Listerine for fleas add Apple Cider Vinegar   
      
   My original recipe was half apple cider vinegar and half Listerine mixed in a    
   spray bottle. For the latter, I use generic amber-mouthwash from any "Dollar    
   Store," or both from a discount grocery store. Then I got the brilliant idea    
   that adding a large dash of baby oil would assist in making a good grooming    
   spray for horses and dogs. (The scientific discovery process awes me and I    
   realize this is how Madame Curie probably started.) You don't want to use   
   that  or any of the following on a cat, since they lick themselves (including   
   in  locations that embarrass us), or you will have a  Tom-Sawyer   
   giving-the-cat-castor-oil experience.   
   [Blogger's note- I have used just apple cider vinegar with mixed results.    
   Perhaps a low cost substitute of Listerine is the solution?]   
      
   Date:   9/21/2006 9:26:07 AM   ( 5 y ) ... viewed 15013 times   
      
   Dogs   
   cCopyright Jim Willis 2003   
      
   Several people have asked if I would share my recipe for a homemade    
   anti-pest/grooming spray for dogs and horses. May they live to regret it.   
      
   My original recipe was half apple cider vinegar and half Listerine mixed in a    
   spray bottle. For the latter, I use generic amber-mouthwash from any "Dollar    
   Store," or both from a discount grocery store. Then I got the brilliant idea    
   that adding a large dash of baby oil would assist in making a good grooming    
   spray for horses and dogs. (The scientific discovery process awes me and I    
   realize this is how Madame Curie probably started.) You don't want to use   
   that  or any of the following on a cat, since they lick themselves (including   
   in  locations that embarrass us), or you will have a  Tom-Sawyer   
   giving-the-cat-castor-oil experience.   
      
   Eventually, I heard about the anti-pest properties of Avon "Skin-So-Soft"   
   bath  oil, and added a couple of ounces of that to the mixture. True, it   
   includes a  few chemical names I don't recognize (be glad I'm not your   
   pharmacist), but it  also includes carrot-seed oil. I have a "to-do" list that   
   dates back to 1973;  I am so impressed that a company has time to squeeze oil   
   from itty, bitty  carrot seeds. I am even more impressed that unassuming   
   carrots can scare  insects.   
      
   We all know about the anti-pest properties of citronella oil and I found 10    
   oz. bottles of pure citronella oil through a mail-order equine supply house.    
   Later, I discovered a citronella-based equine fly spray at the local farm    
   supply by "Bronco" (sale price, usually under $6), and simply divided that    
   among four spray bottles.   
      
   Then I found at my local pharmacy half-ounce bottles of essential oils for    
   about $1.10 a bottle, including peppermint, spearmint, wintergreen, lemon,   
   and  orange, and thought, "Why not?!" A little of this, a little of that   
   (somebody  at the FDA just fainted).   
      
   In the cold winter months, I stick to the vinegar/fake Listerine/couple of    
   oils enough to make a dog smell good recipe. (You can also thoroughly spray    
   the dog, rub him all over with an old towel, and it makes a good dry-bath    
   spray.) In the warmer months, I use the whole arsenal.   
      
   I have a horse, "Cynnamon," and I use the spray on her daily; I spray my dogs    
   with it two or three times a week (you don't want to get it in their eyes, so    
   spray your hand and wipe some on the animal's face and ears, and don't spray    
   anything located under a tail). I've noticed that even on hikes with my dogs,    
   insects do a "Matrix-Reloaded-dance-fight" to get out of our way. Before I    
   ride my horse, I spray her and my clothes. My horse is a former dressage    
   champion, not a cow pony, and she sees imaginary cougars in every tree, ready    
   to pounce. A sweaty, prancing horse who rears and jumps creeks would normally    
   be the ultimate attractant for biting flies the size of barn owls. However,   
   if  we ever pass you on a trail, among the first things you'd notice is how    
   pest-free we are. The next thing you'd notice is that your eyes are watering.    
   (I understand...there are few things more beautiful than the sight of a    
   frightened man clinging to a horse - symmetry in motion.)   
      
   I know that some scientific smart-aleck is going to write and ask if my spray    
   recipe has been subjected to a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. And I    
   will reply, "Dear Scientific Smart-Aleck. No, it has not. I have at least ten    
   loads of pet laundry to do this weekend. But thank you for writing and good    
   luck paying off your student loans by working at a convenience store."   
      
   I'll admit, in a country where morbidly obese people sue fast food   
   restaurants  for making them morbidly obese, I am hesitant to share any of my   
   homemade  concoctions. If my spray takes the hair off your pig, don't waste   
   time trying  to sue me - about all you are going to get is a bunch of animals   
   to care for     
   --- WWIVToss v.1.50    
    * Origin:  Inland Utopia (1:218/109.0)