sheena Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 (edited) I feed my two BC's a popular brand of "Holistic" dog kibble. The 4 yo girl has been on it for about 7 - 8 months now & the 7 mo puppy has been on it since we brought him home...so most of his life. I read up on what the term "Holistic" dog food means & it said that it treats the whole dog including parasites. Well I am usually a BIG sceptic & was just happy that my dogs liked it & did well on it with nice shiny coats. Always, in the past, at this time of the year my girl is getting covered with ticks despite being on Advantix & Proban & they drive her & me mad. The ticks are still about, as they are crawling on us & are on the cows & calves, probably more so than usual. But I am not finding many on the dogs, maybe one or two a day but that's all & I still havn't started them on Proban only the Advantix. Is it possible that something in the feed is helping to repel them, or my other school of thought is that they have more oil in their coats which is helping the Advantix to work more efficiently despite them swimming almost daily. Edited October 31, 2011 by sheena Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 Has anybody else that has been feeding this food (BH) over a long period also made this observation?? I have just been talking to a friend who has miniature ponys & even though he is also in a very bad tick area, he never gets them on his ponies or his dog. He puts it down to the bore water they drink, which contains sulphur & the dog loves to swim in the water troughs. Thought I might get some feed sulphur & start introducing it to my dogs. I have used it in the past to repel lice from the chooks. But if this is a bonus for feeding BH, then I am overjoyed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest english.ivy Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 We don't have to worry about ticks in metro Perth. But it sounds like you're on to something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 We don't have to worry about ticks in metro Perth. But it sounds like you're on to something The ticks are really bad here atm. We just lost a little calf, just one week old We havn't lost a calf for at least 15 years, so it is looking like a very bad season. A neighbour lost a mature cow. We search the dogs at least once a day & are surprised by what we are not finding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretel Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I used to look after a golden retriever who had sulphur added to her food every day to repel ticks. I don't know if it helped or not but obviously her owners thought it did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest english.ivy Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 We don't have to worry about ticks in metro Perth. But it sounds like you're on to something The ticks are really bad here atm. We just lost a little calf, just one week old We havn't lost a calf for at least 15 years, so it is looking like a very bad season. A neighbour lost a mature cow. We search the dogs at least once a day & are surprised by what we are not finding. Oh poor cows It is the one reason I'm glad to live where we do. I also don't treat for fleas and my two haven't had one since being on the same holistic food you feed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 So no takers then ? It didn't turn out to be the miracle food Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandybrush Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 im curious to know about this sulphur...i havent had a tick on mine yet, but maybe if something in there dinner could help prevent it that wouldnt be a bad thing did anyone hear about garlic being a tick preventative? does it work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RallyValley Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 When Toby was on BH he had a whole bunch of ticks for the first time ever.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest english.ivy Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 So no takers then ? It didn't turn out to be the miracle food When Toby was on BH he had a whole bunch of ticks for the first time ever.... Harsh. Discussion not an attack on a particular brand of food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 (edited) I dont think its an attack, lots of people keep saying the BH seems to repel the ticks, RV is just saying thats not what happened in her experience. I tried heaps of stuff with the horses, only spraying them daily with tick dip helped Edited October 31, 2011 by Mason_Gibbs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frodo's mum Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 why was it an attack on the food ? the question was asked if anyone had been feeding BH had noticed if it repelled ticks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RallyValley Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 It's just an observation. ;) I personally think that the ticks and the BH had no correlation. An attack would be saying 'because Toby was on BH he had ticks for the first time ever' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 as with all natural things you will see the fine print 'may or may not aid in the prevention of XYZ ...' Two dogs is not really a big enough sample to know for sure. Plus you are using Advantix and still finding a couple of ticks a day so you cannot say it is the food! If you were using NO chemicals and finding NO ticks then we'll buy into the food theory. Healthier dogs are better able to cope with parasites but during infestations that risk my animals life I would not just trust holistics