Dog Information - How to Keep Fleas and Ticks Off My Dog

If you have ever experienced flea and tick infestation with your canine companion than you are likely know how difficult they can be and how it can affect overall dog health.

A single female flea can lay more than 2000 eggs and can jump about 100 times its own height. Fleas need blood to complete their reproductive cycle. Even though fleas prefer dogs and cats blood, human blood is OK too. Fleas cause mild to severe skin reactions, tapeworm infestation and a host of other nasty problems.

Ticks are well known for spreading disease, as they feast on blood. They can carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever, encephalitis, tularemia, tick paralysis, and Lyme disease, so it is very important to prevent tick infestations in dogs.

When it come to fleas and ticks and ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Therefore to prevent these attacks we prefer using a natural approach, we simply add garlic to our dogs food. This prevents fleas and ticks due to the odor released through the dog's skin as the compounds in garlic are metabolized. Don't worry about odor, by using the proper amount you very unlikely to smell it.

Garlic has many other health benefits for your canine like boosting the Immune System, preventing blood clots, lowering blood cholesterol and the list continues to grow.

We recommend the following amount of fresh garlic for dogs:

- 10 to 15 pounds - half a clove

- 20 to 40 pounds - 1 clove

- 45 to 70 pounds - 2 cloves

- 75 to 90 pounds - 2 and a half cloves

- 100 pounds and over - 3 cloves

This is important, at least one to two days off per week or two weeks on and one week off from garlic, is the proper recommended dosage. We also recommend that you should always consult your vet when adding anything to your canine's diet. There has been some controversy lately over garlic in a dog's diet.

A compound found in onions and in smaller amounts in garlic named n-propyldisulfide could, in large doses cause oxidant damage to red blood cells thus creating Heinz bodies and triggering the body to reject the cells from the bloodstream. If large doses of this compound are ingested on a regular basis the process can lead to Heinz-body anemia and even death.

Does that mean garlic is unsafe for dogs? Not really. The key to safe use of garlic with dogs is the dosage level and frequency of use. The benefits way out way the risks providing one follows the suggested amount vs. body weight. One clove of fresh garlic per 10 to 30 pounds of canine body weight a day.

We at dog information hope this helps you and your canine get relief from fleas and ticks. As always we welcome your comments and suggestions to better understand dog health.