P4H Personal Plea Pertaining to Pets, Pesky Parasites & Prevention
•Part 1: Consciousness •Part 2: Fleas •Part 3: Heartworms
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Conventional methods for controlling parasites involve poisoning your pets monthly. Does this sound smart to you?
We seem to be living in a society of brainwashed humans who no longer think for themselves. Let’s face it, when someone can pick up a bottle of malathion poison, read on one part of the label “Pet Usage Instructions” and on another part of the bottle “Warning: Hazardous to Humans - use gloves....” and still continue with the instructions for mixing a “dip” for killing fleas on their pets, we’ve got to stop and consider, “what happened to common sense?”
Some people believe there is no such thing as common sense. Well, I believe there is such a thing. We were, after all, taught to “think before we act” in grade school or earlier! Remember the bottles with the skull and crossbones we were told, “that’s poison ! Don’t touch it!” The problems now are that all the commercial advertising and the belief that ‘someone else’ is looking out for us and our pets has lead us away from using our own ‘common sense.’ In effect, advertising has us all brainwashed to believe that if a product is available on the market, it must surely be ‘safe.’ What’s more, we believe without question; without a thought to request safety information regarding synthetic, chemical & poison products. Information is available if we ask or search the internet, on product safety & trials, such as numbers of pets that died during trials on the product, or had side effects such as severe vomiting, loss of appetite, inability to breath, and more. I don’t know about you, but ONE person or person’s pet dying from any product is enough for me to expect that the product should never pass safety tests and make it to a consumers market. But it happens!
We here at P4H try our best to promote natural, preventive health care in every aspect of our lives. Over a period of time it becomes a new kind of consciousness; an awareness; an inquisitive nature. We start to actually think for ourselves again! ::Gasp:: Just imagine. Holistic beliefs make us stop and question, "is there a natural alternative to this recommended drug -or- poison -or- product?"... "Must I poison my pet to manage this issue?" To start yourself on the road to a healthier, more natural awareness for your pets, remind yourself: “We’re animals, too! If it’s not safe for us, it’s not safe for our pets.” That would be a fantastic first step. Strengthen your resolve to be kinder to yourselves *and* your pets by making more natural choices. Now with this new consciousness and holistic frame of mind, let’s talk about parasites.
We’ve had pets all our lives. Once upon a time, I used to be one of those brainwashed idiots who believed dog dips were “a-o-k” for use on pets even though they weren’t safe touching human skin. I used toxic flea dips regularly on our dogs in those early years - fleas were a constant battle. I am regretful every day for those years when I had temporarily stopped thinking for myself, and repeatedly poisoned my [past] dogs via their skin. Needless to say, they had loads of health issues, skin problems.
What do I use now to prevent & control fleas, you ask? I’ll be happy to tell you. Hold onto your seat because if you only just read part 1 of this article and have not had a holistic notion in your head prior, this insight is going to really 'bake your noodle.' [I couldn’t resist using part of that movie quote by the character “the Oracle” in the movie “Matrix.”] :D And I really didn’t mean to be punny at all ~ in fact, there’s no baking involved. Hmm, not that there couldn’t be, but, there’s not. I feed my pets raw, natural diets. What’s that mean - a raw diet for pets? Well, I’m going to save myself a lot of explaining in this article by telling you to read up on raw diet information on our Nutrition page. :)
What on earth does a raw diet have to do with flea control? Well, it has everything to do with flea control. Your pets overall health is the number one reason it will either have flea problems, or will not. Since “we are what we eat,” and we should be eating what nature intended for us to eat in order for our bodies to be healthy, it does stand to reason that billions of pets, being fed cooked commercial pet foods which consist mostly of species inappropriate grains, are riddles with fleas & other health problems. Had I not tried the raw diet on our pets first-hand and experienced the wonder of it, I would still be skeptical. However, it does work. There is no way that our 3 large dogs and 1 large cat, all on raw diets, remain flea free year after year. There’s no way our furkids are flea free all this time when right next door the neighbor regularly took her dog to the groomer for flea dips; had her husband put poison on the lawn monthly; and still the poor little dog was miserable with fleas. Fleas did not line up at the property line between our homes and say, “Okay let’s not bother going into the yard next door where there’s no poison - let’s just stay over here where they spray lots of poison and have that one little dog that we all love to bite.”
