I do not use any topical products or flea collars. I feel that all of our standard poodles carry the disease genes for many heartbreaking illnesses. In order to avoid triggering these illnesses, I try to stay away from unnecessary poisons. In feeding a raw food diet, I have found my dogs to be healthier with fewer major or minor problems. The garlic in the food is a natural flea deterrent.

It is important to check the dog on a regular basis for ticks and fleas. Since I live in the number one county for Lyme disease in New Jersey, I go over the dogs just about every night during the major tick months in spring and fall. Ticks are usually found on the head, neck and ears, on the outer leather and on the inside, sometimes in the ear canal. If you run your fingers over the dogs skin you can feel even the tiniest bumps that are the deer tick nymphs before they are engorged. On the inside of the ear the tick is easily seen. If you find a tick, use a tweezer or hemostat held parallel to the skin, grasp the head of the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull the tick off. You can either flush it away, or put it in a small jar of rubbing alcohol which will kill it. Soak a cotton ball with peroxide and hold it on the spot for a few seconds to draw out any poisons that may have been left by the tick. Popular thought is that ticks have to be attached 24 hours in order for the dog to be infected. Also, not all ticks are carriers of the disease.

My vet tests my dogs in the spring and fall with a simple in-office blood test called an IDEXX Snap Test. It shows in about 20 minutes if the dog has been exposed to Heartworm, Lyme or Erlichia, another tick-borne disease. If the dog shows up as positive for Lyme a course of Doxycycline is recommended.

DO NOT VACCINATE AGAINST LYME. There are many problems with this vaccine and it has been withdrawn for humans. Dogs can come down with vaccine-induced Lyme which is an auto-immune problem and cannot be cured. You can only help the painful symptoms with some medications but you can never get rid of the disease.

There are a number of natural sprays that are supposed to ward off ticks and mosquitoes. One is called Bug Spray by Best Shot and is available at www.sitstay.com.

If you are worried about heartworm, don’t be. Heartworm in our area is pretty hard to come by. Many communities spray for mosquitoes and most people have their dogs on Heartworm meds year round so there aren’t a lot of infected dogs running in your neighborhood. (In the southeast it is another story. Check with your vet about the incidence of HW in your area). If you are worried, give your dog Black Walnut capsules from the health food store. One capsule per forty pounds or part. If you are a mosquito magnet you can take them too. One in the morning and one at night should be adequate. I started taking black walnut about eight years ago on the advice of a holistic vet and haven’t had a mosquito bite since. Before that I was always the first bitten!

Do not give RIMADYL or DERAMAXX for pain. These are only to be used for very old arthritic dogs but unfortunately are now offered for post-op pain and other less serious problems to young dogs. A side affect is DEATH which many vets, including mine, are not aware of. Ascriptin, Maalox coated aspirin, is safer. A standard poodle puppy died of liver failure after only four days on Rimadyl.

Please call me from your vet’s office before he/she gives your dog any unusual shot or medication. For example, the 6 month heartworm shot ProHeart 6, touted by vets to clients who couldn’t remember to give the once a month pills, has been recalled by Fort Dodge September ‘04 at the FDA’s order as more than 500 dogs have died from it and over 5500 adverse affects have been reported and only a small percentage of adverse affects are ever reported.