keeping flies off dogs ears

[faykokoWV]

We've worked on this problem for years, but i thought I'd throw out the question for the group as I'm fairly new on this site.

We have an Akita that spends most of her day out side. Our yard is around 3 acres fenced so she has plenty of room to roam. Every summer the poor thing ends up with flies biting the tips of her ears until they bleed. We've tried fly ointment and sprays, but it rarely last the full day and I'm worried about applying it daily. We have fly catcher bags up, they work but don't keep the flies off her ears.

I should mention we have 8 dogs and most of our neighbors have at least two. We clean up poo every other day or so (too much to keep up with daily) and I'm sure that's the source of the flies.

Do citronella collars work?
Is there anything you can feed a dog that keeps the flies from hatching in the poo?
Any suggestions?

 

[farrier!]

I am not sure if the Rabon works for dogs or not. Sure works for fly control with the horses, cows, goats. I would assume the flys are coming in from somewhere and not all hatching from the dogs droppings...but.....

Have you tried the swat ointment? We had decent luck with it on a dog with the same problem.
Otherwise a water based fly repellent is a lot safer then an oil based one. Mostly they use the same ingredient.

 

[mom2chicksandpups]

Have you tried the topical flea and tick treatments? These are the ones that you apply between the shoulder blades. I think they are supposed to help with flies also. It might be worth a try.

 

[Chris09]

I have a Black Lab. the only thing that I found to work is rubing a thick coat of Vaseline on the ears and then spraying them with Adams Flea and Tick Mist.. I put the vaseline on at least once a week and spray as needed...
chris

 

[faykokoWV]

I've used swat before and had good luck, the problem is now when she sees us coming with a bottle or jar, she runs and hides under the shed. The vaseline might work as it would stay on longer.

I've never heard of Rabon, but I'll check it out


thanks!

I hate to bring up the dreaded diatomaceous earth, but does that prevent maggots from hatching into flies in the poo if you feed it to the dogs?

 

[bheila]

I had to take my goat to the vet 2 days ago and I asked what I could use to keep the mosquitos off of the goats. She said Frontline flea spray. She said it gets rid of flies, fleas, mites, mosquitos...etc.

 

[thebritt]

"Corona" for horses works wonders, and helps heal, too. It's a wound salve - yellow vaseline-like consistancy.

 

[thebritt]

Quote:
Not a chance.
It's a mineral (actually fossilized diatoms) and has no "pesticidal" properties other than that it has a texture the bugs hate, and if bugs injest it, it screws up their respiratory systems.
If a dog poops it out, and a fly lands on the poop and lays eggs, the eggs will hatch regardless of DE being in the poop. Know what I mean?

 

[New adventure]

There's a couple of different things I use on my labs. One is Tri-Care ointment; its made to provide a fly, water and germ barrier plus it tastes gross so they don't lick it off. It has tea tree and emu oils in it.

Also, I use Neem Oil. I bought a bottle at the health food store and diluted it and spray it on the plants in my yard to keep bugs from eating them. I bet it would keep the flies away too.

 

[cafarmgirl]

I use the Absorbine Ultra fly spray for horses which is also labeled for dogs. Label says it lasts up to 17 days but I put it on as soon as I see flies landing. No more chewed ears. I just spray it on my hand and rub it on the ears 'till they're wet with it. It also comes in wipes. I use Frontline on my dogs but I still see flies buzzing around and landing on them during the worst of fly season (we live near a dairy) so I can't say that works well enough for us to depend on it solely.