Three Great Natural Flea & Tick Products for your Dogs

"Summer, summer, summer time.  Time to sit back and unwind."  -Will Smith

It sure is time to sit back, unwind and hopefully not have to worry about flea and ticks attacking your dogs.  I don't know how it feels outside in your neck of the woods, but here in Nebraska it is hot and humid already and it's not even technically summer yet!  I fear we'll be in for one heck of a long, hot summer if this is any indication.  Whatever the case, it is definitely flea and tick season so we are ready to tackle the season right...with natural products! My husband is the one who researched and chose all the products we are using to help battle the fleas and ticks in our yard naturally.  It's only the best, non-toxic products for our sweet doggies!  Our battle strategy is to treat both the yard and the dogs, so to be doubly assured that those pesky bugs stay far away!  Not only will these products help keep the bugs at bay, but all of them actually smell really good because they are full of wonderful essential oils!  

Vet's Best Natural Flea + Tick Yard and Kennel Spray* (32 fl oz) $14.88
~Ingredients: Water, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid, Peppermint oil, Eugenol (Clove extract), Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

~This product is designed to be used on the yard itself.  It is a bottle you attach your hose to and spray over your entire yard.  One 32 fl.oz. bottle will treat 4,500 sq. ft.  This is the first year we've tried this product.  So far we've applied one treatment in our backyard and the results have been positive.  The application process was very easy and straightforward.  It didn't harm the grass in any way.  Our yard still looks healthy and lush.  My husband said it was really nice to not feel like he had to wear a HAZMAT suit when he was out spraying it in the yard.  He mentioned how nice and pepperminty it smelled as he was applying it and that little bubbles formed as he was spraying it.  How fun is that!?  The instructions don't mention how often you should apply this product, so right now our plan is to treat the yard once a month and we'll see how it goes. 

Vet's Best Natural Anti-flea Easy Spray Shampoo* (16 fl oz) $10.24
~Ingredients: Water, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid, Peppermint oil, Eugenol (Clove extract), Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
~This shampoo is unique in that you spray it on your dogs coat dry, lather it in well for 5-10 minutes (if you can get your dog to stay still for you long enough!), then add a small amount of water, lather again and rinse off.  Our dogs skin wasn't irritated at all by this product.  Our skin wasn't irritated at all by this product either!  It smells fantastic, although initially it is pretty strong.  The instructions don't mention how often you should apply this product.  We've shampooed our dogs once already and will likely do it once a month. 

Mercola Natural Flea and Tick Defense Spray* (8 0z) $17.95
~Ingredients:  Purified Water, Lemon Grass Oil, Cinnamon Oil, Sesame Oil, Castor Oil
~This is a spray used on your dogs coats.  Be careful to keep it out of their eyes. nose and mouth when spraying it though.  I will spray it on a paper towel and rub it on their head, ears and neck to be on the safe side!  Our dogs haven't had any skin irritations with this product.  The smell is pretty strong initially but it fades fairly quickly and is still overall very pleasant! (And, 100 times more pleasant then those toxic flea and tick remedies we used to use!)  The instructions don't mention how often you should apply this product.  Maybe I am just so used to the toxic products we used in the past which would warn you how often you can use them. I keep looking for this same kind of thing on these natural, non-toxic ones.  Be that as it may, we're using this product a couple times a week.

After using all these products we haven't seen any ticks or fleas on our dogs or on us, for that matter.  Our battle strategy seems to be working as planned! Woo hoo!!!

There are so many natural flea & tick products on the market, I'm curious about what products you use for your dogs and what your experience has been using them?

~Chrissy

*Disclosure: I am an Amazon.com Affiliate

My Friday Five: February 7, 2014

I've taken a bit of a break from blogging over the last couple of weeks, but I'm back and ready to start writing again!  Since it's Friday, this means it is time for another "My Friday Five" post.  There has been lots and lots of fun things from the last two weeks that I've been eager to share with everyone, so now, without further adieu, here are the five things I absolutely have to share or I'd burst.....

1.  Urbnmat Earth Urbmat $79.95 ~Amazon Affiliate Link 
I was pretty excited when I came across this on my Twitter feed the other day.  This mat is designed for beginner gardeners, like me, who really want the dumbed down version of how to garden.  I really have no clue as to what I am doing when it comes to gardening.  Quite frankly, it kind of makes me a bit anxious.  What I like about this mat is you really can't get much easier then this.  It is like a gardening roadmap.  Everything is already supplied except the dirt to roll it out on.  All you have to do is place this mat in the space you cleared away for gardening, add the included seed balls in the appropriate hole on the mat and hook your water up to the drip irrigation system.  Then, you'll sit back and wait for your lovely, organic veggies to pop out.  Winter is beginning to feel as if it will never end but gardening season will be here before we know it and something like this may be a great tool to have for my first garden. 

