CHAPTER I: PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUNDINTRODUCTIONA. A .

The Problem Dogs have been known as man's best friend for decades. The decision to own a dog is animportant one that should not be taken lightly especially in terms of their health.According to the T exas Agricultural Extension Service, one of the biggest expenses forpet owners is flea control.There are chances that your dog has been bitten by fleas. Fleas can be incrediblyproblematic to control. The female flea lay over 2,000 eggs during her lifetime, this implies thatinfections can materialize rapidly and the eggs she laid may continue to exist for several months in the environment. Thats why its important to control both the fleas on your pet and also thefleas living in the dogs surrounding. According to the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), fleas are not only aninconvenience. Their saliva is considered one of the most allergenic substances on Earth, and isthe cause of a nasty skin disease in pets called Flea Allergenic Dermatitis (FAD). Also, whenthey bite, fleas ingest blood. If the infestation is severe enough, it can cause anemia or even kill asmall puppy.Allison Flynn-Lurie remarks that normal dogs will itch in total maybe a minute of eachday, a flea allergic dog will spend about 25 30% of the day itching, scratching or bitingMike Paul, Executive Director of the Companion Animal Parasite Council advocates azero tolerance attitude, encouraging dog owners all across the country to use flea, tick, and otherparasite-control products year-round.According to the 2000 survey by the Natural Resources Defense Council, 90 percent of American households used pesticides, and 80 percent still used them when a woman in thehousehold was pregnant. For women who were pregnant when exposed to flea and tick products,their children were more likely to be diagnosed later with brain cancer.According to Kraeuchi (2011), the leaves of the Madre de Cacao have a fetid smell;crushed, used to rid dogs of fleas and ticks and cattle, of ticks. It acts potently on insects. Inmany countries, its leaves are placed in chicken runs, or left to soak in hot water and used toeliminate fleas and lice on domestic animals.There are many compounds in Madre de cacao. The ones most researched are tannins. Inone study, Madre de cacao was found to contain 40.7g of condensed tannins/kg dry matter.Tannins are considered potentially antidiarrheal, antidysenteric, antimutagenic, antinephritic,antioxidant, antiradicular, antiviral,

bactericidal, cancer-preventive, hepatoprotective, pesticide, psychotropic, and viricide activities.

Further research is needed to develop Madre de cacao as dog flea repellent. One hugereason is the immediately availability of commercially manufactured anti-flea products in themarket which would likely more preferred particularly in the first world countries. But in thethird world like Philippines, such knowledge is important and valuable. With this, dog ownerscould obtain anti-flea at low cost. According to Dr. Bissdorf (2008), using the extract of Madre de Cacao has no effects onhumans. No published studies could be found regarding the toxicity of using Madre de cacao.The researchers decided to conduct a study concerning to the use of Madre de cacao as adog flea repellent. Aiming to make a less harmful repellent unlike some commercializedproducts using chemicals that can affect dogs either human. Also, it is cheaper and an easiermethod of removing fleas.
B. Statement of the Problem The proposal generally aims to determine the effectiveness of the Madre de cacao ( Gliricidiasepium) in the production of anti-flea shampoo.Specifically, the study also aims to answer the following questions:a. How will the varied amounts of Madre de cacao affect the treatments in terms of:a.1 Appearance of the product?a.2 Consistency of the product?a.3 Odor of the product?b. Is there any significant difference among the trials in terms of:b.1 Appearance of the product?b.2 Consistency of the product?b.3 Odor of the product?

C.
HypothesisNull Hypothesis There is no significant difference among the trials in terms of:

a. Appearance of the product. b. Consistency of the product. c. Odor of the product. D. Significance of the Study This study will be useful to make Madre de cacao functional in making dog flearepellent. Also, it can be a solution to prevent poisonous chemical of othercommercialized repellents. It will also benefit the following: People . The study will benefit the people especially dog owners because in thisstudy it will help them be aware of the use of Madre de cacao. Community . The study will benefit the community for it would provide cheaperand flea repellent and provides new knowledge for them. Dogs . They will be free from itchiness and loss of fur. Also, they can be safe fromanemia, skin disease and death. Other researchers . The result of this study will serve as a reference material forthose who are interested in the study and want to further investigate about it.

E.
Scope and Limitations The study will be conducted at the house of the researchers. The researchers will becollecting the Madre de cacao leaves and coconut oil. The study would not require a largeamount of capital since the raw materials could just be found at markets (coconut oil) and inplanting areas (Madre de cacao).The study mainly focuses on the production of dog shampoo out of Madre de cacao andcoconut oil. The researchers would not be focusing on the other raw materials which do relateson the production of other dog shampoo.The study was started at midst of April, 2012 and expected to last at January, 2013. F. Definition of Terms Madre de Cacao. The chopped leaves of it will be decocted for its chemical-ladencomponent be extracted. Coconut Oil. Serves as hardener and contributor on the production of quick-lather soapswhich is needed for the making of the product. Muslin.

Separator of the decocted leaves to its extract. Dog Shampoo. The result/product of the experiment. Fleas. The factor to be removed by the product and be tested on the time interval it willtake to die.