Hi .. I have a 12 week old gsp pup. We walk on the local moors and come into contact with a lot of ticks. I don't like the chemical spot-on treatments and wondered what I can use as a tick/flea preventative. Thanks.

I walk on moorland daily and I have more ticks than dogs coming home with me most days :) I won't use spot ons, and I haven't yet found an answer to this. I can rule out Billy No Mates, brewers yeast, garlic (though am now starting to try fresh garlic instead of powdered) and neem oil. Next I'm about to try apple cider vinegar mixed with water as a spray, or garlic juice in a spray. Neem pet guard actually wasn't bad, but it really does smell horrendous to me. One that was recommended was diatomaceous earth through the coat but I don't like the sound of something that can harm the exoskeleton of a creepy crawley in my guys' lungs :( A silly concern probably, but it doesn't sit comfortably.

Calendula oil is supposed to be a deterrent - or you might find one of the cheaper flea sprays that contain pyrethrum/permethrin, as this is also a good deterrent.

For ticks I prefer to use an O'Tom tick twister, which costs just a couple of pounds and is chemical free!

Same here as Jeangenie.  Good old Tom does it for me too.

And I feel happy that I'm not dripping stuff onto their skins.

I was at the vet's recently and they mentioned a new oral flea/tick treatment which apparently last around 12 weeks. I can't remember the name, but it may be worth speaking to your vet.