Content
- Baking shampoo for dogs
- Hair conditioner for dogs
- Pyrethrum flower
- tea tree
- lavender essential oil
- Recommendations for applying flea shampoo
There is a wide variety of dog flea shampoos very effective. However, these chemical shampoos have certain degrees of toxicity for our pets and also for us.
The insect repellent shampoos based on natural products that we are going to propose in this article are as effective as the commercial ones, but more economical, minimally toxic and biodegradable. The only inconvenience is that they need time to prepare and that they cannot be preserved for so many days, as happens with chemical shampoos. If you keep reading this PeritoAnimal article you can do great homemade flea shampoos for dogs.
Baking shampoo for dogs
Let's make a base shampoo composed of bicarbonate and water. The composition will be 250 grams of bicarbonate dissolved in 1 liter of water. Keep the mixture in a tightly closed bottle. Each time you bathe the dog, put the shampoo you are going to use in a bowl or other container. This shampoo does not lather, but it is very bactericide. Baking soda has excellent hygienic and bactericidal properties. Its use is well known in toothpaste and to clean refrigerators, as it acts as a deodorant and is harmless.
To this shampoo base can be added several insecticidal materials based on essential oils or other natural insecticidal products. These products can also be added to the hair conditioner, rather than being mixed with shampoo. If you do this second way, the concentration of the natural insecticide will be more intense.
Once you have applied the bicarbonate shampoo, massaging your dog's skin with the solution, let it act for about 2 minutes and rinse with water, and then apply the hair conditioner.
The insecticidal agent can be applied to shampoo or conditioner. If you do the second way the effects will be even better.
Hair conditioner for dogs
O hair conditioner for dogs it is an emulsified mixture of a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a teaspoon of olive oil. Both products are mixed and emulsified to the equivalent of a cup of water. After applying the conditioner, you may or may not rinse your puppy's fur. The rinse will depend on the texture and length of your dog's coat. In this way, puppies with short and coarse fur can remain without rinsing. While medium-haired dogs should be rinsed lightly. Long-haired dogs, on the other hand, should rinse well and dry completely.
Next, we'll explain how you can make completely natural insecticides.
Pyrethrum flower
THE Pyrethrum flower It is one of the strongest insect repellents within natural products. It can be found in some herbalists as a dried flower or essential oil. The Pyrethrum flower is like a brightly colored daisy.
Pyrethrum flower contains pyrethrins, a product used to produce industrial insecticides, although these pyrethrins are synthetic and add piperonyl butoxide to them. Pyrethrins attack the nervous system of all insects. For this reason, they prevent insects from biting bodies treated with pyrethrins. Pyrethrins are biodegradable, including photo degradable, which requires us to add the lotion or essential oil even before using it. Pyrethrins are harmful to fish, but practically harmless to mammals and birds.
To prepare a ground Pyrethrum flower lotion mix a tablespoon of Pyrethrum flower in a cup of water. You can add this lotion to your base shampoo or conditioner.
If using essential oil of Pyrethrum, much better than dried flower, should prepare the lotion as follows: dissolve 3 drops of essential oil in 3 tablespoons of pharmaceutical alcohol of 96º, then add this mixture to a glass of distilled water. Emulsify the mixture well and you can use it in your shampoo or conditioner to get a strong homemade flea control
tea tree
The tea tree extracts an essential oil that is very efficient as a flea repellent. You can make the following lotion with it: a teaspoon of essential oil, 3 tablespoons of distilled water and 2 cups of pharmaceutical 96º alcohol. Mix everything very well until you get a homogeneous mixture.
Apply this lotion over the dog's entire body, rubbing well, except for the eyes and genitals. Massage well for the product to spread well over the pet's body and skin.
If you want to use the tea tree essential oil added to base shampoo in order to create a homemade flea shampoo do the following: add a tablespoon of essential oil to a cup of base shampoo, or a teaspoon of essential oil to a cup of water. Add this last minor mixture to the conditioner.
lavender essential oil
Lavender essential oil is not as effective as tea tree essential oil, but its aroma is much nicer. It can be used as a protective lotion, using the same measures as in the previous point. Distribute lotion with a cotton pad. You should not use this lotion on your pet's eyes or genitals.
If you want to use it in the base shampoo, or in the hair conditioner, do it in the same way and proportions as with the tea tree essential oil.
Recommendations for applying flea shampoo
If you thought about using the homemade flea shampoo as a prevention method, keep in mind that although they are natural products that are not harmful to puppies, they can damage their skin and develop dryness if you use them whenever you bathe them. Thus, it is recommended to use these products to prevent the appearance of fleas on puppies during the hottest times, since although it acts throughout the year, it is in the summer that this parasite multiplies. For the rest of the year, we advise you to use other natural products to bathe your dog.
In case you want to use it to eliminate the fleas that your dog already has, remember to apply the topical treatment defined by the veterinarian after bathing. You can find more information on how to eliminate dog fleas in this article.
This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.