ISO help with homemade remedies for fleas

[bethzaring]

the best info i can come up with (i.e., the most frequently reported anecdotal theory as to what's up with the yeasties) is that "its high content of b vitamins makes your pet's odor less desirable to fleas." being as how that makes NO sense - why not then just toss a multivitamin in there? cheaper and much higher b vitamin levels - i put out the APB to some schoolmates. everyone that got back to me said they have at least one client that swears by the stuff, and just as telling, not a single one of these vets think it does a darn thing. in fact, one of my buds had a hilarious story where some woman brought in her dog for uncontrollable itching, he promptly diagnosed a flea issue due to all the flea dirt on the dog's skin, and she said that there was no way in the world, that the fleas must have jumped on in the waiting room, because she fed her dog b.y. every day. he had a devil of a time explaining that "flea dirt" is really flea poop, meaning that of course that poor dog had fleas for a lot longer than 15 minutes in the waiting room.

"all natural" is such a hot buzzword, but don't get swayed by it as an emotional/moral selling point. remember, arsenic, cyanide, and heroin are also all natural plant products...natural does not = safe. i say this as someone who routinely uses herbs to treat myself and my pets. and of course the health food stores are in it for the $ too, not just the warm fuzzies...otherwise, they'd be selling you that $3 bottle of b-vitamins, and not the $10 bottle of "pet grade brewers yeast".

Thank you so much for your reply. You more than answered my questions.

I have a medical and herbal background so am not likely to be swayed by any emotional selling point of herbal claims. I do keep an open mind about such issues.

I restate, I have many friends with animals, some with vet training, who use brewers yeast on their dogs effectively to keep fleas off their animals.

I would suggest the brewers yeast be bought in bulk at a grocery store (Trader Joes or Whole Food type place) or a health foods store, the kind that sells real food, not supplements. I would be very cautious buying any brewers yeast product at a pet store, I would expect that would be unneccessarily expensive.

 

[pacanis]

Another testimonial.
I just talked to someone yesterday, after posting here, whose instructions included 2 garlic pills every morning for her dog. When I asked if they were for flea prevention she of course said yes and added she hasn't seen a flea in 10 years on any of her dogs. I mentioned the brewers yeast, too, and she said the garlic pills included the yeast.
I suppose if one is going to try the holistic approach you might as well find a supplement that includes both.

 

[letscook]

Thank you everyone for your help and coments on this.