I have noticed Smokey scratching a lot and I am afraid I may have brought fleas home from a friends house. They got 2 new kittens that were totally infested with fleas crazy infested you can feel all the bumps and I am afraid I may have brought some home or I may just be paranoid. I tried looking in smokys fur in the areas he scratches, but his fur is to thick to see.

I don't have the money to buy frontline for example and I also do not like useing that kind of stuff on him. I want something that is natural and that works, so if anyone knows of anything that would be great. If he doesn't have them it could be a preventative. I don't want it to hurt him if he doesn't have them.

I'm glad you asked this question! I was shocked last night when I was dremeling Sammy's nails and saw a teeny flea on his leg. I'm fairly certain it came from my neighbor's dog. He and their dog have played together for the last three days and they just returned after a month in the south. From what I've read, fleas don't survive in low humidity which typically we have, but we're in our monsoon season and it's done nothing but rain - humidity is high. I itched all night just thinking about that thing. I checked him over and over and didn't see any others, but I grew up in a state with a lot of fleas, so I do know that if there's one, there's bound to be others! Will anxiously await everyone's replies!

I can't wait either I checked his legs where I see him bite and I can feel a tiny bump which I assume is a flea bite.

I have used Bug-Off Garlic with success. The only potential problem in your case is that it takes between 2 and 4 weeks for it to build up in a dog's system.

OK - not a natural solution, but if you think you caught this quickly and just want to kill any fleas currently in him, you can use capster.

Vets will usually sell just 1 or 2 caps and it is very cheap. It just kills adult fleas.

If you google 'herbal flea recipe' you find lots of information. You might try those - fleas really don't like citrus and several oils.

Some are very simple:

To make a fur rub for the dog, cut up 4 lemons, and simmer for one hour in 1 quart of water, adding more water as it evaporates. Cool the mixture, strain, and massage into the dog’s coat.

food grade diatomaceous earth
http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/defaq.html

Not sure if I would want to wait the 2 to 4 weeks. I did google it a little was just wanting some specific recipies that people here have tried that have worked.

1. Natural remedies for fleas - WDJ back in 99 or 2000 or 2001 did a series of articles on the perils of frontline etc use & the final article (there were three) was on natural alternatives. I used one successfully on the old geezer I pulled from the pound. Don't remember what all was in it but it smelled good and did the job. If you subscribe to WDJ you have access to the complete archives on line.

2. Fleas in Colorado -- not very plentiful for sure but they do exist. Prairie dogs have fleas and Colorado has prairie dogs.

When I lived in Wyoming, the occassional city of fleas was taken care of by one treatment of noxious frontline each dog.

De-Limonene is a great natural citrus based substance used in many natural flea shampoos. I used it for years as a groomer rather than more toxic chemicals. Has a great knock down rate and leaves a nice scent of course The Davis company used to produce a great shampoo product using de-limonene.


Cherri

Here ya' go. They are out of their gallon jugs but have the 12oz which is diluted 10-1

http://www.davismfg.com/prod/100145--DQQP92Limonene+Shampoo,+12+oz.%3Cbr%3E%3Ci%3EItem#+DLS12%3CQQSi%3E.html

I luckily don't have experience with fleas, but I use the Mad About Organics products to make a spray that appears to be working for mosquitos and it seems ticks, I do add extra Cat Nip Oil though.

The tick thread has some recipes for tick stuff, I have no clue whether they would work for fleas.

Are you not able to make it?

I think I would rather just buy a shampoo and conditoner at like petsmart. Don't really have the time for a natural one. Would a shampoo kill what he has? I have never delt with them before. He would not have them if it was not for somee friends animals. He is just scratching way more than he normally does. He will be walking then flop down to scratch his neck which he has never done it like that. What is a good shampoo/conditoner to use. I don't want it to dry his skin out. I just want my baby to stop itching. I don't see them looking in his fur or any flea dirt, so he is not like infested or I would see them. I think he may just have some right now and I don't want it out of hand.

Bathing will kill fleas on him, but not any flea eggs and if he has fleas there are probably flea eggs in the environment right now. You need to make sure you vacuum any carpet daily, and if you have a bagless vacuum immediately empty it outside. Not sure what to do if you have a bagged vac, the old school saying is to put cut up flea collars in the bag but the problem is those don't kill fleas, they repel them. So that would make the situation worse by repelling the fleas out of the bag and back into the environment.

Also should regularly wash all bedding that Smokey has contact with in hot water. You can treat the carpets with diatomaceous earth or boric acid powder. After vacuuming really well, sprinkle the powder on top of the carpet and then work it into the carpet with a push broom.

Don't bothering buying special shampoos, a bath with drown any adult fleas as long as you leave the lather on him for a full 10 minutes before rinsing. Many recommend using dawn dish soap for fleas because it has a very stable lather that lasts 10 minutes easily.

You'll have to continue treatments for a few months because of the lifestage of the flea, if you kill all of the adults by bathing and vacuuming more will still hatch from the eggs as time goes along. There are treatments to kill all lifestages of fleas, but those aren't natural.

What is the cheapest way to do all stages?

frontline plus and advantage kill all stages. But you'll need to treat for at least 3 full months if you're not treating the environment as well. Of the two, frontline plus is cheaper but a lot of people have been reporting issues of fleas being resistant.

There are also currently frontline plus generics on the market, though merial is fighting about their patent to get them removed so I'm not sure how much longer they will be available.

An example of a frontline plus generic is fiproguard plus. If you have an ebay account, you can find good prices there.

When purchasing frontline plus or advantage you can save money by purchasing the largest dosage size, and then dosing it out with a syringe. You're paying a lot for packaging, so buying the 89-132 lb dosage will give you more medication for your money. The easiest way is to empty the vials into a small glass bottle, and then remove out the dosage with a syinge. For a GSD, the dosage would be 2.7 cc. If you have ebay, sellers have these kits where you buy the frontline with a bottle and syringe. Or also I believe ones where you buy just the bottle and syringe, and then the medication separately. You can also see if you can get the things you need locally, such as asking a pharmacist for their smallest size of liquid medication bottle and see if they sell syringes without needles.

I thought frontline was something you put on the back of bthe neck? Smokey is like 53lbs. I just don't want to buy a huge box of it if it won't work.

Yes, frontline is a topical that you place on the back of the neck. Frontline only kills adult feas, frontline plus kills all life stages.

I've never had an issue with fleas resistant to frontline plus. However you wouldn't know for 3 months since you have to treat for at least 3 months if you aren't treating the environment.

Oh okay then I will get the frontline plus. Is there enough in one box to use for the 3 months? Sorry I have never had to use anything like this before. Do I have to put it on every week or once a month? I know its expensive.

You can buy boxes of 3, or 6 vials and you use one once a month.