Flea prevention favorites?

Because our dog has allergies, we had to stop using a flea prevention skin treatment (Frontline). It irritated his skin (causing flaky, itchy patches where we’d applied it, even though we tried not to apply it in the same spot twice) and made my eyes water both to put it on him, and also to be around him for several hours after application.

So, we talked to the vet, and got a prescription for Sentinel instead. This has worked really well for us. It’s a once-a-month flea and heartworm prevention tablet, and from our vet, the cost is comparable to what we were paying for both heartworm and flea medicine before.

Because we try to keep things as chemical free as possible, we don’t use any chemical flea treatments, and have yet to have any fleas at all, which is really wonderful. This year, we are planning on using some of the suggested all natural flea abatements to eliminate mosquitoes (some all natural products do both but are marketed more for flea control). I’ll definitely let you know how that turns out!

Today, though, I’d like to know what you use for flea prevention. Do you use something applied topically? A flea collar? An all-natural approach? And how do you (and your dog!) like it?