noisymina

Thanks Riayn -- will do cheers

We are in Q'ld - half way to Gold Coast from Bne. No fleas for 25 years here. I agree - forget the flea chemicals unless there is a problem - and a recurrent one at that. Even a "one off" does nor necessarily mean a need for permanent administration of chemicals for "prevention". It's not like a couple of fleas are a terminal thing. cheers

Sudafed is Pseudoephedrine - a subsatnce I cannot take - there is a history there - but........... It seems that I am not alone. In fact a large percentage of the population cannot take this (according to my doctor) and get reactions such a racing heart, palpitations, pains in the chest, vomiting etc. The effect tends to be cumulative. In spite of this, the vast majority of medications for colds, flu, coughs, sinus etc all contain this. It is a stimulant and used by some long distance drivers in the form of "No Doze" to keep awake at the wheel, often with disastrous consequnces. Students use it to keep awake also - then cannot sleep etc. I would be pretty desperate before I gave this to anyone, let alone the dog. cheers

Our Dobe is up to two a week - one worked for a while, but then came back a bit. I'm hoping we don't have to go further. Vet talks operation if it doesn't work, and then there is not a high success rate. Might be seeking a second opinion if that is the case. cheers

No matter what you choose to feed your dog, I'll bet that is the least of your worries as far a hygiene is concerned. Lets see - dogs eat - bones revived from the garden, lizards, mice, birds and lots of other things I won't mention here. Add teeth that are not always as clean as, say, ours usually are, and will be worse if no bones are given. Yes, I'd be worried about a dog licking my/my childrens faces too. Just teach the dogs not to lick faces - and hands too if necessary, but we let them lick the hands since we always wash our hands after touching the dog anyway. Our children learned very early to wash hands - in all sorts of situations, specially after touching animals and we do the same, so they also had an example to follow. No illnesses contracted as far as I know. cheers ps Suggest children (and their toys) be in separate area to dog & young children always be supervised with dogs.

We have had dogs here for 25 years and never a flea problem. If there was a problem, i would probably look into prevention if it kept coming back. I am convinced that the health of the dog is relevant - somehow fleas are more attracted to animals that are unwell or neglected - just as most parasites and diseases will more easily invade any organism that has lowered resistance. They then, of course, lay eggs and spread - and once entrenched in an environment that is hard to "clean", there can be a recurring problem. We seem to have a "clean" environment (largely by accident rather than conscious design) and they do not often have contact with other dogs. They are usually outside and the area they spend most time around gets lots of sun in winter - which, I suspect, kills off any eggs around. Mostly hard floors indoors too, which helps - I believe the fleas love carpets. Most heartworm tablets are at least monthly, if not daily - an annual jab is just easier - it is not easy to forget either - thanks to our vet recalls The other worm tabs (Drontal) are 3-monthly - and probably not as crucial if forgotten and given a bit late. So we're pretty much ok with the routine. I have never been told there is a one off that does absolutely everything - maybe such a thing has become available since I last asked. However, we don't need it to cover fleas & ticks, so it seems logical that it would cost more to cover them as well, even if it is an "all-in-one" deal. There is also the issue of bombarding the poor thng with all those chemicals in one go. The cost of the annual heartworm jab is about the same as the tablets - it's just that one pays in a lump sum! cheers

We have no need for flea control, so we save a heap on that. The dog has no fleas. Same for ticks - unless there are a lot of them and the dog is collecting them in large numbers, it seems a waste, since one still has to keep an eye out for them even if prevention is being used. I just run my hands all over her each time we come in, but have not found any as yet. Apart from the financial aspect, I believe there is some logic in minimising the chemicals fed to the animals. I really believe that a healthy dog, in clean environment, just does not have fleas. Rescue people and kennels have a problem - the dogs they get are not always healthy for a start, and seldom come from clean environments. I was once told that animals can build resistence to ticks, and believe this could well be so - assuming the ones they do get are removed before too much harm occurrs. We had a rescue dog once - had both fleas and ticks at first, but after the first few weeks, never got them again. Worming, Drontal, three monthly. Annual heartworm - she was on it when we got her and have just continued - bit lazy, perhaps. cheers

I used to use cotton wool to keep water out and dry afterwards. If the cotton wool is no good, it might be worth trying -- BLUE TACK. When one of my boys had grommits, the ENT specialist told me to use Blue Tack as ear plugs as it was better than even the most expensive devices available for the purpose (at the time, that is). cheers