I’m 100% certain there are fleas outside in our yard, even now. They just do not bother our pets because our pets are not “attractive” to them. We keep our pets as healthy as possible using raw diets, natural prevention, supplements, boost their immune systems occasionally with some herbs, & extra vitamins. The fleas leave them alone to go and find other more attractive hosts on which to hop a ride and feast on the blood of less healthy victims. Isn’t nature a wonder to behold?
Your first step toward ridding yourself of your pet's flea problems once and for all should be to improve your pets diet, thereby improving his health. Switch to more species appropriate meals. If raw is impossible for you to manage feeding your pets, read the alternate options for improved diet, to better the health of your critter companions.
Let’s talk about some other items you may need, in case you’re dealing with flea infestation and the subsequent discomforts. Switching to a raw diet and working toward making your pets healthy and unattractive to fleas doesn’t happen overnight.
Flea and Bug Bites, homeopathic remedy
If your dog is suffering from flea bite sores, itchy skin and fur loss as allergic reaction to the flea saliva, please consider this Flea & Bug bites remedy to bring them some relief. Use along with homeopathic Pet detoxifier for best results.Pets and flea removal
Please don’t use shampoos containing flea poisons, nor top-spot style poisons you apply to their skin. Just buy a natural, gentle pet shampoo, oatmeal shampoo, herbal shampoo, or gentle bar soaps like lavender, coconut oil, etc. which you can buy at your local health food stores or on the internet. Bathe your dog as needed to bring him comfort, and kill fleas. The shampoo or soap lather, when left on for 3 to 5 minutes before rinsing, drowns fleas. The pet shampoos containing poison "for flea problems" is not necessary, is not natural or holistic minded; it may tax your pets liver as it has to detoxify chemicals and poisons entered through the skin. Save your pets immune system from ‘struggling’ to clear toxins from the skin & body by not using any types of poisons for pest control. Bathe your dogs often during a battle with flea infestation and while you are changing to a healtheir diet, as long as baths do not overly stress him, or cause irritation to your dogs skin.Natural Herbal Dip, Spray, or Powder
Neem Aura natural spray and Halo’s Cloud 9 Herbal dip concentrate mixed into a spray bottle dilution, are wonderful herbal repellent sprays you can mist on the dogs prior to going outside. Neem Aura spray has a moisturizing complex which seems to help condition the coat. You can spritz the sprays occasionally indoors too, and on yourself, to repel fleas while you are working on knocking down the fleas in the carpet, bedding and furniture. Some people put the herbal sprays onto a bandana and wrap it around the dogs necks like a natural flea repelling ‘collar.’ These sprays are also excellent for repelling mosquitos morning and evening during mosquito season. Another alternative is to look for a natural flea repelling powder such as "pyrethrum" delivered as the crushed flowers. The powder can also be mixed with your boric acid for carpet treatment (discussed below), or applied to the carpet after you vacuum up the boric acid. Here is a link to one such product I just google searched and found while writing this article: http://www.biconet.com/pets/pyrethrumPowder.htmlFido Nutrients K9 Liquid Health
Fido Nutrients is an excellent source of multi-nutritional ingredients. In liquid form, it enters your pets system much faster than capsules, pellets and tablets that have to dissolve, and may not dissolve completely in your dogs system, may not release the full potential of their nutrients. Use this product to help boost your pets health while making your dietary changes to a healthier, species appropriate diet, and make them less attractive to fleas. It also contains a black walnut and wormwood blend, so may be useful in the prevention of parasites, including heartworm microfilaria.Carpet Treatment: Boric Acid Powder (aka Roach Powder or Flea Powder)
Notes: Do Not use this directly on your pets. Remove your pets from rooms being treated until you’ve vacuumed and swept up the powder. Remove food bowls from areas being treated. Do not use on or near counters and food surfaces. Follow product label warnings and directions.
