by Dr. Howard A. Mintzer

Q. Myna F. of Poughkeepsie writes: Last year my dog was really bothered by fleas. The problem got so bad that I had to go and spend $200 to bomb my house and treat my dog. What can I do to prevent this from happening again?

A. Myna, I sympathize with you. Every year I talk with many clients who have had to spend considerable sums to rid their houses of fleas. Not only is the expense great but who really wants to expose themselves to unnecessary chemicals? Luckily we have some very good prescription medications which when started early in the spring will make sure your pet doesn't become infested with fleas and will prevent your house from becoming overrun with these pesky little critters.

For so many years we depended on marginally effective collars, messy sprays and smelly dips. A few years ago Program, the first of a new class of once-a-month flea control products was introduced. When the female flea feeds on your pet's blood the chemical in Program enters her eggs and causes a change in the egg that prevents them from hatching. The makes Program a birth control pill for fleas! Since over the course of one month in the best weather for fleas (hot and humid) ten fleas can give rise to 100,000 eggs, you can easily see why preventing these eggs from hatching will prevent an infestation of fleas in your house. Programs has some drawbacks, though. Since it doesn't kill adult fleas you may still see some biting your pet. If your pet is allergic to fleas he will still get the allergy because the flea has to bite him to become sterile. Finally, all the pets in the house whether they go outside or not will need to be taking program. Fleas that feed on pets not taking program will be able to lay eggs to infest your house. On the other hand, Program works well, is given as a monthly pill to dogs and as a shot that lasts 6 months in cats. That's right, for cats there is nothing to do, no pilling, no spraying, nothing but one injection in the spring and one injection in the fall!

A year after Program was introduced two other drugs came on the market, Advantage and Front Line. Both of these medications are spot on products that are applied once a month between your pet's shoulder blades. These medications repel and kill fleas. In addition Front Line also kills ticks. We have been very happy with Advantage. Everyone in the office uses Advantage on their own pets. Front Line shows great promise. Let's face it we'd all like to use one medication to kill both ticks and fleas. Unfortunately the feedback from our clients indicates that it doesn't work as well as promised and clients still see (fewer) fleas and ticks on their pets. The advantage of both of these drugs is that fleas don't have to bite to die. Therefore if your pet has flea allergies (remember, your pet is allergic to flea saliva, not just to the fleas walking on his skin) these are the drugs to use.

My recommendation are as follows. If you have a cat who spends little time outdoors I'd get an injection of Program once every 6 months. If your dog just steps outside to go to the bathroom I'd use Program pills monthly. If your pets spend a considerable amount of time outside or has suffered from skin allergies in the past then I'd use Advantage. The most important advice I can give is that whatever product you use, the time to start using it is NOW. If you wait until you see fleas, you'll have thousands of flea eggs around your house all waiting to hatch. Then you'll have to go through the expense and mess of treating the house all over again.

Q. David R of Hyde Park writes: I have 2 male rabbits in a cage together. For the past few days one of them has been pulling out his hair and lining the corner of the cage with it. Does he have some kind of skin disease?

A. Are you sure of the rabbits' sex? The behavior you are describing sounds like nest building. It is common for rabbits to start plucking their hair and using it to line a nest a few days before giving birth. Look at your rabbit's skin. Aside from the hair loss is it red, oozing or in other ways look abnormal. If the answer to your question is "no" then most likely someone has goofed when determining the sex of your rabbits and by the time you read this your rabbit will have already given birth. If on the other hand, your rabbit's skin does look abnormal and there are no babies by now, have your vet look a the rabbit. There are numerous skin diseases (including ringworm-which is contageous to people) and skin parasites that your rabbit may have and he (or she) will probably need medication to cure the condition.