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I tried to beat these brown dog ticks using a holistic approach but I am giving up. I'm done and my GSD is going to get one drop poison applied monthly.
I was so happy to have found the Wondercide cedar spray that really does kill on contact! Unfortunately, it's not near effective enough as a deterrent in my case. Maybe if Traveler's skin was more tolerant of the cedar oil I would have better luck but just misting him isn't enough to keep the ticks from biting.
I used a whole host of essential oils in various combinations which worked really well for skeeter deterrent for both the dog and myself but didn't make a dent in the number of ticks feeding on the poor dog.
I slathered him with Neem oil and that just made for a stinky dog but apparently the ticks thought it was Channel #5 because they just kept coming.
I dusted DE on him and my yard to the point my neighbors were coming over asking if the white dust flying into their yard was safe for their pets and kids. All that got me was a dog who's skin dried out and he nibbled to the point of getting hot spots that, thanks to GaterByte, was rectified thru the use of Coconut oil and some Tea Tree EO. The fact is, I take my dog everywhere so DE and nematodes in the yard was probably just a desperate act since he only spends 10% of his time in his own backyard.
So, I tried. I'm done. I'm exhausted. I'm feeling so guilty for trying and using him as a guinea pig and now I'm going to feel guilty for using Frontline on my tick bitten dog. I know it's not 100% and that why I was willing to try anything and everything else. He was on K9 Advantix II when I found our first tick.
Maybe it's better for Traveler to have a fewer ticks and some relief (but 2 days of feeling crappy after I apply it) rather than dozens of ticks that "could" make him sick or worse.
Sigh, thanks for listening to me rant.
L.
I was so happy to have found the Wondercide cedar spray that really does kill on contact! Unfortunately, it's not near effective enough as a deterrent in my case. Maybe if Traveler's skin was more tolerant of the cedar oil I would have better luck but just misting him isn't enough to keep the ticks from biting.
I used a whole host of essential oils in various combinations which worked really well for skeeter deterrent for both the dog and myself but didn't make a dent in the number of ticks feeding on the poor dog.
I slathered him with Neem oil and that just made for a stinky dog but apparently the ticks thought it was Channel #5 because they just kept coming.
I dusted DE on him and my yard to the point my neighbors were coming over asking if the white dust flying into their yard was safe for their pets and kids. All that got me was a dog who's skin dried out and he nibbled to the point of getting hot spots that, thanks to GaterByte, was rectified thru the use of Coconut oil and some Tea Tree EO. The fact is, I take my dog everywhere so DE and nematodes in the yard was probably just a desperate act since he only spends 10% of his time in his own backyard.
So, I tried. I'm done. I'm exhausted. I'm feeling so guilty for trying and using him as a guinea pig and now I'm going to feel guilty for using Frontline on my tick bitten dog. I know it's not 100% and that why I was willing to try anything and everything else. He was on K9 Advantix II when I found our first tick.
Maybe it's better for Traveler to have a fewer ticks and some relief (but 2 days of feeling crappy after I apply it) rather than dozens of ticks that "could" make him sick or worse.
Sigh, thanks for listening to me rant.
L.