fleas!!????????

Question

we currently do not have our dogs on heartworm or flea and tick treatments. we have never had any problems with fleas and ticks before. i am afraid to use frontline and the other treatments cuz i dont want the chemicals to harm my 5 year old neice or my 11 year old daughter. should i get them on treatments? is there anything NATURAL i can do?? thanx in advance

LOL!! my house is not messy.LOL oh man, that made me laugh. thanx for making me smile! :)

how long does it take frontline to absorb? i need to know cuz i dont want my little girls petting bad medicine.

Answer 1

Heartworm products are consumed internally by the dog. There will be nothing for your girls to get into. As for frontline, etc., I like them best as you put a tiny vial of the stuff between the shoulder blades, and it disappears after so many minutes. As long as you keep the dog away from the gals for the prescribed time it takes for the product to be absorbed, they will be fine. I personally don't appreciate flea/tick powders, because they do stick around for everyone and everything to come contact into.

Personally, I'd take up the preventative program in order to protect my family from coming into contact with fleas, ticks, worms, etc. They can cause disease in humans (although very, very rare).

As for natural products, try brewer's yeast tablets for fleas, do a thorough check every day for ticks, and try giving the dogs garlic once a week for worming.

Good luck.

Answer 2

All heart worm medication are given to the dog as a internal medication and can be no problem to your daughter or niece. If you live anywhere that there are mosquitoes you need the heart worm medication.
As far as Frontline, it is great. I have never had a flea on my dogs. If you live in an area that fleas are not a problem and you can control them with baths then save the money for the treatments. But fleas can make a dog miserable and cause them to get sick. Frontline can be a hazard to humans if swallowed. You would keep it out of reach of the children.
Can cause eye irritation. After use wipe the excess off the dog with a paper towel. Keep the kids away for a little while, the dog will rub off what is left in the fur. I have never had a problem and have used it on my nine year old Rat Terrier and have the grand kids around all the time. Also use it on the other two, a Beagle and a Pit Bull. I don't know what a flea looks like.

Answer 3

You can put just a small amount of vinegar (we use apple cider vinegar) in the dogs' water- a few drops is enough. It helps our dog a lot- we still check her, but she hasn't had any fleas and there has only been a few ticks in two years. It has also helped her hotspots. Heartworm treatment isn't a chemical- it's a chewable that won't hurt anybody. Frontline shouldn't hurt them, either, but if you want something natural, that should help some.

Answer 4

Putting your dogs on medication for heartworms is a must and, unfortunately, there are no "natural" preventatives. Years ago, before they had preventive medications, my Beagle got heartworms. The cure was, and still is, almost as bad as the disease. It's expensive, hard on your pet's body, and there is a possibility it will kill your pet (so can the heartworms). Heartguard is a chewable pill that you give your pet once a month. It can't harm your daughter or your niece. Many health food stores sell shampoo containing i-Liomene (not sure of spelling), a natural flea repellent, and herbal flea collars. If you opt for a non-organic pesticide such as Advantage Plus, make sure you get the medication on the dog's skin, not on it's hair. Once the product dries, it will not harm you or the children. For additional information about natural flea control, check out the link below. Dr. Pitcairn is a world renown holistic vet whose books contain a wealth of information using natural remedies for dogs and cats.

Answer 5

Frontline, is a good product and very safe. There are natural way too for fleas & ticks. I use Lavender oil mixed with distilled water, put into a spray bottle. I use it on my dogs and myself as well. When I'm training the dogs at night all the bugs stay away from us. Hope this helps. Good luck;^)

To be safe don't let the childern touch your dog for an hour or two and then it would fine...... I believe it says on the box too, how long it takes...

Answer 6

the medication should not hurt your nieces or daughters... but giving them baths with flee shampoo will help... also they have pills that you can give them, so there is no way that the kids can be harmed.. flea season is coming, so talk to your vet about getting the pills and also flea shampoo. I would definitely start them on the medication soon, because fleas are bad for the dogs and you. best of luck!

Answer 7

The frontline won't hurt your kids. Revolution is a really good product it treats all three of those

http://www.revolution4dogs.com/content.asp?country=US&lang=EN&drug=RV&species=CN&sec=000

Answer 8

use flea med.

Answer 9

well, first of all you should take them to the beach salt water kills fleas then you should buy some books at walmart about hygiene because maybe your house is nasty and needs to be cleaned, try www.merrymaids .com