Natural Deworming, Flea, and Tick Solutions

Q: What are your thoughts on a natural deworming routine as well as natural flea and tick solutions? To date I have yet to have an animal show positive for any type of worms. Also I live in the country where I have deer, coon and all the other critters that travel by and through the yard. Have yet to find a flea and ticks; I think I have seen two in the last 5 years.

A: Parasite treatment and prevention protocol is so important to our breeding programs because we want our puppies to have the best ‘parasite free’ start to life. In order to have this we need to start with our older dogs and use a consistent parasite treatment. I understand the desire to use “natural” products, but we need to remember that even natural products can have adverse effects. We also need to treat for parasites based on where we live, and not every area has the same parasite infestations. I would chat with your vet to see what they are seeing, and treating, as they see more than we do.

I have used Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth (DE) in my house, when I lived in the south, as a flea/tick prevention because the action of the DE dries out the exoskeleton of all bugs which kills them. However, you do need to be very careful as it is extremely drying, and you need to protect your eyes, nose and lungs during the application. The reason I have used this in my house is that my husband is very sensitive to any chemicals, so this solved both the flea/tick problem and had no residual smell. I have also used DE topically on my dogs, a small, small, amount goes a long way, again being very, very, careful not to get into eyes, ears, etc. There are people who feed DE claiming anecdotally that they have no worms and that it killed the internal worms, and it may help, BUT it does not kill any encysted larvae in the tissues. Additionally, I have not found any peer-reviewed parasite studies showing the effectiveness of this treatment. So, until I can find peer-reviewed studies I am sticking with traditional flea/tick/worm treatments and working with my vet for the least toxic solutions.

For all of my breeding girls I first make sure that I am up to date on their normal parasite treatments, then starting at day 40 of confirmed pregnancy I use 1cc of 10% Liquid Safeguard (Panacur/Fenbendazole) for every 8.8lbs of dogs weight on the 40th day of pregnancy. I continue the treatment through day 7 post whelping. You do this to remove the encysted parasite lavae that are in the tissue and migrate to the puppies. Additionally, I use a product that I purchase at Revival called Cocciguard, because I have coccidia on my property. I start this on the day I breed my girls and continue through weaning, and I give it to the puppies in their food too. It has made a big difference in the health of my dogs, as I no longer battle parasites with the puppies, and everyone is significantly healthier.