Living in Southeastern PA our tick season would start in the Spring, but with the seasons changing I can see ticks year round. Ticks are harmful to our pets and our family, they carry tick borne disease. Finding a tick on my dogs, my kids or myself turns my stomach; even more so if they are attached to the skin. We can't stay inside all the time, so the best way to keep them off our loved ones is to prevent them from latching on.
For my dogs, I double-up. I would give them a chewable that would kill a tick once they bite them. But that does not keep the ticks off my dogs and out of the house.
In the past I put tick collars on my dogs, but once I had kids I did not want the kids touching the chemical collar. Babies love putting things in their mouths and I did not want the chemicals from the collar to be ingested. I also used the spot prevention and stopped using it because of the kids.
I researched natural tick prevention for dogs. And I came across Baltic Amber stones that create a natural odor that ticks don't like, which means the ticks don't latch onto the dogs! Amber comes from trees and it's the trees natural defense against insects. I was a little skeptical, because the amber dog collars are not cheap.
Well, I gave it a try and I found that they do work, the dogs would go into the woods and tall grass and not come out with a tick. I would check them every time because having a black lab it's hard to see ticks; by checking them as soon as they get out of the woods I can generally spot them.
Even though the collars are expensive at $25 for a lab-sized collar, they can last up to two years if you wash it every three months. It is less expensive than the drops.
What I don't like about the amber collars is that the string/cord used to lace the amber would break when the dogs scratch their necks or when they play with each other. I would spend time trying to fix the collar. Luckily, the amber beads do not fall off, the maker of the collars would tie each amber bead individual.
Last years collars are unrepairable, so this year I'm going to order my dog amber collars from Amber Crown. I'm hoping they use a stronger string/cord.
Another positive to the collar is its looks, my labs look very stylish with the collar. Below is Anna with her amber collar.
I will update the post once the dogs have been wearing it for a month. Hopefully the ticks stay away and the collar stays intact.
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