Anyone ever have a dog with the mange?

[ChristusG]

Our little chihuahua puppy has the mange. UGH!! I noticed her hair beginning to thin in places so I called my sister to come over and look. She's a vet tech, been working for a vet for 10 years, and is on her way to becoming a veterinarian. One skin test later and the mange is confirmed. It's not the contagious kind....it's the kind that is genetic. My sister is going to bathe her in a special shampoo once a week for 6-8 weeks until a negative skin test is confirmed. UGH. Has anyone ever had their dog dipped in this? I'm concerned because my sister said it smells like roach spray. I'm sensitive to chemical smells....and I'm also concerned about petting the dog during this time. I don't want strong chemicals getting all over my children. But I'd feel bad not to have much contact with the dog for weeks and weeks....she's the sweetest little thing.

[Mom22ns]

I adopted a rescue Dane with severe mange. She hardly had any hair and was bleeding from the scratches on her face. It was awful. She ended up terribly scarred. I don't remember the dip smelling that bad, although it wasn't pleasant. Just be glad you are doing it on a little dog not a 100+ lb one!

[Snowfall]

It does smell pretty bad. It's a sulfur-based chemical, if I recall correctly, so you can imagine. Can chihuahuas not have Ivermectin? That's the treatment of choice, so I'm not sure why your sister wouldn't recommend it, unless chihuahuas can't have it. Or maybe the vet she works for doesn't use it, so she's not as familiar with it. I don' t know. Ivermectin is an oral thing. When our bulldog had demodex, we did 1 or 2 dips, while concurrently giving Ivermectin. It apparently tastes AWFUL, so he didn't want to take it, but it's really not hard to give. It's liquid, so you just squirt the syringe into the mouth. That should be pretty simple with a chihuahua. The only thing is that demodex can be really difficult to manage. You should contact the breeder of that puppy, as those two parents should never be bred to each other again. (They probably shouldn't be bred at all again, but that's a whole can of worms and breeders get all up in arms over that stuff.)

[Mom-ninja.]

My dog had as a puppy. We had a cream from the vet. It worked great and it never came back. I can't remember what kind of mange it was though.

[RamonaQ]

When our pug was a puppy she had mange. The vet dipped her 2 different times, she has not had it since.

[katemary63]

The baths and dips are a waste of money! They are outdated protocol but many vets are still doing it because it brings them LOTS of money!!! Ivermectin will do it. My dog was cured with 2 doses a week apart. (After the vet told me she was going to do the 6-8 weeks of expensive baths and I said no!) Ivermectin in the same drug in your heartworm meds but is used at a higher dose for mange. Google the Ivermectin dosage for canine mange. You might take a while to fine it, but you will find it. (I don't feel comfortable giving out dosage and no longer have the site bookmarked.) Ivermectin can even be given daily for a short time if needed. It will work. Mites can not live on a dog treated with Ivermectin. You buy it at the Tractor Supply or any other feed store - Cattle injectible 1% and it is SO cheap compared to the dips. Some places even have it is very small bottles. There, now I've saved you a ton of money!! :001_smile:

 

 

Edited: Here is a great website that even states that Ivermectin is the treatment of choice for Demodectic Mange. (Doesn't give the dosage though.)

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_demodectic_mange.html

Edited July 17, 2010 by katemary63

[Beth in OH]

It's not the contagious kind....it's the kind that is genetic.

 

If you want to google, this kind is called demodectic mange. My young golden has a spot of it on her nose (confirmed by a skin scraping), and because it's small, we're treating with an ointment applied daily to the spot. In my dog's case, the vet preferred this approach to systemic ivermectin treatment.

 

I also foster collies who tend to have problems with demodectic mange and usually can't have ivermectin. They have to do the weekly baths for an extended time.

 

A dog's course of treatment will depend on how much of the body is covered and how severe the demodex is.

[ChristusG]

Our dog is beginning to thin in a lot of places so I can tell it's not going to be contained to one area of her skin....so I think she's going to need treatment.

 

The vet my sister works for is great....she's not trying to get money from me. She said my sister could buy the bottle of dip at cost and bathe the dog at my house ever week so that I wouldn't have to pay the weekly $40 dipping fee at the vet.

 

I asked my sister about Ivermectin because that sounded easier to me, and she asked her vet....and they don't usually use Ivermectin on puppies. She said that the dip usually works well on puppies and Ivermectin is such a strong drug that some dogs do not tolerate well. She said they usually use Ivermectin on older dogs, where as the dip does not work very well on them.

