Unfortunately most commercially produced products (oral and topical preventatives) - designed to repel Mosquitos from your dog contain powerful chemical-based pesticides and other toxic / carcinogenic ingredients that are very harmful to your dog’s well being.
If you are in a zone in which you must use heartworm pills I suggest that you off-set the harmful side effects of heartworm pills by introducing foods into your dog’s diet that will help protect against the toxins and carcinogens found in heartworm pills. See 3.0 further below for more on using diet to offset the harmful ingredients in heartworm pills.
If you are notin a high-incident zone (such as New Orleans, or Florida) for heartworm infection you can try using the following lemon-based alternatives to repeal misquitos and subsequently the infestation of heartworms…
As an alternative you can use fresh lemon to discourage misquitos from ‘visiting’ your dog. Even better, use organic fresh lemons!
Use Lemon in Two Ways to Help Repel Misquitos…
One - Topical Application;
Two - Ingested as part of your dog’s daily diet.
Read on below to find out how lemon can be your dog’s best friend…
1.0 Topical Applications
Lemon when applied topically can be used to repel insects and parasites.
Mosquitos do not like the scent of citrus…
1.1 Spot Treatment
- Cut a fresh lemon, (lime, orange, or grapefruit) in half and rub the cut fruit onto your dog’s fur.
- Avoid the area immediately around your dog’s eyes and do not apply to open wounds/cuts - citrus stings!
- Make sure you pay special attention to favourite/vulnerable spots like ears, nose, under the tail and tummy.
- Lemon is non-toxic to dogs so, unlike most commercially manufactured misquote repellents – your dog will not be harmed by licking/ingesting the lemon juice!
1.2 Spray Application
What you will need…
- 6 lemons, or you can use a mix of citrus
- 1 quart of water (.95 litre)
- 1 pot
- 1 spray bottle
Preparation
- Cut the lemons and/or other citrus fruit in half;
- Place the cut fruit and 1 quart of water in a pot;
- Bring to a boil and then allow too steep for two hours;
- Allow the resulting liquid to cool;
- Once cool, strain the liquid to remove any pulp;
- Pour the resulting liquid into a spray bottle;
- Spritz your dog’s fur - remember to protect your dog’s eye from the spray;
- To apply the spray to your dog’s face:
- Spray the palm of your hand with the solution;
- Rub your hands gently over your dog’s nose, around their eyes, behind the ears, around the base of the tail, under your dog’s legs, etc.
- If your dog is going to be outside for a good portion of the day - repeat the spray application every 2 to 3 hours.
1.3 Mosquito Repelling Collar Drops
You can put a few drops of lemon-oil or 1 drop of essential lemon-oil on your dog’s collar to further discourage misquotes.
To make your own lemon-oil…
You will need…
- 2 lemons,
- 1 cup olive oil
Preparation
- Peel the rind from the lemons;
- Place oil and lemon rinds in a sauce pan;
- Place on very low heat for 20 minutes;
- Allow to cool;
- Strain and pour into a bottle.
2.0 Ingested Treatment
Adding fresh lemon to your dog’s daily diet is simple…
I use a food processor to finely chop/mince fresh lemon.
- I sprinkle the finely minced lemon on top of my dog’s food once a day.
- Then store any remaining minced lemon in an air tight glass container (in the refrigerator) for a day or two.
- 1 tsp/day of minced lemon for small dogs;
- 2 tsp/day for medium size dogs, and;
- 3 to 4 tsp/day for large dogs.
If you would like to know more about the health benefits of lemon for your dog – the benefits are numerous...you can read more here ᵔᴥᵔ
3.0 If You Must Give Your Dog Heartworm Pills…
I recommend that you expand your dog’s diet to help off-set the damage that the toxins and carcinogens in heartworm pills can reek on your dog’s long-term health. Include some simple, natural foodstuffs in your dog’s diet that boosts this/her immune system, detoxifies the body and protects against cancer…
The following foods can be added to your dog’s daily diet – simply top-off your dog’s existing food (kibble, raw-food, or home-made cooked food) with the following once a day…
- Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) – organic, unpasteurized
- Small size dogs - 1 tsp
Medium size dogs – 1tbs - Large dogs – 1.5 to 2 tbs
- Cranberries - fresh/frozen finely chopped cranberries (no sugar added)
- Small size dogs - 1 tbs
Medium size dogs – 1.5 to 2 tbs tbs - Large dogs – 2 to 3 tbs
- Coconut Oil – read more about coconut oil here – benefits, dosage
- Garlic - fresh, chopped – read more about garlic here.
- Dosage for Garlic...
- 1 clove/1 tsp chopped garlic per every 30 lbs of body weight;
- Lemon - fresh, finely chopped
- Small size dogs - 1 tsp
- Medium size dogs - 1 tbs
- Large dogs - 1.5 to 2 tbs
- Yogurt - plain, natural, no sugar, no artificial sweeteners, depending on the dog’s weight/body type/metabolisim I use 2% fat for dog’s whose weight needs to be watched or 3% to 6% fat for leaner dogs, or kefir;
Dosage for yogurt: - Small size dogs - 1 tsp to 1 tbs
- Medium size dogs - 1 tbs to 2 tbs
- Large dogs – 2 tbs to 4 tbs
- Kefir – read more about kefir (and/or sauerkraut) and how to introduce it to your dog’s diet here. Kefir is a powerful probiotic and should be introduced in small amounts, building up to the full dosage…
Dosage for kefir: - Small size dogs - 1 tsp
- Medium size dogs - 1 tbs
- Large dogs - 11/2 to 2 tbs
- Omega Fatty Acids – make sure your dog is getting the right balance of Omega fatty acids – I have yet to see a commercially made dog food that has the Omega 3:6 Fatty acids properly balanced. You will need to add some good-source Omega 3 fatty acids to your dog’s diet – read more hereand choose the Omega 3 you want to use.
- Turmeric – read more about turmeric here- benefits, dosage
For items such as cranberries, garlic and lemon…
- I chop (the finer the better) enough of the foodstuff in the food processor to last several days to a week;
- Then I put the chopped food in containers - plastic (BPA free) or glass;
- I leave the appropriate sized measuring spoon in the container – this little convenience makes it faster to prepare the meal at feeding time ᵔᴥᵔ
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