Dog Biscuits

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Westi
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Someone told me today about dog biscuits you can make with garlic in them to repel fleas! A very common flea treatment that costs a fortune just doesn't cope with the amount of fleas my 2 pick up on their walks & barely lasts a 1/3 or the time it is supposed to! (I subscribe to an Aussie magazine & this particular treatment has been upgraded out there & there are plenty of alternatives that you don't see over here!)

I googled dog biscuits but can't find the anti-flea ones? Anyone come across these? Recipe appreciated, especially since my garlic has been so fab this year! Or any other handy hint for flea treatments for dogs & cats?

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peter
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For heavens sake!

Garlic is poisonous to dogs, as are all alliums.
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Yeah I know horse owners feed them garlic to keep the flies away, and it may be why cows will break down fences to get to wild garlic, but I wouldn't risk feeding it to my dog because of the allium connection...I think in this weather fleas are just a problem all round. Plus her breath smells bad enough already!

I think the active ingredient in Frontline recently came off patent, so cheaper alternatives are beginning to appear, I'm sure I got some Bob Martin stuff last year for a lot less.
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Frontline doesn't work! I used it years ago but then something seemed to change and it didn't kill the fleas. I also had a problem with one of my spaniels getting a raw patch on his back where it was applied, I'm told by the vet it was probably a reaction to the 'carrier' they use to hold the ingredient. So they recommended Advocate and it's blooming brilliant. No fleas since.
It's just not worth messing about with cheaper alternatives, bite on the bullet and buy the proper stuff from a vet. You'll spend less in the end and scratch less....

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Ricard with an H
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Motherwoman wrote:Frontline doesn't work! I used it years ago but then something seemed to change and it didn't kill the fleas.


I'm wondering now, last year the lady who trims our spaniel said she stopped using Frontline for the same reason as you. She recommended another but I forgot so i'll call her in the morning.

Is there an assumption that if a dog is scratching then it has fleas ? I'm sure there are other reasons a dog scratches. I think it's about time I cornered my little pooch to check why she is scratching. Frontline-or-not.

How does Frontline work ? Systemic ? Contact ? If it's contact then that means the flea has to get to the back of the neck. I hope I don't get a dose of Frontline every time I start to scratch.

We have a lot of horse-fly, they land on you without you knowing then take a chunk out of you and leave a toxin behind. Antihistamine helps but once it starts to itch and you scratch you end up with a bleb twice the size of a mozzy bite.

I'm using citronella oil and mixing it with stuff to scare them away. How about rubbing some citronella into your dogs coat ? Might hide the farty-breath.
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Peter - thank you! I've been giving them left over spag bog on their biscuits for years - onions & garlic - & one of mine even ate a whole bulb when she got into the larder! I never knew that - I've heard of dog owners giving garlic before with cloves in their water! Will spread the word!

Taking new kitten to vet this week 4 her shots so will speak to vet! This could be an expensive vet visit! :(

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Ricard with an H
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My vet has prescribed garlic tablets in the past for my dog so we have one of those situations where Peter is being assertive and scaring the life out of readers when he needs to do more research himself.

We have given our dog garlic for most of her eight years, she's fit, slim, muscullar and bright as a button.

There are a lot of medications we-all take regularly that are poison if taken in a high enough dose.

Get on the internet Westi, lot's of information available on the subject. It's been controversial for years, a phone call to your vet may or may not help depending on if they sell garlic tablets.
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I just realised that the 'dog biscuits' topic appears under 'cooking tips' -- stopped me in my tracks for a moment!
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Ricard with an H
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I did a little more research, most of the regularly applied medicines we give our dogs for flees and worms are poisonous.

Paracetamol is so poisonous you can have irreversible damage to your liver with just one overdose period. Alcohol is poison, they use it in heart surgery to destroy unwanted tissue.

There is a lot of debate over whether garlic is harmful to dogs or not. It has been used for many, many years as a natural alternative to chemical flea control and wormers, and there doesn't seem to be any definitive answer to the question, which indicates to me that if there is a risk, it is quite small. I like this site I found, it seems to be a reasonable, moderate view on the issue: http://www.sojos.com/garlicarticle.html Their opinion is that it would take somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 cloves of garlic to harm a dog. If you google garlic and dogs you'll get lots of results, do some reading and make an informed decision on your own. You can also discuss it with your vet and come to your own conclusion.
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Westi
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Richard - glad to hear about this as my source was an experienced doggy person & was feeling uncomfortable about any discussion!

Also the site you found shares my experience that my first Springer had no ill effects from eating the bulb she stole out of the larder - the 'resolve' she stole however had ill effects on us - cleaning up the fizzy slobber all over at dog height around the living room! :D :D

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Ricard with an H
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I've done more research and checked why we have been giving our dog garlic capsules along with other like-minded folk around these that are scared about the pharmaceuticals we are encouraged to dish out to our lovely pooches.

We use garlic capsules to deal with fleas and though we do resort to the mass-market use of certain drugs we are also cynical about pharmaceutical honesty when it comes to us never mind our lovely pooches and other animals.

Our neighbours who are sheep farmers have been using garlic for twenty years, other neighbours who farm sheep, cattle and arable have used garlic for as long as they remember and in both cases to deal with fleas and avoid,
"unnecessary pharmaceuticals"


The shame about this statement that Peter has made is that it becomes available to the world, fine if he adds some reason for the statement though after spending some time studying this thing about garlic being dangerous to dogs it all started out in a similar vein as a chinese-whisper.

Delete it Peter, or add some substance.
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peter
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Advice from breed rescue society organiser and various vetinary websites.

Try the dogs trust who state it causes anemia.

http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/az/p/poison ... eg0nn3TVcs
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Ricard with an H
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Thanks for your input, i'll have my dogs blood-count done.
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Westi
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Oh Richard - Peter is only sharing what he knows! We've had different experiences - just the same as our gardening! & technically he is right - just the amount that is in dispute!

Getting a vet appointment is proving as hard as getting a doc's appointment - well around a very inflexible work pattern anyway! I'm going to have to pass on duties to hubby if can't get a weekend appointment! (Let's hope they don't dial 999 when he looses it when 'little one' has big needle put in her neck!) I will expedite his discharge quickly though! :D :D

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Ricard with an H
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peter wrote:Try the dogs trust who state it causes anemia.



The dogs trust download doesn't have any information on garlic that I can find, just says onion causes anemia. And then a species identity, "Allium". Onions are alliums.

It does not say all Alliums are dangerous.

Westi.

I checked with our vet today, they still recommend the use of garlic for flea control and other ailments.
How are you supposed to start and maintain a healthy lifestyle if it completely removes a wine lover’s reason to live?
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