They sit in your lap and then lick their own coats, your cats, dogs, etc. will be safest if you use natural cleaners on your own clothes, and dry clean as little as possible. I’m also somewhat concerned about all those hand sanitizers, think you might try washing off whatever you used before the pets start their own cleaning routine on your hands, as well.

Cat litter: we used to buy a cat litter called “Feline Pine” that was just compressed sawdust pellets that were stained green and had a pine scent added. Then we discovered wood stove pellets! It’s tame compressed sawdust pellets, but without the stain and scent, at about 1/10 the price. Environmentally friendly, easy to use, etc. Great stuff!

We try to be as organic and natural as possible in this house. My dogs all eat a species appropriate raw diet. I get them organic turkey necks and have a great source of venison. We use no flea or tick poisons as the natural diet makes them uninteresting to fleas anyway and I find a very rare tick. We have been going this way for more than 6 years and I have two wire dachshunds one 5 and one 3 that have never been to a vet. I also use chiropractic and acupuncture as needed. I tend to alternative solutions if appropriate but use traditional vets when appropriate. My 13 year old Airedale had a baseball sized tumor and his spleen removed last year and just had a blood test with perfect results.

I had problems feeding them chicken from the supermarket last year so returned to turkey necks for their bone content most of the time.

Stainless steel food bowls are the safest as far as I know. Most people are now aware of the problems with plastic. There are sources available on the internet to find breeders who use natural rearing methods with their puppies.

Jane,

I went down the list and the only item we don’t comply with is the kitty litter one. I didn’t know that. Thanks, CalmingInfluence!

All I can add is “the more scratching posts for your cats, the better,” “help your animals like or love each other,” and “feed them as much Copper River and other salmon as you can.”

Another common household source of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that accumulate in our and our pets’ bodies is the one we wear: our clothes.

No-wrinkle cotton garments and stain-resistant/stainproof fabrics carry chemicals that – just like PDBE’s – act in very low doses to fool our bodies’ hormonal systems. Such chemcials – broadly known as “endocrine disruptors” are likely associated with rising levels of infertility and reproductive tract/genital abnormalities, as well as progressively earlier onset of puberty. Oh – and cancers of endocrine (hormone) sensitive tissues such as breast and prostate.

The best way to protect our furry friends from snuggling up on our laps draped with toxin-laden fabrics is to ditch the toxic fabrics.

Ironing’s not risk free, but it’s a heck of a lot safer that wrapping our tushes in swatches of hormone disruptors.

Oh, and ironing can be spiritual:

Mass. woman sees image of Jesus on her iron

No more chicken jerky from China. I had always assumed that it was full of bird flu, but since it had been autoclaved, it would be OK.

I did buy some shitake mushrooms from china for myself, they were yummy.

Greenie’s are what they really like. Greenies are like doggie drugs.

alrighty then, what is the safe, earth friendly solution for fleas ? we are under siege here

move to the desert?

People & pets living in the desert is not very earth friendly.

Been preaching this for years as my nonprofit, which provides money to folks for canine cancer treatment, is dedicated to educating folks about becoming more cancer aware. Amazingly, everything recommended for people is recommended for dogs. The number one vegetable is broccoli and the number one antioxidant is organic wild blueberries. My Golden gets both daily.

One in three persons as well as companion animals are developing cancer, an alarming six million dogs annually diagnosed with a spontaneous, naturally occurring cancer. And, over 45% of dogs older than 10 years of age are dying of the disease, as cancer is the leading cause of death in this age group.

While researchers have a greater understanding of cancer biology, their artificially induced cancers in rodents have not afforded them with much success in human trials. Yet, as Dr. David Waters, Co-director of the Purdue Comparative Oncology Program indicates, dogs and humans are the only two species that develop lethal prostate cancers. And, the breast cancer that affects dogs spreads to bones, just as it does in women. Further, osteosarcoma, which is the most frequent bone cancer of dogs, presents in the same way as it does for our teenagers. In fact, under a microscope, cancer cells from a teenager with osteosarcoma are indistinguishable from those bone cancer cells coming from a dog.

Ut oh … Lead & Arsenic in Dog Beds, Toys & Tennis Balls

Learning to Protect rather than Pollute ourselves & our Pets

Simply Fido Organic Dye-Free, Chemical-Free Dog Toys

Becoming Canine Cancer-AWARE: What to Know Before AND After

I lived in the desert for many years and had many friends and pets, all quite friendly.

Google natural flea control. I would find some but don’t know how to do links. There are several using lemon etc. I find that in spite of living in the woods and going to dog shows a lot I do not have problems with fleas.

