Tick season is still going strong in the UK with one of the hottest summers on record and an unseasonably warm autumn too. 

We are so excited to add the cruelty-free grooming brand Hownd to our website that we couldn’t resist the chance to try something and Hownd Yup You Stink! Body Mist Spraywas the perfect choice as a natural way to deal with all the creepy crawlies. 

Hownd Yup You Stink! Review

Treating fleas and ticks can be a nightmare, unless you have the right product. Read below to see our full review of the popular spray:

Ticks & Fleas - What Are They?

Pesky little bugs that either cause moderate to severe itching or in more serious cases can carry potentially debilitating diseases that are transmitted through biting humans and pets (for more detailed information please discuss with your vet).

Treat Naturally Or With Chemicals?

Every year we face the same question of how to best deal with these creepies for Albie, Kizzie and everyone else living in our home - should we use chemical collars/spot on's or try a natural approach?

Well as a general rule we prefer to adopt natural techniques wherever possible and so for 2018 we have abandoned all chemical tick treatments in favour of a natural management plan using a combination of Hownd Yup You Stink! Body Mist Spray and routine grooming.

How The Spray Works

The Hownd Yup You Stink! Body Mist Spray contains a blend of eucylyptus, cedarwood, neroli and juniper essential oils that naturally help repels fleas and other insects including ticks. 

Hownd - Leaping Bunny Cruelty Fee Certified

The irony with many 'natural' products is that they are tested on laboratory animals, our pets are safe and cared for but the lab animals suffer a terrible life - no such worry with any Hownd products.

The Hownd brand is all certified cruelty-free (they are also vegan) so we have complete peace of mind that from start to end no animals have been caused any harm - great for a company like Barks & Bunnies when our entire ethos is based around Love Them Happy.

What Was It Like To Use?

We trialed the Body Mist Spray over several walks learning more with every walk. 

Initially, we used it as if it was our own perfume with just a couple of sprays across the body and left to settle onto their fur/skin but it wasn't very effective and we quickly realised we were being far too conservative with it's use. By the third/fourth walk we were spraying around three or four sprays per area - armpits, chest and base of tail, all very popular raeas for ticks. We then rubbed it deep into their fur with our hands rather than just letting it settle on their fur. 

Even using it at this increased rate the bottle is lasting incredibly well, with two dogs to spray the bottle still looks hardly used.

TOP TIP!

While talking to a customer who ordered a dog buff they told us they actually use them to spray a tick repeller onto rather than spraying it directly on their dog. We thought this was a fantastic idea and perfect for any dogs that don't like the sound or sensation of being sprayed by something. 

How Quick & Effective Was It Compared To A Chemical Tick Collar?

Ok I'm going to be really honest, we were really unsure about whether we would be able to sustain the extra 'work' and time needed to spray before a walk and then groom once we got home. But isn't that just one of the worst parts of our natural instincts as humans - laziness?

Well, we have been really surprised at how simple and quick it has been to do.

We found it helped to make it a part of the routine of getting ready for a walk so kept the bottle beside their harnesses, that way we couldn't forget to use it. A second bottle in the car would also be a great idea though for those times when you rush out without thinking.

The bit we were most worried would be too time consuming was the grooming once back howe but in reality the theory was much worse than then practice. It took us a maximum of 5 minutes per dog which was really no time at all and there were two clear advantages of doing it;

1. it gave us some time to spend with our dogs just one on one together 
2. it's a fantastic opportunity to just give them a quick check over and make sure everything is ok, no ripped nails, matted fur, lumps or bumps

Did We Find Any Ticks?

On our first walk we definitely found some ticks, we found approximately 6 on Albie once back at the car and then another 3 once we were back home and brushing his fur - it was this which made us think we had been too reserved when first using the spray resulting in us increasing the amount and making sure to rub it deep into their fur.

By the third or fourth walk and using more of the spray we were finding no ticks at all on either Albie or Kizzie and so we think the increased amount combined with rubbing it into their fur made a significant difference.

Overall Rating

It's early days but we do think it has been effective, certainly effective enough that we aren't running back to get the tick collars. It also hasn't been as time-consuming as we thought it would be and hasn't made any impact on our daily lives or enjoyment of dog walks.

We are much happier knowing that Albie and Kizzie aren't being dosed with checmicals and we haven't found an overwhelming amount of ticks to suggest that we need to try a different method.

One last advantage is that they both also smell lovely! Yup You Stink by Hownd has such a light and gentle scent that it's actually been a pleasure to use.

Knowing the product itself has been created cruelty free and is leaping bunny certified makes the whole thing feel even nicer too. 

We would definitely recommend giving this product a try if you were thinking about trying out a natural bug repeller with your own dogs. Get yours here, today.