dealing with fleas and ticks
anytime of the year can be a challenge when it comes to flea and tick control, but after a very mild winter i believe this year will be especially hard. fleas and ticks can be the cause of some severe health problems (anemia, lyme disease), so it is very important to check your dog and cat often for activity. some people chose to use topicals and pills to control fleas and ticks on their pets. talk to your veterinarian about potential side effects and health risks related to these chemical/drug products.

if you're like me and prefer to take a natural, chemical & drug free approach, there are many options provided by mother nature that can be safely and effectively used. using products derived from ingredients found in nature may require a bit of discipline and frequency of use on our part, but once a routine is established going this route can be very easy! and knowing that natural products are safer for us, our pets, our families and the environment, and affordable is a great reason to go natural.

first of all a healthy balanced diet (preferably free of corn, wheat, soy, chemical preservatives & dyes) loaded with good quality proteins, beneficial oils, digestive enzymes, and antioxidants can play a huge part particularly in controlling fleas. granulated garlic can be added to your pet's food creating an unpleasant taste to fleas - WARNING, never, never, never feed fresh garlic as this can be deadly, use only granulated (no salt), and remember a small bit goes a long way.

neem oil is one of my favorites, extracted from  the neem tree which grows mainly in india, southeast asia, and africa. neem has many many uses, it is an antibacterial, anti-fungal, mitecide (kills mites/spiders), and does a great job of repelling fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, and acts as an anti-inflammatory relieving itching and dermatitis with wound healing properties (helpful with relieving and healing hotspots), works well on ear mites. i keep a bottle of it handy at my front door where i spray my dogs thoroughly once a week and work into their coats, and spritz them every couple days in between. my lab, rudy, runs through a small hay field every day to see his girlfriend next door, and i have yet to pull a tick from him! my cats don't care much for being sprayed so i spray it on a paper towel and rub them down with neem.

peppermint & clove is also a great way to control fleas and ticks. mixed and used as a spray i use it around my house to freshen and kill fleas on carpets, pet beds, upholstered furniture. i keep a spray bottle out on the back porch and use it to keep mosquitoes away, and my husband keeps it on the tractor to use during mowing and hay season. spray your yard with it and it will help control flea and tick activity naturally!

tick removal
if you find a tick on your pet, spray it first with peppermint clove, it will kill the tick and quite possibly the tick will fall off (great way to remove tiny deer ticks). the trick to tick removal is that we don't want to piss off the tick as it will shoot more venom into their victim, and we absolutely want to remove the entire tick. if the tick does not fall away, then remove it using a "tick key", this is one handy dandy tool! once the tick is removed treat the wound with neem oil (killing any germs/bacteria left behind). 

i could go on and on all day long about this topic, but best thing to do is come by the shop where all of these products and more are available or visit the website www.woofville.com for more information about all the great natural products available. woof!