Boric acid powder comes in a variety of brand names but the bottom line is that it is a crystalized powder and ‘cuts up’ the external ‘skeleton’ [exoskeleton] of fleas and roaches, enters their systems, causing them to die by dehydration as well as poisoning them.If you have pets that cannot be removed from your house, you’ll have to remove them to another room of the house for a couple hours while you treat various other rooms. Don’t forget about birds and fish and other critters. Any dust that may somehow get circulated into the air may poison aquarium and caged pets foods and water. Safely remove them to another room or an outdoor location.
When we first bought this house and were temporarily a no pet home, this house was horribly infested with fleas from the previous owner’s dog. Little did I know just how bad it was until we moved in and started seeing them jump all over us when we’d sit on the sofa in the evenings. The way I used boric acid powder aka “roach powder” was to sprinkle it on fabric sofas and carpeting; using a broom to very lightly drag the bristles "rake style" lightly touching the surface of carpet fibers and making the powder sink into the rug. I waited at least 2 hours for the living fleas to be exposed, and then vacuum thoroughly. Get rid of the vacuum bag immediately ! Empty it into the trash can in the garage. Wash or treat your pet bedding and your own bedding. If you have a hamper or laundry pile (!) Get that laundry washed because it’s just more room for the fleas to bed down and lay eggs. Anyplace the pets go, fleas go! And fleas wander off too, so treat right up to the edge of floor-boards. The powder could be used on bare hallway floors and tile floors too, but it’s in the fabric areas the fleas are more likely to be located - hatching eggs and all. For best results, dust-mop and wet mop bare floors often to keep them clean and free of eggs.
Because of the hatching eggs and numerous life cycles / stages of flea life present, it may be necessary to treat every few days at first; and at least once a week for up to a month to knockdown all the flea infestation. After 3 weeks use I had a good knockdown result in the total infestation of this house. We were reduced to seeing “a” single flea once in awhile after 3 or 4 weeks. I followed the first 3 to 4 weeks by treating every 10 days to 2 weeks with another treatment until I saw NO more fleas. In all I believe it took 2 months +/- to be happy I’d killed them all. We still waited a full six months before bringing pets into our ‘new’ and flea free home.
I have read that IF you have a situation (friend; family; boarding kennel can take your pets out of your home for you and keep them for awhile) where you can treat your carpet and furniture with boric acid and leave it down for an entire week before you vacuum it up, you may not have to treat beyond that week. It is more likely that 2 weeks would be necessary to knockdown the cycle of the hatching flea eggs. I didn’t attempt lengthy / days of application because we wanted to be able to sit on our furniture. I did leave it in the carpet sometimes all afternoon before vacuuming, when we had to treat the infested house.
Carpet Treatment: Salt Alternative
Lita has brought to my attention that she has heard some people mention they use plain old salt in place of the boric acid, to treat carpet and bedding. Sounds to me like this could work! I'd love to hear any testimonials on this if you have tried it yourself personally. I would suggest it could be optimal to put a half cup of salt in your blender and blend it to 'powder' the salt crystals to a finer consistency like the boric acid. This will help make them small enough to get between those tiny little flea legs and help cut them up; enter their system and dry them out.Yard Care
Nematodes! Search the net for sources of nematodes; ask your local gardening and pet supply stores if they carry nematodes for flea control in your yard. Here’s one link which quotes the type of nematode best used for flea control:http://www.rinconvitova.com/nematode bulletins.htm
“Steinernema carpocapse" "S. carpo" are most effective against flea larvae and caterpillars in lawns, garden soil and under trees where larvae pupate.” ....
