Hi Dr Jack, I have a 6 month old Maltese and he just wont stop biting and nibbling everything in site - including me! I was wondering if you have any advice on how to stop him doing this?
Susan, Adelaide.

Hi Susan, thanks for your question. First of all, you are not alone, it is a very common thing in puppies! Puppies have baby or milk teeth early on and these are replaced with adult or permanent teeth up until around seven or eight months of age. These baby teeth tend to irritate the pups gums and so the puppy will often rub the mouth or "play bite".

This habit can develop into more serious biting and must therefore be stopped at an early age.

The most effective way of stopping this behaviour is to close the pup's mouth with your hand and sternly say "no".

Straight after doing this the pup must be placed in the "sin-bin" (a laundry, loo or place where the pup is physically separated from the family) for up to half an hour. After a few episodes of this treatment the pup should cease to bite!

I know I need to worm and prevent fleas on my pet, but how do these products actually work on my pet?


Thanks for your question, and a very timely one at that. Fleas are more common during the warmer months, and it is fair to say that recent weeks have been very warm! A lot of people get embarrassed when we find fleas on their pet. However, any pet can and will catch fleas.

In the warmer weather, flea eggs hatch into small "larvae" which feed on the cast offs from adult fleas. The larvae hatch into "pupae" which can survive in the soil for up to one year. Eventually these "pupae" develop into adult fleas, which invade our pets!

Fleas cause an acute reaction on the skin of the dog, cat or human. The saliva of the flea, which in turn is produced when the flea sucks the blood of its host, causes this irritation.

The reaction causes an itching, which makes the pet scratch, often breaking the skin and allowing bacteria on the skin to enter and infect the tissues.

Obviously when a dog or cat scratches and tears at the affected areas hair is torn out and the coat of the pet becomes scraggy and ugly.

In badly affected animals there can be a lot of blood absorbed by the fleas and the pet can develop an anaemia (or lack of blood).

If an animal has fleas it is important to first of all remove as much as possible the areas that fleas can live and breed in. Straw, old blankets, sand and dirt should be removed from the pet's area. Bedding of clean blankets and shredded paper are preferable.

There are a number of "spot-on" liquid products that can be put on the skin of the pet, which will kill adult fleas almost as soon as they land on the cat or dog. "Advantage", and "Frontline" are two such products. These chemicals spread all over the animal's skin and kills fleas as soon as they come into contact with the treated animal. Treatments last for around four to six weeks and are completely safe for young and adult animals.

However, unfortunately adults can still lay eggs. To be completely thorough therefore the eggs need to be treated. "Programme" is a product that is fed to cats and dogs in their food. When an adult flea comes into contact with a pet that has eaten this product the eggs that are laid are infertile and won't hatch.

Consequently when that adult female dies there are no young to replace her

By combining these two remedies the pet's environment can be flea free!

Cheers, Dr Jack.