Absolute Animal Care

10/05/2025

Me too, Vin. Me too.

09/10/2025

I have a few pets a week coming in with fleas! Just a reminder that I don’t treat fleas in the shop. A thick dog or cat safe shampoo might be used to suffocate them so I can complete the bathing process but prescription strength products from your vet are what you need to treat them effectively.

If your vet recommends a different product for your pet, that is fine, but I don’t use any flea killing products on your pet in the shop for a multitude of reasons, the possibility for over-treating is not the least of them- some people can’t remember what or when they may have used another product and I don’t use anything other than the usual gentle, skin nourishing shampoos and conditioners on your pet.

If you use flea shampoos, the fleas just jump back on in the car and when they go around the house.

Fleas will hide in body orifices and emerge after the bath. The eggs and nymphs will remain in your car, carpet, hard floor cracks, and furniture. Waiting for your pet to return home and then jump on at their earliest opportunity

The fleas life cycle involves the ping-pong ball-like eggs falling into the environment to hatch into crawlies that then seek out a dog or cat or mouse. People can get bitten by fleas but fleas do not live on us because of body temperature differences and such. Seresto collars are ok if they’re used properly and not counterfeit, which has been a big issue with Amazon purchase and even Chewy discovered they were selling fakes. (They remedied the issue supposedly)

I don’t waste your money or risk your pet’s health treating fleas in the shop. I’ll tell you what works… I’ve done animal rescue since I was a teenager. I’ve seen a flea or two in my day. If your pet has fleas, your vet may also recommend testing for tapeworm. I leave parasite control up to the vets.

If I know your pet has fleas I’ll send you to the vet first for effective treatment since so many treatments rely on your pets natural oils to distribute. We don’t want to clean those off until the fleas are gone. If I discover the fleas in the bath, I’ll finish up what’s important and complete everything inside the bathtub to contain jumpers…. Then we’ll reschedule after the fleas are treated or if the pet’s in decent shape they can just come to their next appointment as scheduled. Your vet will give you the best treatment advice for your particular pet’s species and health. I’m just the bath and haircut guy. 😬

I see tons of pets with fleas who have been treated with over-the-counter products. I never use these on my own pets. If I’m going to put a medicine on my pet I want the most stringently tested and most effective with the smallest dose possible- and that’s going to be prescription products purchased directly from the vet. Don’t ever use essential oils or home remedies.

08/31/2025

Hank got his hairs did, yesterday 🩷

08/25/2025

Buddy is looking for a home!! Picture snapped mid meow 😸 ! He stumbled upon one of our client’s doorsteps about two months ago as a stray. No one has claimed him since. He certainly is a gorgeous boy! If you’d like to know more and are interested in adoption, give our office a call 5703467297.

07/29/2025

Don’t leave pet hair for birds if you use flea and tick preventatives.

PLEASE RECONSIDER GROOMING YOUR DOG WHILST OUT ON WALKS (or in the garden!)

This - along with letting them swim in waterways - could be killing wildlife.


It's that time of year when you see random distributions of dog fluff out on walks.

Kanita is also blowing her coat, and Mohawk has been having a big coat change too recently. There's something very satisfying about gently pulling those loose tufts of hair out. If you know, you know.


I don't blame people for thinking that it's easier to groom a super floofy dog outside to save covering their house in hair- BUT if that dog receives anti-parasitic treatment, this may be harming wildlife.

A study in the Netherlands detected two active substances used in routine pet anti-parasitic treatments in the nests of great t**s- who had collected hair in order to build their nests.

Another study by The University of Sussex found that screened nests contained 17 out of 20 insecticides screened for. 100% of nests contained fipronil and 89% contained imidacloprid.
A higher number of unhatched eggs and dead chicks were associated with higher numbers of chemicals present in the nests (with dog hair being used to build the nests by the birds).