I’ve also found and used a non-toxic herbal yard spray from a local department store. It hooked right onto the hose and diluted in the right amount as it sprayed. That was a few years ago and I have only looked for it once since then and was unable to find it. I don’t know what the name of it was! But sure hope someone can find it when they need it because it’s nice to know that an attempt was made to bring out a natural flea and insect killing or repelling product that was safe to use around kids and pets. If I recall correctly, it had a few ingredients like mint, oregano and a couple other natural products.I don’t recommend using diatomaceous earth on your lawn. Some people recommend using it indoors, as you would the boric acid, and that’s fine because it gets vacuumed from the carpet. Many people do recommend it for lawns, and say it is safe. My thought is that because it is also an abrasive like boric acid, it is very risky to our pets lungs, when they go outdoors sniffing around. Can you teach a dog not to sniff? Would you want to? It’s what they DO, man! Inhaling the diatomaceous powder once it dries up out in the lawn may be a threat to the dogs, and a risk I would not personally take. At least in the house, you can vacuum up most of the boric acid [or diatomaceous earth] and make inhalation damage unlikely. You can’t ‘vacuum’ your lawn. What's more, diatomaceous earth may harm the 'good' insects in the lawn. :(
For your lawn, I recommend you exhaust your efforts first to find Nematodes or another natural pest control product. Here’s a new link I just found, to an all natural pyrethrum product made of crushed flowers and sold in bulk for lawns. It may be worth your time to search for more products like this one: http://www.biconet.com/botanicals/Ecozone.html
And before moving on to part 3 “Heartworms, “ here is an additional link which has more natural pest control suggestions:
http://eartheasy.com/live_natpest_control.htmPlants that Repel
Buy some common plants for outdoors that will repel insects. Plant them around the perimeter of your property, next to sidewalks, doorways. When they dry up at the end of the season, consider chopping or powdering them to sprinkle in the yard and extend their usefulness. Some plants to consider planting for the purpose of repelling insects: Marigold flowers, Mint, Peppermint, Catnip, Basil, Pennyroyal, Lemon Balm, Rosemary, Pyrethrum flowers. If your pets like to chew on plants in your garden and flower beds, research first which ones may be dangerous for them. Here are a couple links I just found which may help with research on toxicity: Pets, general: http://www.sniksnak.com/plants.html, and Cats: http://www.cfainc.org/articles/plants-non-toxic.html
I think I’ll assume for the moment that if you’re reading this, you are probably new to the whole concept of holistic health. You’re wondering why some people are telling you not to poison your pets once a month with heartworm prevention drugs, despite your conventional vet telling you it is safe to do so, when heartworm infection (HW) is “such a big threat” to your pets health. So I’m going to share some information, including links to holistic vets articles and maybe some veterinary book recommendations, and hopefully you’ll come to do what is best for your pets health, rather than what’s best for a drug company’s bank account.
I had a Holistic vet once explain the life cycle of HW to me, and convince me how unlikely it was for my dog to get heartworm infection. He was trying to help me not to worry about stopping my dog’s HW meds. My dog at that time was terribly sick from vaccinosis, and even the small amount of poison in her HW medication was causing her to become more ill after ingesting it. I was quite relieved to have someone walk me through an explanation about heartworms, and make me feel better about my decision to stop poisoning my pets. This was my first experience with a holistic veterinarian and I highly recommend locating and visiting a holistic vet if there is a truly *holistic* vet clinic near enough to you. Their education exceeds that of conventional vets, because after receiving the same conventional training to become a veterinarian, they further seek an education in the study of nutrition and natural preventive health care. This goes beyond what your conventional vet is taught in college, and a well educated holistic vet may prove to be worth his weight in gold. That said, Lita has proven to be worth her weight in gold for her homeopathic consultation & remedies, and other assistance with regard to the well being of my furkids as well. :) Oh, were we talking about heartworms?
