I and one of our daughters is allergic to many of the things used on dogs for fleas. A friend of ours who also had the same allergies used Pinesol to bath her pets. We used it to bath our dog for 16 years with no problems. He was a medium-large size dog and we used the garden hose and bathed him without him being in any type of container. So maybe that made a difference. I have also heard that Dawn Dishwashing Detergent is good to bath your dog with to prevent fleas.