How about Liquid Fence Natural Solutions?

thanks everyone – it’s off to the google for me

Excellent thread Jane and thanks for the good information.

My dogs have the bad habit of eating discarded food they find on our daily walks.

What’s the deal with dogs eating human foods? Which ones are not advisable for dogs? I heard garlic, onions and tomatoes are no no’s. Can you guys provide a list of human foods which harm dogs?

Pesticide Action Network (PAN) has some great resources; their North America branch (PANNA) has a page “Dealing With Pests At Home” with lots o’ linkies…including fleas.

Keeping Fleas Off Your Pets and Out of Your Yard from the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District

Managing Fleas Without Poisons from Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (Help with PDF files)

Fleas from University of California IPM Online

Good luck!

Best way to control fleas is to flea comb every day. Have a bucket of hot soapy water next to you so that you can swipe the fur and fleas off the comb after each stroke into the bucket. It takes time, especially with double coated dogs, but none of the natural remedies I tried worked. I now live in a flea-free environment and we love it!

Vaccinations are another major concern. Rabies is required by law, so no really getting around that. I work with a homeopathic vet in addition to a regular vet and only get the vaccines for whatever particular disease is in our area. Never the 3 or 5 in one. After about 5 years of age, I don’t vaccinate anymore. You can get a titer test which will show the level of antibodies in the system. More and more vets are realizing that we’re over-vaccinating our furry friends and will do this test, and/or just give the vaccines absolutely necessary in your area. If you’re going to board your dog you will need to have all their vaccines updated.

Titer Testing Dogs – The Alternative to Over-Vaccinating

Another good article (from Whole Dog Journal, excellent publication) about titer testing.

TAKE THE TITER TEST
Testing a dog’s serum antibody titers can prevent overvaccinating

Clean green, as well. Toxic fumes from many cleaning agents can affect your pets.

Nearly every household cleaning problem can be solved with white vinegar and baking soda — often, more effectively.

Do a google search for “green cleaning” and you’ll find the recipies.

Thank you from a cat lover. I don’t know where to find those stove pellets in FL. Not many wood stoves around here tho I’ll look for pellets.

Jane, I couldn’t login last night so I’ll express my thanks now for the
touching tribute to Kobe.

Re: Fleas.

Feed your dog grnaulated garlic. At least once a week, mine gets a short teaspoon of granulated garlic (the stuff you put on pizza) in her chow and we have not had flea problems for years.

And she’s a Gordon Setter, with the longish coat and feathers and all. Plenty of places for fleas to hide, none home.

I tried the sawdust kitty litter thing. It was shredded and pulverized and I thought it would be okay. It ended up causing my kitty Sammy havoc with her digestive system. It stuck to her paws and as she licked, she would ingest it. After a time, it started to cause her to bleed.

I used a natural flea product with a mixture of essential oils in it. It did the trick.

• Green lawns: Care for your lawn without using insecticides, which may cause nervous system damage in pets that walk on the treated lawn, eat the grass, or breathe in the chemicals.

There were some folks who lived next door to my daughter’s friend.

They had the greenest, most weed-free lawn on the block.

They also had two dogs that died of cancer. Go figure. (rolleyes)

Yup. Fleas don’t like garlic or healthy pets.

This is why mulching your leaves and yard clippings is a good idea: You save on fertilizer costs, plus you can use the mulch to protect your plants over the winter. You also don’t have any fertilizer runoff going into the storm drains (and thus into whatever body of water to which they drain). This is especially important for those of you who live near the Mississippi or any other river that ultimately empties into the Gulf of Mexico.

Absolutely. I quit using chemicals on my lawn after about a year after moving to my last house (around 1999). I had a mulching mower and I had a compost bin that I filled regularly. Out came the richest fertilizer/mulch one could get–black gold, as they call it.

I was quite the outcast and rebel for NOT using chemicals to artificially green my lawn. Oh…and letting the grass get to a 3 inch height. (The average height of grass was one inch or less in my neck of the woods.)

The 3 -inch height allows grass to develop deep roots so that you don’t have to water your lawn – or at least not water it as much. In the eight years that I had my home, I never had to water the lawn, even during the driest July.

I’m a barefooter, but can’t can’t even step shoe’d on a green green lawn.

Best thing for fleas is sentinel or frontline, frontline is better on the ticks, not as good on the fleas. You don’t even have to give it to them every month, just give it to them for a few months until the house is clear. My guys are flea and tick free and I haven’t given them their medicztion in months.

Now if they would only take out that damn rat that comes in through the dog door.

Me, either. I used to love going barefoot, and now look at weed-free green green lawns as a sea of poison.