Many of these chemicals in these treatments are thought to be harmful to birds. It is also thought that they are damaging to insect populations (including bees) as well as contributing to pollution of waterways and damaging aquatic ecosystems - contributed by people letting their dogs swim in ponds, lakes, streams, rivers etc.


If you routinely use parasite control medication on your dog please do not let them swim outdoors (especially soon after treatment) and avoid grooming them outside (or bag up the hair as you groom).

There are some suggestions that oral medications are less damaging, but they don't just sit in the digestive system. They are transported around the bloodstream- which supplies nutrients and oxygen to the whole body. Toxins leave the body via excrement, urine, sweat, hair and skin cells- albeit predominantly via the former two.

Whilst topical treatments pose a greater risk - especially soon after treatment- it cannot be assumed that there is no negative affect from oral treatments. The research identified that dog hair is linked to bird deaths and that specifically states that dogs owned by volunteers donating nests received parasite control via collars, spot on and tablets.
Chemicals from Nexguard and Bravecto were not screened for in the study and thus are not ruled out as safe nor established as harmful (to birds).


The recommended frequency of use of these products continues to be called into question, as is the risk of adverse side effects in pets!

Veternarians are being encouraged to prescribe them based on risk to the individual.
Assessing individual risk is not easy for veternarians to do in the time that they have, so you can help your vet help you by intensively reading information on these products rather than administering them every 1-3 months in blind faith that it's the right thing to do and without consequence.

Our wildlife is in decline and if we care about nature- we all need to do our bit.

That may include reviewing the specific medication you purchase from your vet or you may decide to use them less frequently, such as treating as needed or seasonally (instead of across the year).
You may delay letting your dog swim post treatment for as long as possible, or consider alternative prevention such as worm counts, flea combing or natural repellents (although do note, some ingredients in these could still be toxic to some species of wildlife).


Again, whether to treat or not should be down to INDIVIDUAL RISK. What poses a risk to individuals in one area may differ to others elsewhere.

But it's also your personal choice and I want to make it clear that this post is NOT telling people to NOT treat their pets but simply to be aware of the potential impact of such treatments and to adjust our habits (swimming, grooming outside) accordingly.


Are there other things that damage the environment? Of course.
But this is a page about dogs, so content will be relevant to dogs.

You can use the fact that XY and Z also harm the environment as a justification for doing nothing, or you can consider whether there are small changes you are able to make. The cumulative effect is what causes these issues to escalate, and thus the cumulative effect is also capable of making some positive change.


Note: If you don’t use anti parasitics on your dog & groom them outside, then the hair may be beneficial for the birds. However, do consider that grooming products and other medications may pose a risk - should you use these.

These were the resources linked into the comments, but Ive opted to bring them here for ease. Within some of these you can be linked to the research on this topic and you will find much more detail on this emotive topic.

https://www.sussex.ac.uk/broadcast/read/66973

https://www.veterinaryirelandjournal.com/small-animal/359-cat-and-dog-parasiticides-and-the-environment

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969725000737?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=908a988c1c6d63c1

https://www.songbird-survival.org.uk/post/veterinary-drugs-found-in-bird-nests/

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/243875/toxic-flea-tick-treatments-polluting-uk/

https://www.pan-uk.org/garden-birds-are-being-poisoned-by-pet-flea-treatments/

https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/looking-after/managing-land-and-water/water-quality/flea-treatments-and-their-impact-on-water-quality

https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/flea-treatment-toxic-to-wildlife

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/23/flea-treatments-cats-dogs-environmental-hazard

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7738705/

https://www.bva.co.uk/take-action/our-policies/responsible-use-of-parasiticides-for-cats-and-dogs/

https://www.bsava.com/position-statement/parasite-control/

07/23/2025

GROMPY

Leo getting his hairs did. He’s grompy but mostly passive about it 😃😶

07/12/2025

07/03/2025

06/21/2025

Here's some reminders of what the Sunday-Wednesday temps will feel like for those of us who aren't staying inside all day...

06/20/2025

Noir before and after his grooming 😸