Re: dog making sad sounds

Let us know what the vet says HarmonicCharge.  I am also including the article below with regard to flea prevention. 

http://www.examiner.com/x-11534-Oklahoma-City-Natural-Pet-Health-Examiner~y20...

Eliminating fleas with herbs

In my last column I covered eliminating fleas with Essential Oils. These pleasant-smelling organic compounds are certainly helpful, and quite easy to use, but cats and rabbits can be poisoned by certain oils, particularly those of the citrus family and pennyroyal, so Essential Oils won't help much with them. Fortunately there are several dry herbs which can be used as a safe organic flea-powder. Simply obtain these herbs in as finely ground a form as you can get at a health food store, mix equal quantities of each together, and put them in a "shaker" type bottle, like an empty spice jar. One ounce of each will last you for several treatments.

And the herbs most effective (and, significantly, not poisonous to cats and rabbits) in powdered form are:
eucalyptus, lavender, rosemary, fennel, rue, wormwood, and yellow dock.

You may not be able to find every one of these. That's okay, each one works to make an environment fleas won't tolerate, causing them to vacate the area and head for greener, or perhaps in this case redder, pastures. So a each of the herbs will work, it's simply that more will be stronger and more effective; this long list should ensure that you can find several and mix them together.

Once you have your herbal blend, sprinkle a sparing amount on your pet and brush or rub it through the fur. You won't want to get any in it's nose or mouth, so put a little on your fingers and apply it that way to the head. Pay particular attention to the chin and the back of the neck; fleas and ticks tend to congregate where the animal can't groom itself. If you see a flea concentration, or a patch of flea dirt, somewhere else on the body put a larger amount there.

Once the herbs are in place, put your pet outside for a while if possible so that the fleas will leave into the yard instead of into your carpet.

A further dose of herbal powder may help when applied to the animal's bedding and favorite cat tree or sunny spot to lay on, driving the fleas from that area as well, but I prefer to put it into a small pillow, toy, or sachet and place these near the pet's bed instead, as this creates less mess.

As a preventative measure, one or two applications a week should suffice. If there's much of a flea infestation, you may have to apply it as often as once a day for a while, as new flea eggs will hatch every day to replace the fleeing adults for a while. In very severe cases, such that the fleas are causing anemia, a veterinarian's help will probably be required to ensure your pet's good health.

For more info: The book Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats contains several useful recipes for natural pest control.
  The My Healthy Cat website has some excellent information about what is and isn't toxic to cats, as well as a variety of natural cures.

Author: Matt Miller