PROTECTION AGAINST TICKS AND FLEAS

With the warm winter, the time to apply preparations against ticks and fleas came much earlier than we are used to. You can choose from many products that are available in pharmacies, drugstores, veterinarians or pet supply stores.
When choosing a product, keep in mind any health problems of your dog, the specifics of the environment in which it moves and its lifestyle.

If you have to shampoo and bathe your pet daily for medical reasons, you will significantly reduce the effectiveness of spot-on preparations (pipettes that are applied behind the neck). If you are an active swimmer, you should avoid swimming outdoors for at least three (but preferably five) days after spot-on application to allow the product to be absorbed sufficiently and to reduce the rate of wash-off.

Consider very carefully which medicine you choose if your friend suffers from a neurological disease.

It is important to note that the function of common flea and tick products is based on the content PESTICIDES (although manufacturers avoid this term), i.e. substances with an annoying effect on insects. Most of these substances work on insects as a nerve poison . Advanced variants of these products work already when the parasite comes into contact with the skin of the treated animal and thus minimize the risk of "biting". The full effect (paralysis and death) occurs whenever a flea or tick bites and starts sucking blood. In relation to the entire population, these most widely used preparations are considered safe, but they can cause serious neurological problems in sensitive or sick individuals and the elderly or even death, as reported by the US state supervisory authorities FDA and EPA ( https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/cvm-updates/animal-drug-safety-communication-fda-alerts-pet-owners-and- veterinarians-about-potential-neurologic and https://www.epa.gov/pets/epa-evaluation-pet-spot-products-analysis-and-plans-reducing-harmful-effects ) . The highest risks are found in preparations in the form of tablets and spot-ons, where a higher volume of the active substance is applied once .

They are an alternative to the products described above REPELLENT plant-based preparations . These are essential oils and essential oils with which nature has equipped some types of herbs, shrubs and trees as a natural protection against insects and other invasive organisms.

The great thing about them is that they are non-toxic, so you can apply them to very sensitive dogs, puppies and senior dogs. With natural antiparasitics, there is also no need to apply safety measures like with chemical ones, e.g. that the treated dog should not sleep in bed with you. In addition, herbal collars and pipettes smell pleasant to us humans. They can also be combined with conventional insecticide pipettes and collars, which will complement their functionality with their repellent effect .

In addition, the mechanism of their effect is preventive - they repel insects and thus reduce the risk of disease transmission, for example borreliosis or encephalitis, which are transmitted when bitten by an alien mosquito. In the case of insecticides, the effect is usually manifested only when bitten.

In our offer you will find herbal repellants from top Israeli company ARAVA . It is famous worldwide for its natural cosmetics for dogs and cats with a high content of essential plant oils, innovatively processed by the nanoemulsification method to achieve an optimal healing and supportive effect for healthy and beautiful skin and fur of pets. It is nanoemulsification that is behind the high effectiveness of shampoos and pipettes against ticks and fleas - active substances easily bind to the lipid layer of the skin and penetrate through the skin to the crevice.

ARAVA in his flea and tick shampoos for puppies and adult dogs combines fourteen effective ingredients - nimbus oil, essential oils from geranium (pelargonium), peppermint, cinnamon, lemongrass, cloves, thyme, cedar, eucalyptus, rosemary and lavender, extracts from santum and chrysanthemum and minerals from the Dead Sea. Shampoos will help you if you find that the dog has already been attacked by parasites. Not only will you rid it of unwelcome guests by washing it, but you will also provide it with perfect care to soothe irritated skin.

In pipettes (in variants graded according to the weight of the dog, up to 9 kilograms , 10 - 25 kilograms and 26 - 50 kilograms ) you will also find essential oils from bitter orange, laurel, pine, rue and juniper. The package contains four pipettes. Shampoo and pipettes complement each other perfectly and enhance their effect. It is ideal to apply the pipettes two days after bathing in ARAVA flea and tick shampoos and repeat the application every three to four weeks. So a pack of pipettes will last you about four months.

It is a practical option ARAVA antiparasitic collar with gradual release of active substances for six months . The collar contains oils of geranium, clove, lemongrass, rosemary, cedarwood, cinnamon, mint, thyme and horsetail. It is especially great for dogs who cannot resist any pond, river or stream in the summer, because even frequent bathing does not reduce its effectiveness. In 2019, we used the collar on our "company" bulldog, who suffers from chronic kidney disease, so we didn't want to burden his body with insecticides, and we were very satisfied with the effect. He only had two ticks all season!

However, even natural preparations have their BUTs, which you should consider ! In very sensitive individuals, they can cause an allergic reaction at the site of application (see e.g. allergy to grass or a certain type of herb in dogs), although we have not yet encountered this in our practice and their effectiveness, as with insecticide preparations, is not 100%. Even very sensitive people, especially allergy sufferers and asthmatics, can react negatively to some essential oils. Therefore, this fact must also be considered when choosing.

We hope that we have provided you with as much information as possible to choose the right means to protect your four-legged friends from attacks by unwelcome guests. We wish you and your pets a beautiful upcoming spring. Free of fleas and ticks.

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