What are your options for flea and tick control if you do not wish to use sprays, pills, or injections? Several healthy alternatives exist.

• Apply herbal flea powder “sparingly” to your pet’s coat.

• Use herbal flea collars.

• Apply natural skin tonic as a general skin toner, parasite repellent, and mange treatment.

• Add nutritional or brewer’s yeast and garlic to the animal’s diet.

• Treat your carpets with a special antiflea mineral salt.

• Occasionally (once or twice a year) sprinkle natural, unrefined diatomaceous earth (which kills insects) along your walls, under your furniture, and in cracks where you cannot vacuum, but not directly on your animals.

• Use sprays or powders containing pyrethrins or natural pyrethrums, which are the least toxic of all insecticides used on pets.

• Another gentle weapon against fleas is a good flea comb with tightly spaced teeth. Your pet should be combed frequently during flea season, probably every day. When you find fleas, drop them into a bucket of soap suds to kill them and stop their spread.

• Try all-natural, preservative-free foods that are good remedies for or preventors of fleas: along with brewer’s yeast, try raw garlic, zinc, and barley grass concentrates. Check with your veterinarian regarding the proper dosages depending on weight.

• Natural repellents do exist. Essential oils such as citronella, tea tree, wintergreen, and eucalyptus have been shown to work.

• Vacuum all surfaces where fleas and their eggs may live, and wash blankets and sheets in hot water.

• Water: One of the easiest things to change is your dog’s water supply. Author Pat Lazarus strongly recommends buying a water filter to attach to your faucet.

• Veggies and Fruits: These should equal one-third of the daily diet. Use raw or cooked veggies: beans, split peas, lentils, carrots, zucchini, and broccoli are good. Add raw, cut-up fruit occasionally. Organic, unsprayed produce is best.

• Garlic: Garlic is used widely for animals with various conditions. It can help build the immune system and is a good flea and worm repellent, but it may cause anemia if given for long periods of time. Adding a crushed clove of garlic to your dog’s food every day is appropriate.

• Dairy: Raw eggs and cottage cheese. Other possible additions are yogurt and cheddar-type cheese. All provide protein and iron.

• Grains: Cooked grains should equal one-third of a dog’s diet. A few appropriate choices are barley, brown rice, buckwheat, oatmeal, cornmeal and, even, crumbled whole wheat bread. These provide carbohydrates.

• Vitamins: Lazarus would add more of vitamins C and E to a general multiple supplement. In fact, many dog specialists recommend additional vitamin C. Vitamin B is also vital for a healthy immune system and can be found in brewer’s yeast, another possible daily additive. However, adding arbitrary supplements of vitamins or minerals is generally not recommended without consulting your veterinarian.

• Oil: Many veterinarians and breeders recommend a tablespoon or two a day of vegetable or canola oil, especially for a dry coat or skin. However, oil may add calories.

• Meat: Lean, organic meats are best. Turkey, liver, mackerel, chicken, and lamb top most vets’ lists. Some recommend raw liver; many recommend raw meat in total. Meat (or some fish) should represent one-third (perhaps a bit more) of the dog’s daily diet.

Skin Soothing Shampoo for Dogs with Itchy Skin and Allergies
2 drops Geranium
6 drops Rosewood
6 drops Lavender
1 drop Roman Chamomile
2 drops Carrot Seed
1 tablespoon of finely ground oatmeal can be blended in to provide further relief.

Healing Shampoo: For Dogs with Skin Infections and Small Wounds
(such as minor scrapes, nicks, and insect bites)
4 drops Ravensare
2 drops Labdanum
1 drop Helichrysum
3 drops Lavender

Flea and Insect Repellent Shampoo
4 drops Clary Sage
2 drops Citronella
8 drops Peppermint
4 drops Lemon

Tick Repelling Shampoo
2 drops Geranium
2 drops Rosewood
3 drops Lavender
2 drops Myrhh
2 drops Opoponax
1 drop Bay Leaf

According to Walter Last’s research, garlic protects against metastases and inhibits the growth of existing tumors. It also strengthens the immune system and allows the liver to detoxify more effectively.

Cats’ immune systems can easily become compromised from poor diet, stress, disease, breeding and showing and aging. Garlic is one herb that can help rebuild the immune system. It has been shown, through a variety of experiments, to be effective against viral infections, parasites and fungal infections. Fresh garlic is sometimes used to treat fleas, but garlic salt and garlic flavoring do not work. One drawback is that garlic may cause anemia if given for long periods of time.

