Some suggest garlic. I don't like garlic because it's in the onion family and causes anemia in dogs. I've had great results with a topical all-natural treatment of essential oils that's cut with almond oil (which is a great emollient in itself). I just spray the solution on a bandanna, rub the bandanna on my dog to distribute the scent and then sometimes tie the bandanna around my dog. I get the solution from Goodness Gracious (www.goodnessgracioustreats.com). It's called K#9 Cologne. A four ounce bottle should last all summer for a small dog.
garlic?
You have the right idea with the garlic but there needs some more direction to it. Garlic alone will help but won't eliiminate the problem. I personally have 3 dogs. 2 large and 1 medium. With the following receipe I have not put any flea or tick deterrent on them for three years now.
Receipe
3 cups dry rice
2 Tbls Garlic Powder
1 Tbls salt
1 Tbls cooking oil
Put the oil in the bottom of a rice cooker or 2 qt pan. Put in rice, garlic powder, and salt and add water to cover approximately 1/2 in. Should be 4 1/2 cups or so. Let cook in rice cooker until it shuts off or in a pan on the stove approximate 20 minutes at a slow boil.
Put usual dry dogfood in dish, for small dogs 1/4 cup of this mixture, medium dogs 1/2 cup, large dogs 3/4 cup and really big dogs 1 cup of the rice mixture. Mix well with the dogfood.
I also add 1 or 2 Tablespoons of canned dogfood to the dry food to add flavoring. But dogs like the rice anyway so it's not really an issue to get them to eat it. Don't put more garlic in thinking it will help more. That makes it bitter and they won't eat it. You want to put more flavoring, put a beef or chicking bullion cube or broth instead of water in the rice while it's cooking.
It will take a couple of weeks to get this in the dogs system so you should use a good deterrant for the first month after you start this receipe. After that you should be fine unless there is an enormous flea and tick population in your yard. Then only 50% wettable Sevin sprayed on the yard will help the problem. And your kids are probably getting flea and tick bit too if this is the case. Keep animals and kids off of the yard after spraying for at least 24 hours.
Check this out:
Dogs may = ticks:
http://greenlivingpress.com/2012/05/12/farmhand-diaries-bozo-the-pit-bull-shares-his-ticks/