 

I don't know anything about it LOL....that's just what they told me.

[hornblower]

demodectic mange is usually caused by immune insufficiency so you'll want to look at boosting her immune system.

 

It can be brought on by stress or just by a temporary weakness in the immune system (as the system develops).

 

It can also be the result of genetic deficiency of the immune system. In that case, it can cause lifelong flare ups.

 

Have you contacted the breeder? They need to know so that they re-consider breeding the sire&dam in case this is a genetic fault.

Edited July 17, 2010 by hornblower

[Beth in OH]

If you want confirmation of this advice, it sounds very much like what our rescue vet would say for our fosters--including selling the medicated shampoo/dip an letting us do the work ourselves. Hopefully after she gets older and her immune system is stronger, she won't have a problem with demodex.

 

Beth

 

Our dog is beginning to thin in a lot of places so I can tell it's not going to be contained to one area of her skin....so I think she's going to need treatment.

 

The vet my sister works for is great....she's not trying to get money from me. She said my sister could buy the bottle of dip at cost and bathe the dog at my house ever week so that I wouldn't have to pay the weekly $40 dipping fee at the vet.

 

I asked my sister about Ivermectin because that sounded easier to me, and she asked her vet....and they don't usually use Ivermectin on puppies. She said that the dip usually works well on puppies and Ivermectin is such a strong drug that some dogs do not tolerate well. She said they usually use Ivermectin on older dogs, where as the dip does not work very well on them.

 

I don't know anything about it LOL....that's just what they told me.

[i.love.lucy]

Edited: Here is a great website that even states that Ivermectin is the treatment of choice for Demodectic Mange. (Doesn't give the dosage though.)

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_demodectic_mange.html

I read around on this site a bunch trying to see if I could self-diagnose my dogs itchy skin issues. I have no idea at this time if she has mange, food or airborn allergies. We did take her to the vet but at that time she had no visible skin irritations so no skin tests were performed. He told us she might have fleas. She does not have fleas. She eats NO table scraps and is on a venison/rice healthy skin formula food. The problem is her itchy areas don't seem typical for what this site says. Hers are on her back, hips and even her tail. Her hair has thinned, although we always thought she was pulling out her hair. Now I see that it thins due to these allergies. And she does have some irritations that look somewhat like red bumps and other times just scaly and dry looking. It does temporarily seem to be eased by topical benadryl. Do you all think it could be mange? I guess there is no way to know without an expensive skin test huh? And, to top it off she is a border collie mix so she will probably not be able to do Ivermectin. I'm frustrated! She had the most beautiful coat when we adopted her (4yrs ago) and now she has this thin, dull coat and it's very, very thin on her rump.:confused: I want to help my baby without spending a fortune that we don't have.

[cara]

We used a homopathic treatment that worked for our dog

 

http://www.ehow.com/way_5373145_homeopathic-mange-remedies.html

 

I also took the borox / peroxide mixture and mixed with with Vasline and Balmex and spread it all over her. It worked with in a few weeks.

[hornblower]

thin, dull coat and it's very, very thin on her rump.:confused: I want to help my baby without spending a fortune that we don't have.

 

It's hard to dx without good workups. Thyroid issues can also cause this coat problem & for that you'd need very specific blood tests.

 

Dogs can also be allergic to YOU.

 

And they can have allergies to pollen/grass etc.

 

They can also be allergic to fleas - in that case just a couple bites can affect them, even if they don't actually have fleas & are on flea prevention, fleas can jump on & off quickly.

 

Are you using flea preventatives? It's the best place to start - something like K9 Advantix.

 

 

If this dog was in my care, & I couldn't afford detailed lab work now, I'd do a round of absolutely NO grains. Actually I'd put the dog on raw but if you can't, go for grain free kibble. I'd choose a novel protein - something like rabbit maybe. Something she has not been on before. (Natures Variety Instinct or Orijen are two brands I've used with rescue fosters with good results)

 

+

 

add 1000mg salmon oil capsule daily. For my 50lb setter I used 2000-3000 mg daily until his coat started to improve,now he's on 1000/day. I buy human grade Pacific wild salmon oil capsules in the human pharmacy. You can also use Grizzy Oil salmon oil, specifically made for pets. It comes in a bottle with a pump dispenser.

