Article By Frances Gavin - Canine Natural Cures
Are you worried about the effects of chemicals on your dog? Why not make your own safe, non toxic flea repellents?
CITRUS REPELLENT: Cut a lemon into quarters and place in a pint jug. Cover the lemon with boiling water and let it steep overnight. Next day you have a flea repellent that you can use in a spray bottle. Spray all over your dog remembering especially behind the ears and around the head generally (careful of eyes), around the base of the tail (once again keep away from delicate bits) and under your dog's 'armpits'.
AROMATHERAPY REPELLENT: Using 10 ml. of sweet almond oil as your base, add 10 drops of lavender and 5 drops of cedarwood. Shake well and use 1 or 2 drops spread over the skin at least twice a week to keep the fleas away.
A flea collar can be made by rubbing a few drops of one of the following into an ordinary webbing or rope collar or even a doggy bandanna: eucalyptus oil, Tea Tree Oil, citronella, lavender or geranium. Don't forget to do this weekly.
YOUR HOME: Fleas spend most of their time in your furnishings and only hop onto your dog or you for their next meal. Make sure you wash your dog's bedding regularly because no flea ever survived a hot wash cycle. If you add eucalyptus oil to the final rinse it will also kill 99% of house dust mites according to research from the University of Sydney, Australia.
Vacuum your home very thoroughly and sprinkle a fine layer of ordinary table salt over your upholstery and carpets and leave overnight before vacuuming again to evict your unwelcome guests safely but don't forget to empty your vacuum bag.
BATHING: A badly infested dog really needs to be bathed so use your favorite dog shampoo. Rinse the dog off very thoroughly and in the final rinse add a couple of drops of Tea Tree Oil or Lavender oil. An alternative is to make your own herbal flea dip which will also work on ticks. Steep two cups of fresh rosemary in two pints of boiling water for 30 minutes. Strain the liquid, discard the leaves and make it up to one gallon ( 8 pints) with warm water. Pour this mixture over the dog until it's saturated. Do not rinse off and allow the dog to dry naturally so this is a remedy to use on hot summer days.
INTERNAL FLEA REPELLENTS: Garlic may not be your favorite cologne and it's not the flea's favorite smell either. When your dog eats garlic, the smell is excreted through the dog's skin making your dog less likely to be the flea's next meal. In case you think you might need to give your dog a breath freshener along with the garlic, my dogs, Mack and Josh, eat a garlic clove every day and I don't find their breath smells from it at all.
Brewer's yeast tablets will also help to make your dog less attractive to fleas because once again the smell is excreted through the skin.
Adding a dessertspoon of apple cider vinegar to the water bowl will make the skin more acidic and unpleasant to fleas and ticks. If your dogs don't fancy apple cider vinegar in the water bowl, dilute it 50/50 with water and use in a spray bottle instead of the citrus repellent.
Article by Frances Gavin - Canine Natural Cures
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| Love playing fetch or tug-of-war with your best friend, but hate touching your dog's slimy tennis ball? Hate having to try to pull the tennis ball out of your dog's mouth? Here's your solution! Sewn to be stretchy (see Reese in the 4th picture). Reese loves playing tug-o-war with a tennis ball...my friend Cheryl finally has an edge and no longer has to have her fingers inches away from being severed! THESE ARE BY FAR MY BEST SELLING TOY! This listing is for one dog toy with a tennis ball & squeaker. To customize your dog's toy, please include the following information in the "note to seller" box once purchased: 1. Use the 3rd picture above to pick out your dog's favorite color. *every purchase comes with a free gift!* What makes my toys Earth-Friendly and Safer? 1. All my fabric (dog and cat toys) is washed with Seventh Generation Free & Clear detergent (which is NON-TOXIC, biodegradable, hypo-allergenic, free of phosphates & optical brighteners, NOT tested on animals & kosher-certified) 2. I do not use fabric softeners! 3. My dog toys are made with recycled tennis balls. One of my jobs is working part-time at a Racquet Club where tennis players throw out their tennis balls after only a few matches (something about losing their "bounce"?). Beautiful, clean, practically new tennis balls! Instead of the balls ending up in a landfill, I was able to enter into an agreement with the owner to recycle the balls so dogs could get as much enjoyment as possible out of them! They may not be "blemish"-free...but you are doing your part for the planet! I am a member of Etsy for Animals (efa): http://etsyforanimals.etsy.com 5% of my sales will be donated to a combination of my favorite charities: 1. Live and Let Live Farm, Chichester, NH: http://liveandletlivefarm.org 2. Another Chance Animal Rescue, North Berwick, ME: http://acanimalrescue.org 3. Concord SPCA, Concord, NH: http://concordspca.org All items come from a pet-friendly (obviously) and smoke-free environment. Please email me with any questions or special requests! |
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Your dog will love hanging out on this cool cushion.
HERE'S HOW
Determine the dimensions your pillow needs to be to fit your dog, then add eight inches (20 centimeters) to the length and width. (This gives you extra fabric for fringe.)
Your cat will love this green treat.
HERE'S HOW
Fill the planter with soil. Add water until the soil is damp but not soaked. Sprinkle seeds across the top layer of soil, then press them into the soil. Wet the soil again. Keep the soil moist until the grass begins to sprout—about one to two weeks. Then water as needed. When your grass grows, invite your cat to this all-you-can-eat salad bar.
Give your cat a cool place to hang out with this homemade kitty condo!
HERE'S HOW
Arrange the boxes in any configuration you like. Use the folding flaps as doors or trim. Tape the boxes in place.
Cover with colorful wrapping paper.
Add a fuzzy blanket or your cat’s favorite toy to tempt it to explore the new pad.
As autumn arrives, people in various places may notice something odd.
A procession of animals, everything from dogs and cats to hamsters and even horses, is led to churches for a special ceremony called the Blessing of Pets.
This custom is conducted in remembrance of St. Francis of Assisi’s love for all creatures.
Francis, whose feast day is October 4th, loved the larks flying about his hilltop town. He and his early brothers, staying in a small hovel, allowed themselves to be displaced by a donkey.
Francis wrote a Canticle of the Creatures, an ode to God’s living things. “All praise to you, Oh Lord, for all these brother and sister creatures.” And there was testimony in the cause for St. Clare of Assisi’s canonization that referred to her little cat!
That there are today over 62 million cats in the U.S. attests to the continuing affection we have for our furry, feathered or finned friends. We've even had a cat called Socks in the White House. Other popular presidential pets range from Abraham Lincoln’s Fido to Lyndon Johnson’s beagles, named Him and Her.
For single householders, a pet can be a true companion. Many people arrive home from work to find a furry friend overjoyed at their return. Many a senior has a lap filled with a purring fellow creature.
The bond between person and pet is like no other relationship, because the communication between fellow creatures is at its most basic. Eye-to-eye, a man and his dog, or a woman and her cat, are two creatures of love.
No wonder people enjoy the opportunity to take their animal companions to church for a special blessing. Church is the place where the bond of creation is celebrated.
At Franciscan churches, a friar with brown robe and white cord often welcomes each animal with a special prayer. The Blessing of Pets usually goes like this:
“Blessed are you, Lord God, maker of all living creatures. You called forth fish in the sea, birds in the air and animals on the land. You inspired St. Francis to call all of them his brothers and sisters. We ask you to bless this pet. By the power of your love, enable it to live according to your plan. May we always praise you for all your beauty in creation. Blessed are you, Lord our God, in all your creatures! Amen.”
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