I live in Tahiti and unfortunately there aren't a lot of pet stores here on the islands. In fact, there aren't any pet stores here on the island. If we want anything for your pets we have to buy them from the veterinary or the pharmacy. We pay an extremely high price for our pet care needs.
One night my boyfriend came home from work with a 6 week old puppy. He was adorable and so cute. However, he was infested with fleas. I had never seen so many fleas on an animal before.
I went to the pharmacy and purchased a lice comb. Here in Tahiti they don't sell a flea comb for dogs. A lice comb works great if you buy the plastic one like I purchased. Afterwards, I stopped at the grocery store and bought a bottle of white vinegar. When I arrived at home I poured the vinegar into a bowl. I then proceeded to comb the dog with the lice comb. This trapped the fleas on the dog. Afterwards, I rinsed the comb in the bowl of vinegar. This immediately killed the fleas on the comb.
After spending an hour combing the dog and removing the fleas I made a tub of warm water and poured 2 cups of vinegar into the water. I soaked the dog in the tub of warm water for 30 minutes.
This procedure took me around a week to get rid of all the fleas on the dog. Fortunately, I have never had a flea problem again. Once I killed all the fleas with vinegar my dog has been free of fleas.
After some of the sores healed on the dog I was able to take him to the lagoon and bath him in the salt water. Here on the islands the salt water is fantastic for controlling and getting rid of fleas. However, when a dog's skin has too many sores it is not a good idea to bath him in salt water.
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Thanks for sharing! What an adorable dog!!
You are welcome. Yes he is an adorable dog. He is 3 months old in this picture.
God bless your heart for caring for this animal. Just yesterday someone told me to add a little vinegar to the dogs water and that will control fleas. I don't know if it's true but I'm gonna do a little research and find out.
Yes, this is very true. You need to add Apple Cider Vinegar to the dogs food or water. This helps so much.
Dawn soap is the best for both fleas and ticks, then I spread eucolyptus, or peppermint oil to repel anymore. If you don't have have a flea collar place the oil around a bandana lightly. Remember your dogs smell is soo sensitive. A little around goes a long way. Pine sole sprayed on your lawn will keep them @ bay also.
This is excellent advice for anyone living outside of Tahiti. I live on a small island in the South Pacific and these items are not available here for me. That was why I had to use the vinegar to kill his fleas.
I use garlic powder and sprinkle the dog with it and rub it all over the dog. Fleas hate garlic and it solves the problem.
Sprinkle salt on the carpets and vacuum well. Gets rid of the remnants.
This is another excellent idea. I don't have carpets in my home so I didn't need to use salt to kill the eggs. Where I live it is so hot that the dogs here are outside dogs. Once I had all the fleas off the puppy it was easy to keep him clean.
There is a debate about garlic and dogs. Most veterinarians put garlic on the list of foods to avoid as a toxin. However, there are some garlic advocates who insist that it is beneficial. Discuss this with your own veterinarian to make an informed decision to avoid harm to your dog.
I have heard you can use food grade diatomaceous earth in a similar way, and on the carpet as well. That might be a safer option. I get Trifexis from my vet, which is for both fleas and heartworms. It works great as long as we remember to give it to her regularly.
My vet in Tahiti says that it is not a good idea to give the dog garlic, use garlic or use garlic powder on the dog as a flea repellent. I was given an option from my vet. He offered to sell me a flea spray that ran almost 30 dollars. He also said that I could comb the fleas off and kill them myself.
Please do not give your pets Trifexis ever again! There are alternatives to preventing these pests and diseases that are much safer. Please, if you love your pet, do not use Trifexis ever again!
I'm so sorry that you have had problems with Trifexis. For us, it has been so helpful in keeping her fleas under control. Before, our dog would always get hot spots, resulting in all sorts of problems.
I did some research online and it seems that most dogs seem to tolerate it fine, but it can cause seizures in dogs that are already susceptible. It's certainly something for pet owners to consider.
Here is a Snopes article about it, written in 2014. I couldn't find a definitive medical or veterinary source for this information and it doesn't look like there have been a lot of articles written on the subject since that time.
Wash his head with baby shampoo first[and leave on]. Then wash the rest of dog with liquid dawn and rinse thoroughly . Liquid dawn will kill the fleas and the baby shampoo will around his face and ears does if left on .Leave on while washing rest of dog or fleas will jump onto his head.The baby shampoo is mild and will not hurt his eyes or ears , rinse well when done and dry.
cathy from ma
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