Train the Dog Blog

Dog lovers and owners everywhere are often faced with the issue of how to get rid of fleas! When your pet gets infested with fleas it can be an agonizing experience for both the dog and the owner and the rest of the family. We know there are side-effects of some well known dog flea products. The chemicals used in some of the nationally available household name products and may be harming our dogs and cats and potentially damaging our own health to boot. The local pet store sells a number of different flea shampoos, flea powders and flea collars including Frontline for fleas. Even though the staff are helpful and know their stuff, it is still difficult to know which product to use and almost impossible to know all of the chemical in these flea products. So for many of us the question still remains, how to get rid of fleas safely?

More often these days, pet owners are seeking natural or homeopathic alternatives to the issue of dog fleas. Some of the most commonly used natural dog flea remedies are outlined below:

1. Household salt remedy. Sprinkle it all over the house and particularly where your dog likes to snooze. Let the salt sit for a week or more. It seems that fleas don?t seem to like salt. Your dog will lie down on the carpet and the salt will also get on to his fur. A few days later and presto the fleas are gone.

2. Talcum powder to get rid of fleas. Cover your dog with baby powder or talcum powder. The powder will smother the fleas and kill them. This all-natural flea remedy is often recommended for puppies who are too young to be exposed to any flea chemical. You can also use baking soda.

3. Olive oil remedy. For the fleas on adult dogs, you could try an olive oil bath. Start from the dogs head and work your way back so the fleas don’t move to the face where it’s really tough to pluck them off. Evidence suggests that the fleas just drown in it and fall out. Then just shampoo the dog fleas down the drain.

4. Some people think garlic is the best all-natural dog fleas remedy. Use freshly diced garlic. You can put a dab of oil into it in order to make it smoother plus the oil will make for a nice shiny coat. Some people use a garlic pill supplement while others use freshly chopped garlic and mix it into the food. The fleas don?t like the scent emitted by the dog after ingesting garlic.

It would appear that there are many natural alternatives to treating dog fleas. These treatments will likely work best at the point of initial infestation. For a really bad cases of fleas you might need to try a stronger dog flea remedy such as Frontline. In figuring out how to get rid of fleas its best to do your research. However, with all matters pertaining to the health of our dogs and cats, please check with your doctor about potential side effects.

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.