The benefits to healthy preventatives

It's that time of year again when pet owners are being contacted by their health care professionals about tick and flea preventative. The normal medicine of choice is Bravecto, NexGard or Revolution, depending on your country or location. Some fleas have become resistant to these medications and is no longer working. Alternatives are being prescribed to combat seasonal pests.

When first moving to the country with heavy trees and brush, I decided to use a common medicine for my dogs. I have Labrador Retrievers who are in the woods often walking and running. I decided to use a topical medicine, Advantix, I dosed all of my large dogs, thinking this would help. However, one of my girls had a horrible reaction; within hours it was oozing green discharge, eventually turning into a black lava type hotspot. I rushed her to the vet and they needed to shave it, she was sent home with an antibiotic, pain medication and Cortisal spray for dogs. My Daisy was in pain, honestly, she's had many complications since then. Was it the result of the medication I ask myself, or a coincidence everything she's been having is a result of it, I'm not sure. When I asked my vet about the injury, I was told it's uncommon, only 1 in 100 dogs would be affected. With my own experience, I found 1 in 7 to be injured, higher than the statistics the vets give.

I've been breeding dogs for 10 years, researching healthy alternatives for well over 15 years. I couldn't understand why every year I would go to the vet with my mixed breed dogs, a postcard reminded me they needed their tick/flea medication and annual vaccinations. I prided myself with how well I took care of my pets, walking away with a whopping 500.00 bill and THINKING I was doing best for them. What made me stop and think was when the dr. wanted to prescribe yet another prescription without a reason. I started looking into heart worm, the cases in Ontario where I live, and the likelihood they would get it. I have never had fleas living here so I didn't understand why I was giving this one either. I researched alternatives, since then I research EVERYTHING that goes on or in my pets. This includes food, vaccinations(I do the basic 4 when they are young puppies, rabies is required), and toxic chemicals.

When researching about ticks and the alarm for Lyme Disease, I found there are 32 types of ticks. I also found the two ticks that cause Lyme are the Black-legged deer tick and the Western black-legged tick. The best preventative of all is checking your pets after going into the field or walk, especially on ears and warm locations. If you do find a tick, properly take it out using a tick remover.

I now use a host of natural products for my pets, both internally and externally. Not one of my pets have fleas, ticks or heartworms, they have beautiful coats, nice teeth and are happy; outside of my Daisy, all are healthy. My biggest comment from perspective parents and visitors are how healthy my pets are. You too can have healthy pets without all of the toxic chemicals being ingested or put on them. Information is power when it comes to our pets well being, I've done the research and I want to share it with others. Research yourself what is being being recommended by professionals, look at the chemicals, look at the data of sick dogs and how many dogs are being diagnosed with cancers.

I will be sharing on my blog how I keep my pets healthy using natural products, most found at the grocery store or at a local health food stores. I'm amazed when I have people saying garlic is not safe for our pets, yet, they have no problem using the pesticides that are toxic. The key is dosage, you don't want to give too much of anything to our pets, they metabolize differently than humans.

Fact Sheet for Pet Owners and Veterinarians about Potential Adverse Events Associated with Isoxazoline Flea and Tick Products | FDA

The Dangers Of Heartworm Medication - Dogs Naturally (dogsnaturallymagazine.com)