Natural Tick Prevention For Dogs

Spring is almost here. Tick season starts as early as March. Ticks are ready and waiting out there for your pooch to coming strolling by! 

If you and your dog just love being outside in nature, ticks may be hard to avoid between early Spring and late Fall.

If you are outdoors with your dog going to beaches, hiking, and parks, a natural tick repellent can help considerably without falling for the heavy duty chemical flea and tick recommendations from the conventional vet.

However, you have to be diligent as ticks can carry some pretty unpleasant diseases. For instance, Lyme disease. Ugh! There is also ehrlichiosis, which the brown dog tick is the main carrier of the ehrlichia organism in nature.

And then there is Babesiosis, Babesiosis is a rare and life-threatening contamination of the red blood cells that's usually spread by ticks.

Like everything else in the holistic, naturopathic methods prevention is key. A healthy, high vibe dog that has a strong immune system is less susceptible to these diseases.

Prevention is always the best medicine. Building natural immunity makes your dog less attractive to all pests. Natural tick prevention for dogs by far the safest option.

The truth is that there are a wide range of flea and tick products that are extremely harmful to our pets. Most of the ingredients in over the counter and those carried at the local veterinarian are particularly unsafe, but most pet parents don’t understand that these dangerous ingredients are present in the stuff that their vets prescribe to use on their dogs.

Many manufactured tick repellents contain carcinogenic chemicals, names that are hard to pronounce and ingredients most of us don’t understand what they are and do.

This is why it’s better to use ingredients that you understand and know that are natural and safe. Better to go for the simpler things. Essential oils, vinegar, garlic, nutritional yeast etc. These are ingredients that are known to help repel ticks and easy and simple to understand what it is and how it works to control pests.

If you have a dog that is healthy and holistic you want a natural alternative to flea and tick medications.
There’s a quite a selection of essential oils you can use to avoid tick bites on your dog and yourself.

Many scents that smell good to humans are also highly off-putting to ticks. Lavender, peppermint, citronella, lemongrass, cedar, rose geranium and citrus have all been shown to keep ticks away.

Geranium is the most prevalent of essential oils for preventing ticks. Citronella are often used in tick sprays. However, the citrus essentials oils can be photo reactive and not the best choice.

There are many pet parents having great success with geranium essential oil for ticks control on their dogs. Some people have said that it was recommended to them by their holistic vet, as well as what’s suggested in a lot of holistic pet care books and blogs.

Some Geranium Essential Oil does not and can be used neat. (meaning straight on the skin) We recommend a drop or 2 of the geranium essential oil straight between your dog's shoulder blades and one at the top of the base of tail. If you are also using our Holistic Flea and Tick spray as well, Just spray your dog's legs, belly, and neck.

If your dog has a cloth collar, or a bandana works well, you can apply a few drops of these oils right on the collar or bandana and let them soak in and have your dog wear this when you are out hiking.

Any veterinarians experienced in more holistic and natural alternatives recommend feeding garlic to help prevent ticks and fleas during those months.

Although well used for its health giving properties, garlic has been used for centuries as an insect repellent.

We feed our dogs nutritional yeast and garlic during flea and tick season as a topper on their raw diet. They actually love it! Start earlier in the spring before ticks become an issue with adding the garlic to their meals.

Many dog owners go everywhere with their canine companions. If you are on daily trail walks and hikes in areas that are infested with ticks make sure you check your dog thoroughly before getting back in the car or going indoors. Have a pair of fine nosed tweezers or a tick remover handy to detach ticks.By having a tick remover (and colloidal silver or other antiseptic) with you, any ticks can be detached sooner, reducing the chance of any disease being transmitted. Specialized tick removers are available online or in pet stores.

Make sure to remove the entire tick. Removing them alone does not kill them, so make sure they are dead when you dispose of them. Also I learned a method for removing a tick by placing a finger on top of the tick and rotating the tick in a circular movement as if you're trying to make the tick woozy. Typically going in one direction, clockwise. It generally takes less than a minute, so if it's not working, make sure the whole body of the tick is going around in a circular motion. It works easily to get the whole tick to back out.

Also, don’t forget to spray some Holistic Flea and Tick Spray before you head out. Plus drop a few drops of the rose geranium oil on your dogs back.

Our Holistic Flea and Tick Spray is an organic, natural and chemical-free spray that both helps protect your dog from potentially disease-ridden pests like fleas and ticks AND helps soothe itching and swelling from bites. (with colloidal silver and ACV)

Note: geranium oil and many other oils should not be used on cats as they can be toxic to them

While research suggests there are health benefits, the FDA doesn’t monitor or regulate the purity or quality of essential oils. It’s important to talk with your healthcare provider before you begin using essential oils and be sure to research the quality of a brand’s products. Always do a patch test before trying a new essential oil.

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