Heartworms have 5 stages of development. To reach the 3rd stage where your dog would be at risk of receiving heartworm microfilaria capable of growing into adults, these things would first have to occur:
•A dog or animal already infected with adult heartworms would need to live within close proximity to where you live.
• The mosquito would have to bite said infected dog or animal, located in close proximity to you and infested with adult heartworm, in order to be able to extract the early stage microfilaria produced by the adults.
•The temperature must remain steadily above 64 degrees (this temperature approximate; varied info from vets and other informational websites), night and day, in order for the microfilaria to develop through stages 2 and 3. As high as 80 degrees consistently day and night may produce faster growth to stage 3 larva, in as little as 14 days.
•Then, that mosquito having fed from the infected animal and successfully *survived at a steadily warm temperature, would have to travel back to your yard and bite your dog. *[so many people use lawn and fogger poisons these days; and most counties with mosquito problems fog areas at night with poisons when 'mosquito season' begins - effectively knocking down large numbers of mosquitos]
Biting your dog to feed is not how mosquitos infect your dog with HW microfilaria. The saliva of the flea is left outside the wound bite, and the microfilaria must migrate into the bite wound in order for the microfilaria to enter the skin. This is assuming that you do not live in a hot and ‘dry’ climate, and assuming the saliva does not evaporate before they can enter the bite wound. You’ll notice it is both cold climate and dry climate areas which have very few instances of HW positive dogs.
After a dog is infected with stage 3 larva, it takes approximately 2 weeks to develop, in the skin, to stage 4. Stage 4 larva will take another 3 to 4 months to develop into stage 5, the young adult. The young adult migrates into the bloodstream from the skin and further migrates to the heart and arteries. If both male and female are present, they will mate and produce microfilaria, approximately 5 to 8 months from the time your dog was infected through a mosquito bite.
Fascinating, isn’t it? You could test your dog for HW every six months and avoid using toxic drugs monthly. You can use nosode and herbal preventive measures throughout that time and feel confident that you're doing something better for their health. Even if after six months time your dog tests positive for microfilaria, you can safely treat those young microfilaria with gentle, natural methods. Even if you test only yearly and come to find that somehow your dog became adult HW positive, there is a safer, natural method of treatment than the dreaded arsenic poison which conventional treatment uses and which is very dangerous to your dog’s health. For best protection, and peace of mind, you would choose to use one or more method of natural prevention throughout the warm months of the year, rather than use nothing at all.
A common recommendation for prevention of parasites including heartworm microfilaria, in a healthy dog, is black walnut tincture or capsules. Follow holistic veterinary advice on dosing instructions. Don’t use this on a sick animal unless consulting with a holistic veterinarian, as a pet with liver issues or any animal not in healthy condition may find it taxing on the liver with repeated use. I do recommend Dr. Goldstein’s book, “The Nature of Animal Healing.” Here is an article by him, in which he states, “As a precaution, I recommend that all dogs be tested twice a year for heartworm. For clients who insist on a more active form of prevention, I suggest doses of black walnut given two to three times a week, as I've actually reversed clinical heartworm with it.”
http://www.preciouspets.org/newsletters/articles/heartworm-article.htmSome holistic vets and some homeopathic practitioners are now offering the HW nosode as a preventive measure, as they have found good results in practice of using the heartworm nosode. In addition to, or instead of HW nosode for prevention, there are homeopathic worming formulas, and herbal worming formulas, and even individual herbal products which will help kill HW microfilaria, as well as other parasites often residing in our furry friends intestines. Links will be provided below for further reading on these types of products.
My own furkids, 3 dogs and 1 cat, remain HW free and I confess my preventive methods may even be considered somewhat lax by some, in a hot and humid climate where mosquitos are abundant. They do receive HW nosode prevention; a raw diet; health supplements; immune boosting supplements; herbal products; and homeopathic Paralixer. Below are some tips for better management and prevention of mosquitos and parasite problems.