if something sure was available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 I feed my two BC's a popular brand of "Holistic" dog kibble. The 4 yo girl has been on it for about 7 - 8 months now & the 7 mo puppy has been on it since we brought him home...so most of his life. I read up on what the term "Holistic" dog food means & it said that it treats the whole dog including parasites. Well I am usually a BIG sceptic & was just happy that my dogs liked it & did well on it with nice shiny coats. Always, in the past, at this time of the year my girl is getting covered with ticks despite being on Advantix & Proban & they drive her & me mad. The ticks are still about, as they are crawling on us & are on the cows & calves, probably more so than usual. But I am not finding many on the dogs, maybe one or two a day but that's all & I still havn't started them on Proban only the Advantix. Is it possible that something in the feed is helping to repel them, or my other school of thought is that they have more oil in their coats which is helping the Advantix to work more efficiently despite them swimming almost daily. Don't you just love it when the same old DOL's keep bagging your posts without even reading the original post. If you can't read then I am not going to repeat myself, you are not even worth wasting my typing finger power on. I was asking for people's observations if they have had their dogs on the food for a long time Yes, they are also on Advantix & I would not be stupid enough to take them off it, in fact I am about to start them on Proban as well just to make doubly sure....as I do every year, but Advantix & Proban do not repel the ticks. The ticks still have to get on the dog & bite, then, hopefully die & fall off. It is just so nice this year that I am not confronted with the task of pulling dozens of ticks off them each night, just a couple if that..Much nicer for the dogs too, not to have the continual itch of ticks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 It is the one reason I'm glad to live where we do. I also don't treat for fleas and my two haven't had one since being on the same holistic food you feed. I don't treat for fleas and it's very rare for mine to ever get one and I feed supermarket food :D Luckily I don't have to worry about ticks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 My dogs dont get worms or fleas either, only one dog ever needed worming and that was the Rottweiler when we went hunting and he tucked into deer poo, then ate a few rabbits. Could put it down to diet but I have not feed a 'holistic' brand for 7 years. I think more health in general then holistics are the answer and the body behaving like it should finally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 but Advantix & Proban do not repel the ticks. The ticks still have to get on the dog & bite, then, hopefully die & fall off. That is incorrect. Advantix does repel ticks, you are mistaking the way it works with Frontline (where the tick has to attach in order to die). I would say it is your tick prevention product which is working to fight ticks rather than the dogs diet. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 (edited) Hi Dandybrush, Re: Sulphur thing. Many years ago I rescued a BC in an appalling condition both mentally & physically. Was covered in fleas & he had sores all over him from scratching. The only coat he had on him was his head. My dad suggested a very old remedy he had used years ago on greyhounds he had to fight flea's & their side effects & ward off tick's. Sulphur & molasses mixed together & put on any bare patch/ broken skin/sores. He used to ingest it by licking it off. My boy loved it. It was very messy & smelt terrible but within 10 days, no fleas & he wasn't scratching.The molasses helped him to gain weight as he was extremely thin. So maybe it might be worth while to put a little Sulphur in our furry kids food each night for the tick thing can't hurt. Who know's. It took 1 year for "Redman's" coat to fully grow back, he ended one very stunning boy with a coat to die for. Edited November 2, 2011 by BC Crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 but Advantix & Proban do not repel the ticks. The ticks still have to get on the dog & bite, then, hopefully die & fall off. That is incorrect. Advantix does repel ticks, you are mistaking the way it works with Frontline (where the tick has to attach in order to die). I would say it is your tick prevention product which is working to fight ticks rather than the dogs diet. ;) Clyde....Advantix does not repel ticks on my dog & I have been using it fortnightly for 4 years. If you read my original post you will see that I said that it probably does not repel because she is in swimming almost every day. And also if you read my original post you will also see that I stated that maybe the food has made her skin/coat oiler & therefor helped the Advantix to be more effective. With all due respects, I should know which product I am using. I have never used Frontline. Rebanne, I am glad the supermarket food is working well for your dogs, but I also have never had a problem with fleas. But I am not talking about fleas. BC Crazy, I am going to get some sulphur & start adding it to their food, as I used to use it effectively on the chooks. Someone else mentioned garlic...I used to add 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder daily to her food which back then was VAN but I found even after a couple of years that it had no effect on the ticks. But I have heard other people say they have had success, especially horse people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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