Sunday, August 9, 2009

Flea Control is Easy Once You Know the Cause

Flea control doesn’t have to be chemical laden to be effective. But let’s put that aside for the moment and focus on the cause.

Fleas are rarely a problem for people without pets. But they can become a nightmare for people with pets. So the most likely cause of your flea control problem comes from your pet. Possibly your cat, but more likely your dog, as cats take their body hygiene more seriously.

Wild animals aren’t infested with fleas as their domestic cousins are. At least not healthy wild animals. So what is it about domestic dogs that attracts fleas?

Let’s look at the skin. This is the least important organ of the body. So when the dog has a problem, such as a high toxic load, the easiest way for the body to get rid of the toxins is through the skin.

This is likely to produce unsightly eruptions, but it will also alter the skin pH.

The one thing that dogs do every day is to eat. You may have heard the old saying ‘you are what you eat’. Dogs are too. Good food in results in good health. Poor food in results in poor health. Garbage in - garbage out.

Most commercial dog food consists of poor quality meat (more likely meat by-products), lots of cheap filler, some isolated and synthetic nutrients and very toxic preservatives, despite what the label may say.

None of this is in your dog’s long term health interest, but the worst part is the toxic preservatives. To try to get rid of these, your dog will develop a skin eruption which is just heaven to fleas, so they will quickly breed in such lush conditions.

Couple that with the poor nutritional content, and your dog’s skin pH is all wrong.

If you feed your dog raw meat and bones, this is very acid. And this is just right for dogs. It’s how they evolved. Raw meat, with no preservatives, means your dog will be getting the natural nutrition in keeping with his evolutionary history.

Suddenly the environment has changed. There are no skin eruptions. Fleas don’t like it as much. You may see the odd flea, but the proliferation can no longer happen.

Feeding your dog on raw meat and bones will have other benefits too, besides controlling fleas.

  • bones help keep the gums healthy
  • bones help clean the teeth
  • bones provide essential calcium in the way dogs need
  • crunching up on a bone keeps your dog emotionally happy
  • raw meat provides nutrients in a natural and balanced form
  • raw meat is easily and quickly digested
  • raw meat makes evacuation easy
  • raw meat creates a natural skin pH to dogs

Holistic vets have found that when dogs are fed raw meat and bones, chronic disease just melts away. But returns with a return to commercial pet food.

Think of the whole picture rather than zoning in on just the flea control. Then everyone is a winner.