Keep Your Dog Healthy

A holistic voice on prevention of fleas says that healthy dogs attract less fleas. So the first step of prevention involves feeding an unprocessed, species appropriate diet that is rich in vitamins, minerals and omega 3s to make your furry friend less tasty to fleas! 

The next thing to consider is how toxic your environment really is and what your animals are exposed to on a daily basis. Avoid using chemicals; including pesticides, fertilizers, cheap shampoos and toxic home cleaning products because they disrupt the endocrine system and suppress the immune system. 

You can make your own non-toxic home cleaning products using a few ingredients and high quality essential oils.

Nature’s Pest Repellent

One of the most important roles that essential oils play within the plant is as a protector from threats such as parasites and other environmental factors. The wonderful thing about using 100% pure essential oils is that the oil that is extracted is not only very safe but also very potent and those protective properties from the plant can be transferred to our bodies. When it comes to pest control and prevention, essential oils can come to the rescue to repel fleas, flies, ticks and mosquitoes from your whole family without the use of harmful chemicals. 

My first choice is the outdoor blend which offers protection from pests with the pure power of essential oils such as lemon eucalyptus, cedarwood, nootka, arborvitae, ylang ylang, litsea, catnip and vanilla absolute. The ingredients work synergistically to repel insects, promote a healthy immune response, support the cardiovascular, respiratory and nervous systems as well as have a calming effect on emotions. 

For prevention of seasonal pests apply the outdoor blend each time you go outside and reapply every 8-12 hours as needed. To pump up the repelling power of your mixture you could consider adding Citronella, Peppermint, Turmeric or Geranium. This is a simple, safe and effective way to protect your whole family from bugs and their bites! 

Treating an Infestation

It happens. If you end up with an infestation, don’t beat yourself up over it, just know that you are going to need to take a multilayered approach to rid your home of those little pests. 

 With fleas you have to treat ALL of your animals (if you have any other dogs or cats) AND the environment. You’ll need to be vigilant about vacuuming daily, flea combing daily as well as washing bedding multiple times a week. It’s a lot of work, but you’ll get through it! 

 Start by treating your home environment:

 Diffuse Black Pepper, Oregano, and Peppermint on the highest, longest setting your diffuser will allow (be sure pets aren’t in the home when you do this, it can be irritating to the respiratory tract.). Let this go for several hours and then return home, open up the windows and vacuum all of the floors in every room and all the furniture. Once you are done make sure you dispose of the vacuum bag or contents in an outside garbage container immediately. 

 Next wash all of the bedding, pet bedding, blankets, rain coats and collars on the hottest setting with the protective blend laundry detergent. You will need to repeat this weekly until the infestation is under control. 

 While the laundry is in, now you can bathe your pets (all of them) using the protective blend hand wash with the addition of cedarwood and peppermint essential oils (omit peppermint for cats). Then use a flea comb to remove as many of the fleas and their debris as possible. 

The last thing I want to mention is to never underestimate the power of diatomaceous earth (DE). You can make a shaker with food grade DE by combining 2 cups DE and 20 drops of the outdoor blend. You can use this to dust your pets, your bedding, their bedding, as a carpet dust, use in the yard and on hard floors, etc. DE takes about 48 hours after the fleas ingest it to take effect and kill them, but it works! It is very dehydrating so make sure your pets have access to filtered water. DE is also a great preventative option! 

 If you would like to learn more about essential oils and how they can benefit your health, wellness and home, please contact me for more information.

Niki Perry, Holistic Animal Behaviour Consultant

connect@nikiperry.ca

www.nikiperry.ca