[ChristusG]

I'm afraid that hers was probably brought on by stress. She's a little dog and we're a busy household. We have two small children who love her to death. I carefully monitor them around her though. And for months she barked a lot so I was always sharply saying "Marley, no no!" So she may have been stressed out. She seems much happier now though. For a while, she did seem pretty skittish. Now she's always excited to see us and she's finally understanding that she cannot use the bathroom in the house, so she gets more "free" time, which seems to make her much happier. So hopefully she's getting less stressed....but the mange still seems to be getting worse. She will begin her dips on Monday.

 

I have not contacted the breeder....I got her from a reputable pet store. I know the owner. Maybe I should tell him and he could tell the breeders?

[hornblower]

I have not contacted the breeder....I got her from a reputable pet store. I know the owner. Maybe I should tell him and he could tell the breeders?

 

I'm sorry but that's an oxymoron - a reputable pet store does not sell live animals & reputable breeders never sell through pet stores. It's in the code of ethics for most breed clubs that I'm aware of.

 

American Chihuahua Club - code of ethics: http://www.chihuahuaclubofamerica.com/NEW%20TRANSFER/COE1.html

 

To breed only A.K.C. registered Chihuahuas (does not apply to foreign members) with the aim of maintaining or improving the qualities of the breed as set forth in the Standard, and not for personal gain. I will not participate in the buying or selling of dogs at auctions and I will never knowingly sell puppies to wholesalers, laboratories or to pet stores, and will encourage any puppy buyer to behave similarly.

 

(btw, their entire code of ethics is pretty lame overall :-( This is the bare minimum for ethical breeders - & there's nothing in there about taking responsibility for dogs for their entire life, which is the norm for the good breed clubs. But at least they've got the pet store clause.....)

 

I hope it's not a genetic issue for her & that once she starts treatment, she'll bounce back!

Edited July 17, 2010 by hornblower

[SonshineLearner]

I'd try raw, too. I was almost ready to put my dog down; I had my dog on all kinds of "grain free" food, benadryl twice a day... and he was horribly itchy. A combination of flea meds ( I know... ick) and raw food.... and 2 years later... he has almost no allergy symptoms. Occasionally he has goopy eyes, but he doesn't itch... and hasn't had Benadryl in years.

I think that raw chicken is the easiest thing to feed, raw beef or goat heart and kidneys with some bone dust... (bone dust looks like hamburger the way I get it) You can roll the bone dust in ball shaped "treats". I feed a variety of raw.... (not just what's listed) and it's really the saving grace for my dog. AND, I went out to price some kibble.... Wow... I forgot how much I use to pay for all that dog kibble!

:)

[SonshineLearner]

And, with the "no fleas thing" Here's a test... do the flea treatment... as Hornblower recommended... and see if after a time it gets better... Those are classic spots for allergies to fleas... and even when my dog has had fleas... it's been hard if even possible... to see them! Just a thought... if you did it and it worked... Presto!

[gingersmom]

I am crossing my fingers for you it is not allergies.

 

I had a dog with the most severe skin allergies.

 

I spent over $5000 on allergy testing and then shots to get rid of the allergies. It did not work at all, in fact he seemed to get worse.

 

He was allergic to everything you can think of.

 

We tried raw, bizarre foods (kangaroo or something disgusting like that), etc. I would have taken him to a psychic if they could have figured out a cure.

 

We eventually put him on some pill (whose name escapes me) that ran me around $100/month.

 

Hope you get better news.

[Mom22ns]

I have to admit my rescue with mange was only mildly better when we cured the mange. That just let us see her food allergies. She was such a mess. For years all she ate was venison or elk and oatmeal - yes oats. She as allergic to rice :lol:. We did a homemade diet and her immune system healed over time. She could never eat regular dog food, but she did get to where she could eat Solid Gold (that is the name, but it is appropriate for what it costs).

 

FWIW she was a lot of trouble in the early years and we weren't even sure she was going to make it when we rescued her. But she lived some very happy healthy years and made it to 12 yo and that is very old for a great dane. She was well worth the investment.

[katemary63]

I'm sorry but that's an oxymoron - a reputable pet store does not sell live animals & reputable breeders never sell through pet stores. It's in the code of ethics for most breed clubs that I'm aware of.

 

:iagree:100% ALL puppies sold at pet stores are puppy mill puppies. Never buy a puppy from a pet store.