Fireworks and Fleas

I made the unfortunate discovery this year that Kino is afraid of fireworks.  Not necessarily the big professional firework displays because we can barely hear them from our house, but the fireworks that people were setting off in our neighborhood.  Honestly, I think they must have been setting off a lot of M-80's because the booms were so loud, you could hear them over the TV, the fans and all the other "pleasant noises" we had going on inside the house and occasionally it felt like the windows were rattling along with the noise.

By 9pm, Kino's anxiety level was so high, he was making me anxious.  He kept trying to sit in my lap and I knew it was only going to get worse, so I decided to put him in the car and just drive until it was all over.  It was something I did with Lucky and it had always worked well, so off we went . . . driving up and down the freeway and a few expressways, enjoying some nice music in the car until it was safe to go home.

Curious to know what other people do on the 4th of July if their pets are afraid of the noise.  I would love to hear if you are willing to share.

The other thing we've been dealing with lately are fleas.  I had been noticing that on the days Kino got his flea treatment, he seemed a bit punky . . . low energy, increased grass eating, etc.  Thinking that maybe it was a sign that his body wasn't too happy with the chemicals in the medication, I decided to try some natural remedies and see if we could battle the fleas that way.

I started with giving him garlic oil capsules with his meals.  For a few months, that seemed to keep the fleas away but then they came back.  After doing some more research, I found another option . . . putting diluted lavender essential oil on a bandana to tie around his neck.  (the website I found said you could use lavender or cedar oil and I had lavender so we started with that).  So far that, plus the garlic capsules, seem to be keeping the fleas at bay.

I'd really like to keep using natural remedies. Have any of you tried natural remedies that worked well?

If you have any suggestions for either dealing with fireworks or getting rid of fleas . . . I'd love to hear them!

Happy 4th to you all - I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far!