I have always done a spray bottle with water and tea tree oil drops, and spray the dogs down with this concoction once a day. Fleas and ticks have stayed away from them, and I know its not some out of control chemical that will upset them. As for the yard we use triazicide, and we keep the dogs in for a full day from whatever part of the yard we spray (front or back)...We live in front of a farm so there are all types of creepy crawlies around, but the view is too gorgeous to care about the extra work.
Our dogs like the cows too...