In her 1999 book, Keep Your Dog Healthy the Natural Way, medical writer Pat Lazarus lists garlic as one of several nutritional supports for canine cancer patients. Based on veterinarians’ reports, she recommends garlic tablets (Garlkicin or Kyolic); give one tablet daily to a small dog, two to three tablets twice daily to a larger dog.

You can create a variety of different aromatic shampoos for your dog. All-natural aromatherapy grooming begins with the addition of essential oils to an all natural soap or shampoo base.

The following recipes all call for the essential oils to be added to 8 oz of an all natural shampoo base.

Spicy Deodorizing Shampoo
5 drops Cinnamon Leaf
5 drops Caraway
3 drops Black Pepper
3 drops Bay Lead

Woodsy Conditioning Shampoo
6 drops Atlas Cedarwood
4 drops Rosemary
2 drops Patchouli
3 drops Vetiver

Refreshing Citrus Shampoo
3 drops Sweet Orange
3 drops Lemon
3 drops Lime
3 drops Grapefruit
3 drops Mandarin

Delicate Floral Shampoo
4 drops Lavender
2 drops Ylang Ylang
4 drops Rose
6 drops Petitgrain

Fresh Herbal Shampoo
4 drops Sweet Basil
4 drops Lavender
4 drops Clary Sage
4 drops Coriander Seed

Make sure to watch the dog carefully to see how they react to the scent. If they seem uncomfortable, change the blend, or lessen the amount.

Calm Canine Essential Oil Blend
½ oz. base oil (for example, sweet almond or hazelnut)
3 drops Valerian essential oil
2 drops Vetiver essential oil
4 drops Petigrain essential oil
3 drops Sweet Marjoram essential oil
2 drops Sweet Orange essential oil

Store in a dark glass bottle. The calming effect of this blend will range from “taking the edge off” to soothing a dog to the point where it gets very mellow and takes a nap. You can adjust the number of drops used to get the desired effect, anywhere from 1-6 drops depending on the size of the dog.

Aloe vera
Boston ivy
Caladium
Dumbcane
English ivy
German ivy
India rubber plant
Mistletoe
Philodendron
Potted chrysanthemum
Weeping fig
Yew

Petfinder.com is the internet’s largest virtual animal shelter, representing 32,000 animals in more than 1,800 shelters and rescue groups around the country. The site helps facilitate over half a million adoptions a year.

The easy search tool on Petfinder.com can show you within seconds all the pets meeting your specifications in your local area or around the country. All you need to do is specify the kind of animal you are looking for (cat, dog, horse, etc.), the breed (you can put in mix), the age, size, gender, your zip code and the range within which you are willing to look (national or regional).

It is worth taking a trial run on Petfinder.com. The search should bring up at least half a dozen matches in your area, enough to give you a great starting point. The only danger is falling in love with all the pets you see in the pictures, and having a pit in your stomach that you can’t adopt them all.

Here are some other great ways to keep your dog Earth-friendly:

1. Do some research into leashes. Retractable leashes are excellent for travel because you can give dogs their run, or hold them close by.

2. Make sure you go with some sort of container for doggy-do. Bags are available that clip conveniently onto retractable leashes.

3. Pick up one of the Dog Lover’s Companion series books that reveals cool places to take your dogs in different locations.

4. Make sure you have a source of water for your pets at all times.

5. Never leave a pet inside a car with the windows completely closed.

Keep in mind that there is no evidence that one sex is more intelligent than the other. And if you live in a situation where your dog is free to relieve itself in a fenced yard, the dog-walking considerations are no longer as crucial.

There are some points here you may never have considered or thought of before!

Pros: Female Dogs

1. Female dogs are said to be easier to train than males.

2. They are likely to be more docile, a desirable trait for city living.

3. Some dog lovers consider females more affectionate and companionable, though in loyalty to the memory of my male dog, Benjy, and my childhood dog, Laddie, I have to question that.

4. A female dog can hold her urine longer than a male—some can wait as long as 12 hours if necessary—which might be an advantage in a household where no one is home during the day.

5. On walks, a female will usually empty her bladder all at once. A male dog may urinate in little spurts her and there, and it can seem to take him forever to relive himself, especially on cold winter nights.

Cons: Female Dogs

It is more expensive to spay a female than to neuter a male.