Does anybody know of something to prevent mosquito and gnat bites? While camping both of our dogs got many bites, particularly on the ears and bellies. I did rub a little bug spray on their ears but it didn't really seem to make a difference. Any help would be appreciated.

what we use around here is good ole horse spray. we use it on goats, horses, dogs and even ourselves. we've used it for years and never had a problem. personally, i think it is far safer than human products containing deet. i've gotten to the point where i won't use anything with deet because if it makes me sick to my stomach, its gotta be some bad stuff. the horse spray that we use is the oil based stuff with pyrethrins....very different from the water based stuff which actually burns. i've had this oil based stuff blow right into my eyes when spraying the horses if it gets caught by the wind and doesn't even burn my eyes. just feels oily. it keeps all the bugs away, too. mosquitoes, flies, ticks, chiggers, and fleas. the only bad thing i have to say about it is that it can cause hair to fall out temporarily, but it always comes back undamaged. seems like this will happen if you have to use a lot of it. if you only use it occasionally it shouldn't cause a problem. i 'spose alot of folks would damn me for using a horse product on dogs, but like i said, i also use it on myself. there's been times when we've had horrible fly problems with the dogs' ears and we've tried other products intended for dogs that didn't do diddly plus they were messy and i worried about it getting in their eyes if they rubbed it off.

I have used the products fromBest Shot Pet with good results. The natural bug repellent does work and the Med shampoo and spray works equally as well. And they claim they're natural.

Thanks very much for the suggestions. I ended up putting my dog in the tent in his kennel for much of the weekend. He would have had more outside time if we'd stayed home. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />