Just Ask Terry

Terry is happy to provide his opinion on diet and nutrition, supplements and lifestyle choices. This information is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to replace the advice of your physician and is not to be considered medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Should you have any concerns please contact your physician directly.

Q. Dear Terry, “I know you mostly deal with people, but I have a pet question and I hope you can help me! Do you have any idea what I can treat my dog with naturally for fleas and ticks? My vet wants me to use the commercial flea and tick powder, but that is very unhealthy and I was hoping to find something natural. Thank you!” —Carol B., Red Wing, MN A. Dear Carol, I am happy to answer questions when I can on the furry members of our families. That’s a good question. In fact, we went through the same search for our two dogs. We did not want to treat them with harmful chemicals and searched for something to treat them naturally. When we first got them, they picked up a few ticks running through the woods while we hiked with them. After our search, we found that the essential oil, Rose geranium, works fantastically. We have two Australian Shepherds. The male, Buddy, is about twice the size of the female, Bella. So for Buddy, we put 3 or 4 drops of the Rose geranium oil around his neckline and for Bella we use 2 to 3 drops, and they have not had a tick since we started using this essential oil. Whether or not this works for fleas, I’m not sure, since our puppies have never had fleas. Personally, I think flea infestations are influenced by a bad diet. We never feed our puppies’ table scraps or junk food. Healthy regards! Terry . . . Naturally