Lately in our Nutrition Blog, we’ve been talking about some natural methods for controlling fleas on your Tripawd. One of the reasons we’ve been covering this topic is because flea season is here, and also because of this downloadable article we found in the Animal Protection of New Mexico’s website: “Are Spot on Flea Killers Safe?”
The Whole Dog Journal is a highly respected, natural dog health magazine that does not accept advertising and publishes unbiased information about foods, training methods and medications. You can count on their articles being accurate and well-researched. In this piece about flea killers, the reporter writes about the neurological side effects of these products:
“Logic tells us that a topical chemical that is not absorbed into the skin has no chance of causing neurotoxic effects. Then why do the Material Data Safety Sheets (MSDSs) for all the permethrin-containing pesticides recommend preventing their products from having prolonged contact with the skin? And why do they all state that skin sensations, such as “numbing and tingling” can occur?”
Permethrin is a an insecticide suspected to be an endocrine disrupter and a carcinogenic insecticide (causing lung cancer and liver tumors in laboratory animals). As ruff as a flea outbreak is on dogs, it’s hard to believe that putting a known carcinogen on our dog is safe, especially for dogs with cancer.
We don’t have all of the answers about keeping fleas away without using harmful chemicals. But we’ll continue bringing you tips and downloadable articles about ways that you can help your dog fight fleas, naturally and safely.
Here’s one for starters, another great downloadable Whole Dog Journal article, courtesy of the Home Vet Medical Center in Connecticut:
“Eliminate Fleas without Poisons: Integrated Pest Management to effectively control fleas”