Here we are again after a terribly rainy Ohio season to kick off our summer fun. With wet grassy areas come ticks, mosquitoes and lots of things that bug our pets. No fear! There is a way to solve these issues. It’s an easy to make, low cost preventative that does not involve feeding or spraying your pup with pesticides. Interested? Homemade Dog Chicken Jerky sprinkled with garlic drops! It’s a win-win for the pocket book and the pooch!
Ingenious Creator
God, the Creator of all that is, gave us and our animals all we need in Him and His Creation. More specifically, natural means to ward off pesky, and sometimes harmful, bugs. Garlic is one of those natural deterrents. Just a little bit each week causes an odor only bugs can sense and makes the host (you or your pup) bitter to bite. Garlic in small amounts is also good for the cardio-vascular system. Ticks and fleas hate it!
Now, most vets will tell and most information on the internet claims that garlic is bad–even lethal–for your dogs. I first want to say that anything in large quantities can be harmful. Anything. However, for decades I have fed my dogs some form of garlic. Different breeds, sizes and all. Never has it caused issues with any of my dogs. Never. Yet the pesticides that most vets peddle? Well, I will leave that up to your common sense.
That said, as with introducing anything new into your pooch’s diet, start small and slow. It does not take much garlic to ward off bugs, as you will read in a moment.
To the Point
For years I used to feed the Garlic Bagels that Solid Gold produced. Over the past few years they became more difficult to find on store shelves, as more and more the propaganda against garlic became popular. Finally, last year, Solid Gold discontinued the product. As I toyed with some recipes and methods of giving my pups garlic, they went without more often than not. Then on our first real outing with the girls, my husband and I were overwhelmed at the amount of ticks they picked up at the park!
…and, truth be told, ticks terrify me. But that story is for another time 😉
Bathing our dogs with Dawn dish soap, then spraying pups, bedding, house and car with a peppermint/baking soda/white vinegar mix helped get rid of the buggers. It took almost a week, but we were successful–thank God! The point here is that my dogs had no garlic in their systems for a couple months. And after one walk in a park after all this rain, they were ladened with ticks.
Since then, I just use this simple chicken jerky method to make sure my pups get protected.
Garlic Chicken Jerky Recipe
- With your oven preheated at 170 degrees, just take fresh chicken breasts and slice them in about 1/4 inch strips (like in the photo at the top of this page).
- Lay the strips on foil and sprinkle garlic drops on them.
- Bake for 2 hours then turn them over and bake another hour to 45 minutes.Â
I usually use the liquid garlic, but fresh-pressed or powder might do well also. I do not measure anything when doing this. Just play with it a bit and find your own version. I’m sure your pups will love it! In fact, if you come up with a more savory version please do share!
As far as feeding the garlic chicken jerky, like noted above–it could be different for each dog. But always start small. I give Mia (my 60 lb. Pit Bull) one long strip or two little ones, twice a week. She is sensitive occasionally and gets a little runny sometimes. My 90 lb. Dutch, Hanani, gets one and a half to two strips twice a week.
Aside from this, always check for ticks after being in new outdoor areas. Keep your pup and all bedding washed regularly–actually, more often–in these buggy months. For bathing I use Dawn dish soap because bugs hate that, too. (I then use my hair conditioner on them so the soap does not dry out their skin.) You can also put a few drops of peppermint oil in a spray bottle of water and spray the bedding occasionally. This spray works well on your pups and yourself, too, just before you head out for a hike.
God’s Creation blows my mind. He gave us so many healthy means to ward off things that bug us and our pets oxoxo
Thanx for hanging with us today 🙂 Drop us a line below and let us know how your summer is!