2.  Beautiful Nebraska Sunrises!  Lately we seem to be having some really gorgeous sunrises here in Nebraska which paint the sky in this amazing variety of vibrant colors.  Lucky for me these sunrises have been happening during my drive into work, making it all the more richer and enjoyable for me.  My mood is always so much more positive and happier when this magnificent sight lights up the sky and uplifts my spirits! 

3.  Winning a giveaway contest.  Over the holidays, I signed up for the Goodebox 12 days of Giveaways contest.  Every day was a different giveaway, and I am pretty sure I signed up for each of the 12 giveaways.  Lucky for me, I actually won one of the prizes!!!  My prize was a 4 piece set of Valia Skincare products.  The four, full-size products I received were the Cleansing Milk, Purifying Wash, Yuzu Hydrating Crème & Bloom Dietary Supplement.  I don't know if I'll use the supplement, but the rest of the products will be put to great use!!!

4.  My Great Aunt's sparkly fashion jewelry.  My mom recently passed down to me quite a few pieces of my Great Aunt's lovely jewelry, circa 1940/1950.  These jewel encrusted pieces are all fake, but they are invaluable to me.  I have only a few treasured memories of my Great Aunt, who died when I was pretty young.  I am thrilled to find we have the same taste in glitzy, flashy jewelry.  Oddly, it makes me feel more close to her, even though she has been gone all these years!!! 

 
5.  Feel Good Stories.  This video is a few months old, but I always think about it when I hear the song, "Best Day of My Life" by American Authors.  It definitely tugs on my heart strings.  My husband and I have two little doggie's who mean the absolute world to us.  We actually got our dogs from breeders, but I've learned a lot over the last few years about puppy mills and breeders, enough to know that when the time comes our next family member will be a rescue dog.

Have a Great weekend!
~Chrissy

My Friday Five: January 17, 2014

It's Friday and I'm starting a new weekly post called, "My Friday Five".  Every Friday, I'll be sharing  five different things I absolutely have to share with you all or I'll burst. Knowing me, this will likely run the gamut on a whole variety of unrelated, random topics. 

Now that you've been warned, drumroll please, here's my very first Friday Five:

*Ma'mitons Tote bag photo via the Ma'mitons Polyvore page.

1.  Ma'mitons handbags.  I learned about this company that makes "fashionable, handmade and environmentally friendly handbags" after they followed me on Twitter.  As a lover of all things fashionable, I immediately had to investigate their products.   They make beautiful handmade handbags, including the one seen above, which run the range from clutches to large totes.  I have yet to own one of these gorgeous bags but the bag in the picture above is totally calling my name.  (It'll be perfect on my shoulder come Summer time, don'tcha think?)  Besides the amazing handbags, there are a few other things I am very impressed with about the Ma'miton company.  First, they were very personal and friendly, trading tweets back and forth with me on Twitter.  I love that!  Not only are their bags all handmade, but they are made in the USA. (Woot, woot!)  Last but not least, Ma'mitons will donate 1% of your purchase to a charity they support called S.O.S Children's Village and if you sign up to receive their newsletter you'll receive 15% off your first purchase! 

2. Downton Abbey.  So, I am a few Seasons late to the Downton Abbey party but I have been eagerly catching up over the last few weeks.  I love everthing about this show. I love most of the characters, and I hate a select few, as well.  (Can we say, Thomas and O'Brien?....Ugh, they are so nasty!)  The costumes are exquisite.  (I sometimes wish we still wore such lovely gowns in today's day and age.) Since watching the show, I've added visiting the "Downton Abbey" castle, to my Bucket List. (I can stop in after my Jane Austen tour.)  Oh, and guess what?  Last week, I received an email from Department 56 promoting a new house they are featuring which will come out this summer.  Can you guess which house I am referring to???  Yes, the Downton Abbey house.  It's a bit pricey at $240, so I don't know if it will make it into my collection.  I have the perfect spot to display it, if it does though.

3.  Progressive Dinners.  Three of my close friends moved into new homes over the course of this past year, so last weekend we planned a progressive dinner as a fun way to see everyone's new home.  If you don't know what a progressive dinner is, it is where you host a different course at a different house.  So, you can have appetizers at one home, dinner at another and dessert at the last one.  We had lots of fun eating, laughing and making great memories! 

4.  Finding Warmth in Winter. One of my favorite things in Winter is when you jump into a parked car on a freezing cold day only to find that it is already nice and toasty warm from the sun shining down on it.  Ahhhh......it feels so amazing!!! 

5.  A little bit of dog humor.  While I was walking around a local department store, I saw the abbreviation above and got such a good chuckle from it that I whipped out my phone and immediately snapped a photo.  As the Mom to two adorably sweet & crazy doggies, I can totally picture them sitting in front of a computer, chatting with the other doggies on twitter, using this hip lingo!  :) 

Happy Friday!!!
~Chrissy