Podcast: Supporting Pets to Achieve Vibrant Health with Dr. Dee Blanco
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Keeping your pet healthy goes beyond daily walks. Supporting your pets to achieve vibrant health requires that you look in unexpected places for hidden toxins. It also means that you think outside of the box when it comes to traditional veterinary treatments. This applies to flea treatment, animal diets, and more.
Flea treatment for healthy pets and a healthy home
Warm weather brings fleas to homes with pets. Fleas are frustrating to deal with and many people turn to chemical treatments to rid their homes of these pests, but treating fleas with chemicals like Trifexis and Comfortis can be extremely dangerous. In fact, some people don’t know that their pets are suffering from these toxic medications.
“All of those drugs [Trifexis and Comfortis] are basically pesticides,”
Celebrity veterinarian Dr. Dee Blanco DVM
“All of those drugs are basically pesticides,” says celebrity veterinarian Dr. Dee Blanco DVM. “When you think about it, pesticides have to be metabolized through the liver or the kidneys… in processing them, some animals can’t detoxify very well just like some of us humans can’t detoxify very well.”
Flea treatments applied to the nape of the neck penetrate the full body, but they also get onto you, your children, and other animals in the home. Which means that you, your children, and your pets have to metabolize the poison. Then, when pets urinate or defecate outside, the poison leaves their system and goes into the ground, which gets into our water system because it is all one eco-system. These chemicals may treat the flea problem quickly, but they create even bigger issues. So how do you keep your pet safe and healthy while also kicking fleas to the curb?
The answer to keeping your pet safe from fleas and other issues can be as simple as changing your pet’s diet.
“Always give your animal fresh food. That fresh food ensures that the body will recognize food as a source of vital energy, which will help your pet not to metabolize pesticides, herbicides, glyphosate.”
Dr. Dee Blanco
Food is medicine and the cleaner and more organic you can get the less the body will smell rancid. The less the body and the blood smells rancid, the less fleas and other pests will want to bite. Consider it as though your pet is a buffet, except instead of craving tasty treats, fleas crave the food that should have been thrown away. The more of that food that is present in your pet, the bigger the buffet for the bugs.
“You can either pay the grocer, or pay the vet.”
Dr. Dee Blanco
“I’ve been recommending raw foods for 38 years and nothing makes a difference like that,” says Blanco. “It gives the body the ability to be able to respond when situations occur… We have become accustomed to thinking you have to vaccinate, or thinking that raw food is bad, or garlic is bad. You hear that every dog will get heartworm, fleas, and ticks. But putting a pesticide is not preventative. Neither is doing a vaccine. It all starts with the diet.”
B-vitamins, nutritional yeast, and garlic are all-natural insect and bug repellants for pets. Both humans and pets can keep from being bitten by using B-vitamins specifically.
Garlic is an easy and safe way to keep bugs away. It helps joints, prevents parasites, it is anti-bacterial, and anti-viral. It can be shaved and sprinkled on the pet’s food directly. Garlic can be ingested daily but should be ingested by dogs in smaller doses. It will come out of the dog in the oils of the skin and fleas hate the scent.
What should someone with a flea infestation do in their home?
The fleas have a lifecycle, and it all begins with breaking the flea lifecycle. You should begin by cleaning all bedding and soft surfaces and you should vacuum rigorously – including in corners and harder to reach areas. Fleas typically do not live on the pet but jump on to take a bite and then live elsewhere in the home and lay eggs on any soft surface.
White dogs and smaller dogs are more at risk of getting fleas. Paying special attention to areas where they spend a lot of time can help get rid of the fleas in the home.
After you have cleaned really well, you can carefully use diatomaceous earth in the corners, or you can put Borax into the corners – this will dry out and kill the fleas. However, it should only be left down for 24-hours or less and should be vacuumed up. You can also put herbal flea killers in the vacuum bag.
“I really like using a Sonic Guard,” says Blanco. “It emits a little bit of an ultrasonic frequency for about 5-7 feet. I use that in combination with other things. You can also use growth regulators called IGR, which is a hormone that interrupts the lifecycle of a flea. They are specific to fleas and are available online.”
You should look for petrochemicals in any cedar-based flea treatment. These chemicals can cause allergies in both humans and pets.
“Don’t underestimate the power of a good flea comb,” says Blanco. “A flea comb with a small container full of water and a few drops of soap can do wonders. Soap and water will kill the fleas on the animal when you bathe them.”
To learn more about how to safely prevent fleas, visit www.angelaardolino.com.
Angela Ardolino is a holistic pet expert who has been caring for animals for over 20 years, and operates a rescue farm in Lutz, Florida. She is also the owner of Beautify the Beast, a natural pet salon and shop. After getting her certificate in Medical Cannabis Biology and Therapeutic use from the University of Vermont School of Medicine, she founded CBD Dog Health to provide high quality, all-natural medical cannabis products designed specifically for pets. Angela has five dogs, plus 4-10 at any time that she is fostering or boarding; visit www.angelaardolino.com for more information.