Daddy and I have only started taking Rossi gal out for walks in the recent months.
Previously, we did take her out, but we always took turns to carry her in our arms all the way when we were out. We also let her wear her little jump suit whenever we take her out.
We carried her and did'nt let her walk on the ground, because her immune system was compromised at that time due to her demodectic mange. We did not want to take chances of her being attacked by the fleas and ticks, as these parasites were most attracted to those with poor immunities.
Flea & tick spot-ons were not an option to us. We do not want to use these stuff, as we hate the idea of applying chemicals on her and also, using them would only serve to further worsen her already compromised immune system.
Rossi gal hated wearing clothes, but we still let her wear the jump suit, not because we thought it was cute. It was because of the big bald patch on her body from her mange.
Initially, we had taken her out as she was. But soon, people around soon noticed her bald patch and they started talking about it. We got comments like, 'Skin problem ar??', 'Aiyo, what happened, why no hair here??' and 'how come bald until like this?', 'Wah, what a big bald patch!', 'Hmm..this type of skin problem very hard to cure one' and from my vet, 'you should bring her to Yun Nam or Beijing 101 to see if they can help her grow back the hair!' @__@
But what we cannot tolerate most, was their expressions when they looked at Rossi gal. It was a range of pitiful, shocked and disgusted looks in varying degrees.
We really hated all these damn comments and sickening expressions! Thus, we decided to get her a couple of jump suits, whereby the t-shirt come attached with a pair of short pants, to cover up her bald patch.
Now, with her hair re-grown, her bald patch is no more and her immune system is definitely better than before, all thanks to her raw diet, she have stopped wearing those jump suits. She can walk and run on the ground too, but we avoid letting her walk on grassy areas as one of our ways to prevent the parasites. She will also have to be leased for now, till a time when she is more 'stable', then we will let her go off-leased. Now, she is still very new to 'going for walks'.
Just yesterday, we brought her to another new place, 'Pasir Ris Park'. Daddy ran with her, while I walked behind them. We can see the sparkle in her eyes and the joyful skip in her feet. She wanted to walk and run fast, so Daddy had to keep up with her pace. Whenever I lagged behind, she actually waited for me to catch up. Then she would look up at me and start jogging beside me. It's her way of telling me to go faster and don't lag behind. :)
(*We plan to take Rossi gal out for exercise at least during the weekends. During weekdays, it's more difficult for us, as we gota work. Then on public holidays or when we are on leave, we can take her out too.)
We exercised together with Rossi gal as a family and it's a great feeling. Daddy and I benefitted from the session too.
have you heard of shoo-tag? it's said to be a chemical-free way to avoid ticks and fleas. not sure how effective it is though. i'm thinking of getting my dogs the tags since if i don't use chemicals at least there's some form of protection? or what about a flea collar? i would hate to deprive my furkids of their daily walks..
ReplyDeleteyep, I know abt shoo-tag. It's chemical free & makes use of the electromagnetic frequency to keep the parasites away. Not sure how effective it is, but you can read up more about it and see if you wanna try.
ReplyDeleteA flea collar is no different from the chemical products. It is literally wearing a chemical collar around the neck.
If you are also interested in natural pevention, you can look into essential oils. You can do some research on this and see if you are comfortable with it.
For Rossi gal, I do not use any form of chemicals. I believe a good immune system is the first line of defense against parasites, so I work on building up her immune system. I give her a raw diet with regular raw garlic and supps.
When I take her out, I also take note to avoid walking her on grassy areas. Then when she finished her walk, I would check through her body, paws, feet, etc. Afterwhich, I will clean her up.
This is my way of prevention for Rossi gal.
thanks for your advice rossi's mum :) i'm in australia (queensland) where there are dangerous ticks and fleas in abundance so i can't really take the risk with garlic/essential oils etc. i'm still using the spot preventions esp now during the summer months as am paranoid since my friend's dog kenna-ed tick paralysis. made me so scared.
ReplyDeleteyes i agree a full body check after walks is ideal, and i do that to check for ticks. unfortunately it's not that easy to check for fleas since they're tiny.
no matter how good the immune system is, it doesn't make them resistant to fleas or ticks right?
A good immune system does not guarantee zero fleas or ticks. But a good immune system makes the dog less attractive to these parasites.
ReplyDeleteDogs with a good immune system are less likely to be bothered by fleas & ticks than those with a poor immune system, because these parasites are most attracted to dogs who are unhealthy and has a poor immune system.
( *Just to share an article written by a holistic vet on parasites, which I personally think is worth a read. She has also written articles on other topics of concern, which I think are worth reading too. http://www.thewholedog.org/artfleas.html )
My belief is to build up Rossi's health to prevent / fight off the parasites. To me, the risks of using chemicals on her definitely FAR outweigh the 'protection' by these chemicals. I personally believe that long term application of chemicals can have detrimental effects on a dog's health.
I cannot guarantee Rossi won't get fleas or ticks, but I believe having a good immune system can help her to fight them off more effectively. So I'm working towards boosting her immune system by giving her raw foods and supps.
What I can say is, as owners, we do what we feel/think is in the best interests of our own furkids.