[nagdu] Fw: Essential oils used in natural methods for preventing ticks on dogs

[Ed Meskys]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "gosselin_louis" <gosselin_louis at myfairpoint.net>
To: "'Ed Meskys'" <edmeskys at roadrunner.com>
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2014 7:40 AM
Subject: Essential oils used in natural methods for preventing ticks on dogs


Essential oils used in natural methods for preventing ticks on dogs
Manchester Union Leader Sunday, 2014_06_22. Last week,
I wrote about some commonly held myths about ticks, including that they
float in
the wind, jump or fall from trees.
This week, I'll share some things you can do to try to minimize your dog's
(and your)
risk of tick bites.
The first step is prevention. Many dog owners use topical prevention
products such
as Frontline or Advantage, which are applied directly on your dog. The
product then
enters the dog's system and is secreted through the skin, killing fleas and
ticks.
I don't use these products as I don't want to put a poison on my dog that is
absorbed
and circulated through his system and that comes with a caution not to touch
it myself.
Just as important, we often see dogs at All Dogs Gym that are on one of the
topical
products, yet have fleas and/or ticks.I prefer to use treatments that I
don't consider
toxic to pets. I have tried three different approaches to tick prevention,
and I
think they work reasonably well. One is a recipe I was given years ago by a
horse
owner who said it prevented flies from biting her horses. Mix 1 'cup' of
Avon Skin
So Soft (original oil) with 2 'cup's of white vinegar and 1 to 3 'cup's of
water
(less water for tick prevention). Add 1 tablespoon of eucalyptus or
Citronella essential
oil (available at most health food stores). Combine these ingredients and
put them
in a trigger spray bottle. Spray a light mist over your dog and rub it into
his coat,
avoiding your dog's nose and eyes. A little goes a long way.A product that
many of
our clients have tried and like is called Pet Tic Off Oil, which is made up
of almond
oil and other essential oils. I especially like Tic Off (which we sell at
All Dogs
Gym) because it is made in New Hampshire by the Slippery Soap Company. One
of our
employees discovered this company at the Made in New Hampshire Expo and
bought a
bottle for us to sample. Another natural product is Vet's Best Flea and Tick
Home
Spray, which is made up of peppermint oil and clove extract. It, too, has a
nice
scent. As with all products, if your dog has a reaction to any of these
products,
wash him thoroughly to remove any residue. When you're applying a spray-on
product
to your dog, make sure you spray his legs as well as the body (avoiding the
eyes
and nose) because ticks are picked up as your dog runs through weeds, grass
and leaf
litter, and they crawl upward. I've used these products on my own dogs. I
have found
ticks on Larry after a run in the woods, but Larry also bounds through
streams, washing
off the product I've applied. So what if your prevention tactics haven't
been foolproof
(which none is)? The University of Rhode Island Tick Encounter Resource
Center (TERC)
(www.Tickencounter.org) recommends using needle-nose tweezers, grasping the
tick
close to the dog's skin and pulling straight out. Once you've removed the
tick, you
need to properly dispose of it. Ticks don't crush easily, nor should you try
to crush
them. Ticks can survive for three days or more under water, so flushing -
while it
removes the tick from your house - doesn't kill it. TERC recommends using
clear tape
to seal the tick to a 3-by-5-inch card and adding the date you removed it.
You can
examine the type of tick it is under the tape (the TERC website has pictures
to compare
with), and recording the date you removed it helps in case you develop
symptoms.
Personally, I like to dispose of ticks in a jar with Clorox and water.
Clorox not
only kills the tick, but it makes me feel as if I'm also destroying the
pathogens
they carry. It's probably silly, but it does make me feel better. Gail
Fisher, author
of "The Thinking Dog," runs All Dogs Gym & Inn in Manchester. To suggest a
topic,
email gail at alldogsgym.com or write c/o All Dogs Gym, 505 Sheffield Road,
Manchester,
NH 03103. Past columns are on her website. .