During the summer those ticks and fleas are active, which is why you need to make sure your doggie has a plan so she can fight back! Whether you decide on a natural treatment method or something else is up to you. However, luckily there are some things you can do to fight fleas and ticks so you'll at least be prepared! Plus, your pooch will appreciate it!

With warmer weather comes an increased risk of flea and tick exposure for your pets.

In deciding how to best protect your pet from fleas and ticks, you'll need to take into account when pest season begins and ends in your area, your pet's individual risk (do you go for long walks in the woods, for instance?), as well as the level of disease risk in your area.

What Are the Risks of Fleas to Pets?
Fleas and ticks are very different pests, each with their own set of risks. Fleas, which are related to ants and beetles, feed on blood and their bites can lead to irritation and skin allergies.

Lots of dog parents assume if their pet isn't infested with fleas, the itching can't be caused by fleas. But if your dog has FAD, the saliva of just one or two fleas can make him miserably itchy and uncomfortable for many weeks, even after the fleas are gone.

Another important caveat: fleas are not typically attracted to healthy pets.

In addition to diet, remove the environmental factors that can negatively impact your pet's immune system including:

Poor water quality: make sure to provide fluoride- and chlorine-free drinking water
Too many vaccines: demand your vet check protection levels prior to giving more vaccines (called a titer test). Vaccinating unnecessary doesn't build your pet's immune system, it destroys it.
Toxic household chemical load: eliminate non-organic pet beds sprayed with PBDEs (flame retardants) that disrupt your pet's endocrine system and toxic household cleaners that end up inside your pet.
Yard chemicals: eliminate pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers around your home that negatively impact your pet's immunologic health

What Are the Risks of Ticks?
Ticks are a type of arachnid related to mites, spiders and scorpions. They're resilient, increasingly resistant to pesticides and found throughout the U.S.

Tick-borne diseases include:

Lyme disease
Rocky Mountain spotted fever
Anaplasmosis
Babesiosis
Cytauxzoonosis
Ehrlichiosis
Hepatozoonosis
Tularemia

Unfortunately, a single tick bite can expose your pet to multiple diseases, but exposure is not the same as infection. In many cases, your pet will be able to fight off tick-borne diseases with no treatment required.

Up to 90 percent of dogs may have exposure to these tick-borne pathogens, but most dogs' immune systems fight off these infections all on their own.

How do you make sure you're catching possible tick-borne infections before they take hold? Ask your vet to replace the standard heartworm test with a more comprehensive annual blood test that identifies several tick-borne potential pathogens long before dogs show symptoms.

Think Twice Before Opting for Chemical Preventives
I strongly discourage pet owners from automatically applying harsh chemical agents to repel or kill pests. The use of spot-on products may cause skin irritation, paralysis, seizures and even death if used improperly, and there are superior natural alternatives that are far safer.

In addition, ticks may be resistant to pesticides, which means your dog may still be exposed to tick-borne diseases even if you use chemical preventives.

If, however, you choose to use these chemicals, follow these precautions:

1. Be very careful to follow dosing directions on the label, and if your pet is at the low end of a dosage range use the next lowest dosage. Be extremely cautious with small dogs, and do not under any circumstances apply dog product to your cat.

2. Don't depend exclusively on chemical treatments. Rotate natural preventives with chemical ones including diatomaceous earth, pet-friendly essential oil products and natural deterrent collars.

3. Monitor your pet for adverse reactions after you apply a chemical product — especially when using one for the first time.

4. Since your pet's liver will be tasked with processing the chemicals that make it into the bloodstream, it can be very beneficial to give your dog or cat a supplement to help detoxify her liver.

5. Another product I recommend is chlorella, a super green food that is a very powerful detox agent.

Make Your Home and Yard Inhospitable to Fleas and Ticks
One of the key strategies to controlling fleas and ticks involves making your home and yard less hospitable to such pests. To do so:

Vacuum your home often (carpets, floors, furniture, etc.) and empty the vacuum canister immediately
Wash bed linens, pet bedding and throw rugs frequently
Keep your lawn mowed and clear brush, leaves, tall grass and weeds from your yard and areas your pet frequents
Keep stacked wood off the ground and away from your house
After the growing season, clear perennial plants and other brush from your garden
Add beneficial nematodes to your yard

What to Do If You Find Fleas on Your Pet
The best way to prevent a flea infestation is to proactively check for fleas daily during flea season. Removing a few fleas is a whole lot easier than fighting hundreds, which can occur quickly if you're not checking daily.

If you find a few fleas on your pet, don't panic. Instead, grab a flea comb and start combing; it's the best defense there is. Your dog or cat should be combed at least once daily with the flea comb. Place your pet on a light-colored towel to catch any fleas that fall off and dip the comb into a bowl of soapy water after each swipe (flush the contents down the toilet when you're done).

It's never fun to have to deal with fleas or ticks, but if you follow these tips your doggie should stay pest free. And if you encounter some on your pooch you'll know what to do!

Now that you know how to keep your doggy clear from fleas and ticks, you will both be able to enjoy a relaxing summer enjoying the outdoors.

For more information on pest protection, visit Healthy Pets.