Avoid Dog Fleas At The Dog Park
My neighborhood has a great dog park. Every Saturday, my dog and I head to the local coffee shop and then directly to the dog park. My dog knows exactly where we are going and is on autopilot every Saturday morning. I love the dog park in the spring time. My dog relishes the new smells and exploring puddles. I let him get as dirty as he pleases and I just hose him down once we get home. We both understand that the hose is a necessary part of springtime at the dog park.
We both enjoy our weekend routine – my dog gets lots of exercise and socialization, and I enjoy my coffee and do some socialization of my own. It’s a great break for both of us. Unfortunately there are several times during the year that it seems inevitable that my dog would come home with fleas. I wouldn’t really notice at the time, but through the week I’d notice some scratching, and think ‘oh no, fleas again’.
Having fleas on my dog, and then in my house is not a very pleasant experience for either of us. My dog scratches constantly, and I spend entire weekends vacuuming, laundering to try and get rid of flea infestations, rather than enjoying our time at the dog park. So park visits were put on hold, rather than risk bringing home a new batch of fleas. After several weeks of missing the park, I decided there had to be better way. I needed to find out how to repel fleas, rather than avoid the weekend outings that my dog and I were both missing.
There was a little trepidation that came with my decision to go back to the dog park, so I decided to try and figure out some sort of natural flea repellant so we would avoid picking up fleas at the park. I talked to my dogs groomer, and she had some great suggestions. Two of the best natural flea treatments are garlic and citronella. I decided to try them both to double up on my dogs flea resistant powers.
So I began the recommended garlic treatment, adding a bit to my dogs food with every meal. As with humans, the garlic will be absorbed into the blood, which fleas seem to really dislike – since blood is their only food, if it contains garlic they hop off and find a less offensive meal option. Well, it seems to be working – no more fleas have come home with us from the park recently. As a backup I also put a cute little scarf around my dogs neck, with a few drops of citronella, which is also a natural flea repellent. My dog smells like a patio candle, but it’s better than fleas.
Since finding a good solution to keep my dog from picking up fleas in public places, going out for our weekend outings has been much more pleasurable. Not having to worry about bringing fleas home, and especially finding an all natural flea solution has been the best discovery my dog and I have made this summer.
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