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Mon 3 Jul, 2017 04:05 am
"If it's not one thing, it's something else...!"
~ Rosanne Rosannadanna
It's been a while since I posted about the dog/s.
Musashi still sits and sleeps by Hatha's recuperation pen unless he's eating or drinking. He usually just stares into it, expecting she will just turn up one day. I haven't taken the pen down yet, but will have to this weekend.
He even sleeps facing the pen. He gathers her toys into a pile in front of the pen where the gate is, and sits, and waits...
On Saturday (a few days ago) we took Musashi downstairs and put him leashed on the back wood deck, to watch the daytime karate class and get a lot of attention from the kids. He also loves chewing up the apple mint, which doesn't seem to harm him at all.
Today when I came home, the house was full of tiny ticks...! Of course, Sumako gives Musashi a bath every time he comes in from outside, and we thought we had the tick and flea problem under control. But this time he was covered, and the little buggers were crawling everywhere. Yikes!
We spent the last 1.5 hours pulling small ticks off him and dropping them into detergent.
And so I am asking the dog-knowledgeable folks out there for a little natural help. What simple household treatment will kill ticks outright? We take them off Musashi and drop them into a glass with dish detergent to kill the ones we catch (off him, on the floor, crawling up the walls, etc.) but where you find one tick, there are many, many more.
So -- I heard once that a vinegar bath (just slopping a cloth soaked in white or apple vinegar) kills the ones present on him, is this so? And is this safe for his skin? I figure after a soaking and letting him stand wet for about 10 minutes, we should give him a regular bath.
I think the vinegar is supposed to get into the ticks' air sacks to kill them off with the 5% acidity. Or not...?
Or is there some other remedy like an easily-available oil (that won't make the floor slippery like ice), or a shampoo plus something added that we would have in the house, etc.?
Reason I ask about household remedies is that the store-bought ones usually prove to be worthless and expensive. It's a gamble we can't take. We have LOTS of cats too, and we don't want a huge infestation, so we need to get this taken care of pronto...
Help, time is "ticking" away...
@Seizan,
Vinegar will probably be fine but don't get it in your dog's eyes.
PetMD offers a few ideas (which are apparently also for fleas):
http://www.petmd.com/dog/wellness/evr_multi_flea_control
@Seizan,
FWIW, I've read that adding de-bittered brewer's yeast to the food (thinking it blends well with wet food) is a good natural remedy to ward off fleas. I've not tried it but plan on it. I'm deep in the countryside near Woodstock, NY - upstate with woods and lakes everywhere.
"A tip for keeping fleas away from your cats and dogs. Simply put a teaspoon of powdered brewer's yeast into their food. You can also dissolve 1/4 cup brewer's yeast into 1 quart of water. Place in spray bottle and spray pet, combing into fur as you do."
I personally have used Advantix 2 for dogs. It does get rid of fleas and ticks and my dog tolerates it well. It is not an ideal solution for me, however, as it is expensive and it is not how I'd like to go. I'm switching over to brewer's yeast and will add it to her diet and I'll spray her with it in the recommended dilution and brush her nightly.
@Seizan,
on the pen.. can you set it up somewhere else? his connection to it is very touching. Of course, just taking it away may be the smart decision, I dunno.
@Seizan,
I noticed this question was a query about ticks whereas my answer was about fleas. It does also apply and is effective against ticks too.
Be aware that ACTIVE BREWER'S YEAST IS THE WAY TO GO...NOT DE-ACTIVATED BREWER'S YEAST.
I just now read that important caveat.
@Seizan,
Get K9 Advantix from the vet. It works better than Frontline.
@ossobucotemp,
Hi! Good to hear from you.
The pen has to come down. It just folds and slides away behind things, etc. It's been empty since Hatha left us. Just a sort of big blank space on the floor surrounded by metal fencing. Sumako and I are just so used to seeing it there, but it has to be stored. We may need it again.
@Ragman,
Thanks! Active brewer's yeast it is. Sumako does lots of bread-baking so we always have that around. We'll try it!
I'll let you know the results.
@seac,
I'm not sure if Advantix is available on Okinawa, but I'm willing to bet that if it is, it's going to be really expensive... If worse comes to worse, we'll try it after trying a few other ways.
Frontline is available but it's about $18 per vial for a large bulldog (about 40kg heavy). Another reason I'm looking for an effective and simple home remedy is that we also have about 25 cats to care for. We want to give all our pets the best possible chance at a long and healthy life, but it gets expensive.
Frontline for cats is about $10 per vial. If we had a flea or tick infestation, imagine the cost of treating every cat. Plus the regular cost of kidney formula and urinary tract formula foods we have to give them all (most of them are older cats now, 10+ and 15+). There go our paychecks...
But if home solutions prove ineffective, we might have to spring for a vet-supplied solution, at least for the one dog.
@Ragman,
Ah, by the way... We'll have to ask the vet about adding brewer's yeast to Musashi's food. He has a skin problem and has bladder stones. We solved the skin itching and flaking problem with diet; we used to feed him strictly rice and lamb dry food, but it caused bladder stones. So now we feed him strictly Ph-balanced food recommended by the vet -- and he has dry and flaking skin. We'll have to ask whether adding yeast to his food will have any negative affect...
