Thank God for the internet!

This is my dog, Wooly Bully - not a very original name but it fits him. This is his usual stance unless there are dog cookies around. In fact he occasionally gets left in the loft and I have to go get him because he sleeps through the leaving part. Being a bulldog he could be prone to skin problems but at 8 years old, he has had nary a one. An occasional bath and sprinkling with flea powder and he's good to go. No Frontline - no Advantage or Biospot - fleas just don't bother him.

This is my son Max's English Mastiff "Nero" who is staying with us for the summer. This is a picture of him as he's only been for the last 2 days. The whole rest of the summer he's been scratching and chewing and itching. He is highly allergic to fleas and they have been driving him crazy. All of the usual remedies don't work. The really expensive one worked for around 24 hours. As we live on 160 acres of pasture and woods, spraying the yard wasn't much of an option. Nero was losing weight and his skin and hair looked horrible. After we had exhausted all of the chemical remedies Pep went to the internet and googled.

We mix plain old white vinegar and water half and half and spray him down every morning and night. (Luckily he doesn't seem to mind it - he gets a cookie afterwards.) It is supposed to repel fleas and boy, howdy it seems to do so. It isn't recommended for cats - they don't like the smell of vinegar. Just thought I'd post this in case anyone else is having the problem. It doesn't totally get rid of the fleas but there's only an occasional scratch.

Now Nero and Bully are sleeping buddies - thanks God, for the internet.