and it doesn't work.

Before we started using it, we had a couple of ticks and one flea in a week. Since then I've only seen a couple of each, and ONLY when there's been something else in with the water - and none of them had "fed" {sorry that's gross but you know what I mean} - the ticks hadn't attached.

Over the last ten days I haven't put anything else in the water and we haven't seen a single flea or tick...and it's a bad year for ticks here.

Where we live there are sheep on three sides of the garde
n, also cows and we have wild rabbits constantly in the garden - even when the dogs are out, they know they're not a threat!! There are also lots of wild deer about, so ticks are a particular problem and we would normally see quite a few fleas too.


Might be worth trying anyway

[judy]

Nicki, thanks for that. Is it an amethyst crystal that you would buy at a jewelry store, or a precious stones store? Any particular size or type?

On the Beyond Vaccinations mail list people were just discussing fleas and ticks and some people were recommending diatomaceous earth.

Here's a link about that:

He says:
"Descriptions on how DE is used externally and internally. This is a nifty
page that gives much information very concisely, including internal dosages for pets."
http://www.hydromall.com/happy_grower16.html

He also says:
"Note: do not use DE intended for swimming pool filters. That stuff has beenheat-treated to have sharper edges and is hurtful to us mammals."

I think people were talking about fleas in connection with this, not sure if ticks were included.

Fleas are just starting for me, so i'm going to have Fleabusters do the backyard, they use beneficial nematodes, i think. i was thinking of giving Program to the animals, but was going to research it, i dont' want to give ANY neurotoxins. So i'm looking for alternatives.

On another mail list, can't remember which one, there was discussion of making a vinegar spray and spraying it on the dogs, people said that it kept fleas and ticks away.

And there was another discussion about giving vitamin B complex 50mg, i will go back and review that later and post the dosages. People were reporting good experiences.

What a scary experience with Elliot! Thank goodness he's OK.

[Suzanne]

Hi! Lucy received her 1st dose of Frontline last month. She is due for the second dose within the next few days. The first time I applied it between her shoulder blades she started whimpering very loudly. I asked my vet if it might have caused a burning sensation. She said it's possible that Lucy is sensitive to it, and if she reacts the same way when she's receives the second dose, we will have to find an alternative to using the Frontline. I always used Frontline on my other dogs in the past (they were large dogs) and never had any reactions. I'll let you know how Lucy reacts when she gets it again in a few days.

[amanda L]

Thanks all for replies, it is "spot on" front line (blue ) glad to see that some of you use it aswell. Nicki, I think I'll try the crystal in the water, does it have to be bought from a jewellers, I have some at home, I got while in the Burren, Co. Clare. (like a small crystal rock). Will do a search aswell and see what I come up with, sounds very interesting! BTW, love the pics of your cav in his trendy (houndstooth style) puppia , must get one of those aswell!!!!!

[Nicki]

Sorry for not replying sooner....the Amethyst just came from one of those shops that sell things like dream catchers, candles, basically "spiritual" stuff. It wasn't very expensive and is only about 5cm high - so not that big. Yes it's a crystal rock.

They seem to do them on E-bay now.

The books and things say to recharge them in sunlight every now and then, and then hold under running water.

Glad you liked Rupert in his Puppia - they do still have some but only in black or pink now I think.


Suzanne, I personally would not reapply something if I thought it had caused a reaction. Maybe try jsut putting a few drops of cold water on in the same place {you can get those syringes for giving babies medicine and use that, it would probably look fairly similar to Lucy} and see if Lucy reacts to that. If so, then it probably wasn't the Frontline, maybe it was just because it was cold or she didn't like the sensaion.

If she doesn't react to the water, then it probably was the Frontline, and I'd look at alternatives.

Judy, I have heard of people using diatomaceous earth but most of the holistic vets don't recommend it.

In the past I have made up the following mixture:
In a glass jug, put
1 lemon sliced very thinly
2 tsps of dried Rosemary or a couple of handfuls of fresh {be careful if the dog is epileptic wtih this}
about 1 pint of boiling water to cover


Leave overnight, and then strain off the liquid. I put some in a small spray bottle - most chemists do them and spray onto the coat every day. It's a good antiseptic too, and seems to help the coat.

It needs to be kept in the fridge, and will last about a week. But you can freeze it - I use ice cube trays and just take out a few at a time.


You can also use essential oils - Lemon, Citronella. A couple of drops on the harness or back of the collar - not close to their nose though!

This is quite good if you are going to training or somewhere where you know they might be in contact with other animals.


Of course daily grooming alerts you to problems, and also daily hoovering helps too.

Harder work to do things every day, but I personally feel happier not using chemicals.