Hazards of Dog Fleas In The Dog Park

My dog and I have a great weekend schedule. First thing each weekend morning we get up, have a snack, grab a latte at the coffee shop on the way, and end up at the dog park. I just love bringing my dog to the park, since it’s pretty obvious that this is one of the highlights of his week.

In general, going to the dog park is a very enjoyable part of my weekends. The only drawback is that it makes my dog vulnerable to getting fleas. It’s hard to say whether he gets the flea infestation from playing with the other dogs or whether he gets the fleas from going into bushes around the edge of the park. One way or another he tends to be vulnerable to getting a good dose of fleas at the dog park.

I can’t remember exactly when I made the decision to stop going to the dog park, but it was an unconscious decision over about a month I think, as I was just dreading having to go through the inevitable process of ridding fleas from my dog and my house. Well, after a few months, I began to rethink that decision. Yes, my dog got rid of the fleas, but we have both noticeably missed the dog park. I decided that maybe it was worth trying to re-establish the dog park routine.

Before I took the chance on having the fleas come right back, I decided to do some research about how I could prevent the fleas from coming home with us. I talked to my dog groomer, or as I like to call him, my dogs stylist. I trust that she sees all sorts of dog problems, and needing to deal with them on a daily basis he has already done the medical research on the best treatments for various skin and fur conditions. I said that I would prefer a natural flea remedy. She suggested garlic of all things.

So I just started simply by adding a bit of garlic to my dogs food every day. Having garlic absorbed into the blood stream makes my dogs blood and extremely unappetizing meal for fleas. Once they detect the garlic, they avoid my dog like a vampire turned back with a cross. As added protection, I also spray a citronella based insect repellent (mosquito spray) on my dog before we go out, and this seems to help a great deal as well.

Fleas can be a nuisance. If you are going to bring your dog to places where they can socialize with other dogs, fleas are going to be a problem. Fortunately getting rid of fleas naturally and all natural flea repellents are safe and easy to apply.