Q and A: Veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker

Aug. 25, 2004 -- Dr. Marty Becker joined Good Morning America on Monday to talk about the importance of pet grooming.

After the show, Dr. Becker replied to your e-mail questions in the online Q & A below.

Q: We have a terrier mix, his name is Boomer and he weighs about 10 pounds. We had the worst luck with these fleas. We wash Boomer at least once a week, is there anything you can suggest that will help us try to control our flea problems? Thank you for your time.

Jay VargasRiverside, Calif.

A: According to the veterinarian who's widely considered to be the top flea expert in the world (has Dr. Flea on his license plate) Dr. Michael Dryden, professor of veterinary parasitology at Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, says in these situations that you need to get the dog on a product that not only kills the fleas but sterilizes the flea eggs. Ultimately, controlling the fleas will depend on preventing these fleas from reproducing. Don't expect instant results with any flea products. Dryden emphasizes pet owners must maintain their pets on these parasite control products for a sufficient amount of time — up to six months — to insure flea elimination. When asked why owners often say one product works better on a pet, Dryden said most of the time it's a placebo effect. However, there are species differences, and differences in the effectiveness of products on individual pets, even within the same breed. The effectiveness of a product also depends on the strain of flea you're up against. In a given area, fleas can be more susceptible to one product over another. His top three tips:

1.Give parasite control products the time to work. Need a minimum of 60-90 days in a normal situation to get rid of fleas, much longer with problem cases such as yours. 2. Treat all the animals in the household. Dryden laments that many times people treat the fleas on their dogs but not their cats, and vice versa.