To solve the skin problem, we give him a bath every other day with dog shampoo that moisturizes his skin -- and he has ticks. We can't really apply medication to his skin unless it's really neutral and non-irritating, so we need another way to go. Spraying a yeast solution might help as long as it doesn't cause any sort of further irritation.
"It's always something...!"
~ Rosanne Rosannadanna
@Seizan,
always make sure that a good housecleaning is part of the regimen. We hd a major infestation of fleas a number of years ago when I brought home a little bombay cat we pulled out of an elevator basement of a building we were going to implode. The little guy was feral at the time but probably only 6 weeks old. I brought him home and we washed him up and yet fleas stubbornly hung on and thrived in our old house. It took a huge bill for a "Deterger Enterprise Outfit" qnd keeping the cat at New Bolton Center's isolation for a week to delouse it. We didnt bring any pets back into the house until it was free of evil spirits and fleas.
It took two of these delousing the house episodes. It was a real problem to get the place clean and critter-free.
It took two separate episodes of Cyanogen fogging (we went away for a week the first time and lived in our RV for the second one.)
Delousing the animal and its environment go hand in hand.
G'luck
@Seizan,
There is nothing in brewers yeast that will cause skin problems that I know of.
If you want an holistic non-phartma approach go with the yeast. However, I have used K9 Advantix II and it worked wonders wit zero ill-effects. (your mileage may vary). I used it on both for when I had cats (kitty version) and now that I have dogs.
@Ragman,
Dogs with an s? Jelly Bean has a playmate now?
Not to disrupt this thread, but I don't think Seizan or Sumako will mind the question.
Seizan, I'm sympathetic re the tick business and worried. I don't remember which Advantix I used once for my loved shelter corgi, Pacco (means package in italian), but it did stop his flea problem... in case it is available there.
How I miss him, as well as my other dogs of the past.
As long as I'm typing away in a sentimental mood, I'll add that the avatar for my old username, ossobuco, is a photo of Pacco and Sally. Sally, dog of Albuquerque extraordinaire. Two posters who became mates, Dys and Diane, adopted Sally. Dys (Bob Wells) died in 2011. Sally is still here with Diane, and me as a sidekick. Sally, totally wonderful dog.
@ossobucotemp,
Adds, Roger (of a2k) knows Sally too, plus he knew Pacco. Roger was the one who managed to arrange to have me take care of his sister's dog, Katy. Sigh, good memories.
@ossobucotemp,
I'm a bit confused. JellyBean is an only-child. As for my pet family past and present: my 2 cats passed on more than 10 yrs ago. Brady....was my last dog ... and was adopted by a dog-trainer friend when I had that bout with cancer.
Jellybean was my late sister's dog whom I inherited 4 yrs ago.
Quote:...I'm sympathetic re the tick business and worried. I don't remember which Advantix I used once for my loved shelter corgi,
The one that vets (and I'm) recommending for dogs, K9 Advantix II, is the one for long-term (6 months) protection for dogs from fleas and ticks and mosquitos.
Advantage vs. Advantix: An Important Difference
"
Monthly flea prevention warning for homes with dogs and cats
Another difference between cats and dogs? Permethrin toxicity.
Bayer makes two different flea control products that can easily be confused with one another, leading to potentially lethal complications in our feline family members.
Advantage has formulations approved for both dogs and cats, while the product Advantix is intended for use in dogs only. Advantix causes permethrin toxicity in cats , which is a common emergency I see, especially during the spring and summer months, when fleas are at their peak of peskiness.
What exactly is the difference?
Advantage is a topical solution that can be applied to either your dog or cat’s skin once per month for flea prevention, and it contains the active ingredient imidacloprid.
Advantix is also a topical solution for the treatment and prevention of fleas, ticks, biting flies, mosquitoes and lice on dogs. The product’s active ingredients are imidacloprid and permethrin. It is the addition of permethrin to the recipe that makes the deadly difference.
Dogs can metabolize permethrin effectively, resulting in a safe product for them. However, cats cannot metabolize this ingredient, and will suffer from toxic effects if exposed. Cats are exposed to Advantix in a variety of ways, including direct application, close contact with a dog who has been treated within 48 hours, or if they have groomed a doggy pal’s fur after an application."
@Ragman,
Just to clarify matters further (I hope).: I used Advantage and Advantage II on my cats and Advantix II for my dogs.
@Ragman,
All very useful information!
Sorry, I mistook your mentioning your dogs to possibly meaning Jellybean has a playmate.
@farmerman,
Yes, but not for my Border Collie. They seem to have an issue (so I'm told by my BC experts).
Excerpt from PetCareRX website:
https://www.petcarerx.com/article/ivermectin-intolerance-in-collies-and-other-dogs/750
"Ivermectin is a drug used to treat heartworms and other parasites in pets. However, some breeds are genetically intolerant to Ivermectin, which can lead to serious adverse effects, including death. Read about Ivermectin intolerance in Collies and other breeds.
Ivermectin is a common drug used in the treatment of heartworms and other parasites in pets. Because the drug is so effective, millions of dogs will be treated with Ivermectin, the great majority without side effects or incidence. However, some breeds have a strong genetic sensitivity to Ivermectin, which can lead to serious adverse effects, even death.
Those pet owners with Collies, Australian Shepherds, Shetland Sheepdogs, Old English Sheepdogs, and English Sheepdogs should know the facts about Ivermectin intolerance. This knowledge could end up saving your dog’s life."
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