•Empty any items around your home, containing standing water. If you have empty property lots or forest area around you, look for vessels someone may have dumped as trash, such as foam cups, soda cans, and remove them to your trash can for disposal. Turn buckets, planting pots and other items to a position where they cannot collect water. Fill holes in tree stumps with dirt so they cannot hold standing water. This is all breeding territory for mosquitos.
•Use natural yard care products for repelling, and natural pesticides, rather than chemical poisons. I’ve yet to find it locally but the buzz is on the internet about a garlic spray product used for mosquito control. I’d like to try this out myself but as yet have not ordered it. Here is a link I just found to a garlic spray product. I suspect there are more brands available if you do a google.com search for word such as: garlic spray mosquito control
http://www.garlicbarrier.com/•Use a spray-on product such as Neem Aura herbal spray or other herbal dip mix concentrate such as Halo Cloud 9 Herbal dip mix to dilute in a spray bottle, and lightly mist onto your pets legs and bodies. These work great on repelling mosquitos from us humans, as well. ;) Avoid spraying in eyes, nose or mouth. Use a spray especially when letting dogs outdoors in the morning and early evening hours, during months of warm weather, when mosquitos are most active. If you work or train your dog, carry a bottle of spray with you so you can mist them again during workouts. Sometimes training occurs in large fields where weeds and grass are continually brushing their legs, it may be raining, you may be tromping through swamps in SAR training, and these activities may be weakening the product and its effectiveness in repelling mosquitos and fleas. The Neem Aura spray bottle is small and portable, thus is great for field work and training sessions; while the Halo dip when mixed as a dilution in a larger spray bottle is great for kennels, multiple pet households where a whole "pack" of dogs has to be spray-misted quickly before going outdoors.
•Consider using Paralixer homeopathic remedy to help expel parasites and for relief of symptoms of parasites.
•Consider using Fido Nutrients, as mentioned above in Part 2: Fleas, as it contains a black walnut and wormwood blend which may be useful in the prevention of heartworm microfilaria & other parasites; worms.
I hope I’ve given you enough suggestions and information, including the following links to products and veterinary web sites, to make an informed decision on whether or not you should be poisoning your pets with drugs. We all strive for good health and long lives, and improving on the quality of care we provide our families and furry companions. Choosing to feed a better diet, choosing safer, natural prevention and treatment methods are a step in the right direction for achieving these goals.
Wishing you all peace in abundance & naturally vibrant health.
Warm regards,
L. Gordon, for Pets4Homeopathy.comHomeopathic Consultations: Lita Radford, D.A.Hom
During your consultations with Lita, inquire about
sources for the HW preventive nosodeDr. Wessner DVM -Treatment for HW positive dogs
http://www.nbwi.org/holisticheartworm.htmlDr. Levy DVM - Article on HW
http://www.homeovet.net/content/lifestyle/section4.htmlHerbal Parasite product
http://www.nativeremedies.com/petalive/parasite-dr-internal-parasites-pet.htmlHerbal Pet Parasite Program by Dr. Clark
http://www.drclark.net/info/pet_pp.htmGoogle search results for herbal parasite products:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=parasite+prevention+herbal+heartwormProducts mentioned in this Article:
Neem Aura Spray to help keep fleas and mosquitos at bay.
Fido Nutrients liquid health supplement for faster nutritional delivery into the system. May also be useful, with it's wormwood and black walnut blend, for parasite prevention.
Flea & Bug Bites for relief of symptoms and discomfort caused by fleas.
Paralixer for relief of symptoms of parasites.
Pet Detoxifier is especially helpful when used with other remedies and during dietary changes.
Halo Pets Cloud 9 Herbal Dip Concentrate
Ecozone Pyrethrum Flower Powder, bulk for lawn, shrubs
Pyrethrum Flower Powder for cats and dogs© This article is Copyright material. Please do not copy, duplicate, or post this article elsewhere without permission. You are more than welcome to post a hyperlink to this pets4homeopath.com/parasites.html web page in order to share this article.
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