My dog and red mange.....?!
Question: i just recently got my dog, nellie anne....whom is a pit... from the dushe bag people who had her before me. i have actually had her for 5 months...she is my pride and joy...she is in pain cause of this....i feel so SAD that she has this condition. i am doing everything in my power that i can do right now to help take this away....she has gotten blood drawn to make sure she can be on the ivermexin which is the low dose and she is getting ready to get her 1st dip....in a sulfa based bath and a med bath so it can help her with the skin irritaion....ok my question is.....how common is red mange...i personally have NEVER had an animal that has mange until i got her....
anything will be helpful...much love Me :-)
Answers: i just recently got my dog, nellie anne....whom is a pit... from the dushe bag people who had her before me. i have actually had her for 5 months...she is my pride and joy...she is in pain cause of this....i feel so SAD that she has this condition. i am doing everything in my power that i can do right now to help take this away....she has gotten blood drawn to make sure she can be on the ivermexin which is the low dose and she is getting ready to get her 1st dip....in a sulfa based bath and a med bath so it can help her with the skin irritaion....ok my question is.....how common is red mange...i personally have NEVER had an animal that has mange until i got her....
anything will be helpful...much love Me :-)
its very common. its actually called demodex. its not from dirty surrounding, it is a mite that lives on the skin in small number (you even have a few on you!) under normal circumstances. when the immune system is suppressed or under active as in puppies, the mites start to multiply and you end up with mange. it is considered hereditary. it is common in all breeds of dogs. make sure you follow the vets instructions as to dipping and follow up with ivermectin.
EDIT: i work at a small vet practice, we see quite a bit of demodex, i would say it occurs in about 1 out of every 10 puppies. (my statics maybe wrong, but it really is very common, don't worry, its not something weird your dog has)
Edit: Well I wish you the best of luck, I have taken in a stray cat that had to have a very expensive surgery....he has a microchip, but the owners never registered him...He is now my boy. He is doing great now thanks to great vet care. I don't care much for irresponsible pet owners! I will be registering him in my name now!
Edit: Just trying to help: read the second paragraph...70% successful...I think it happens a lot. It is just easier to take care of when caught early on.
Demodectic mange is caused by a microscopic mite called Demodex canis. All dogs raised normally by their mothers possess this mite as mites are transferred from mother to pup via cuddling during the first few days of life. (After the pup is older it is unable to pick up demodex mites. Puppies raised by hand, do not ever get demodex mites.) For some reason, conditions change in certain dogs to allow demodex mites to "gain the upper hand;" the mites proliferate and can cause serious skin disease.
Mites are not transmitted to people or other dogs except from mother dog to pup as described. Demodectic mange (unlike Sarcoptic mange) is not contagious.
Mites live inside hair follicles -- a difficult place for miticides (chemicals that kill mites) to reach.
Mites are a normal residents of dog skin; it is only in some individual dogs that mites cause problems.
Treatment is often unrewarding - at best it is only about 70% successful. This is because if a hereditary condition or other systemic illness continues to depress the immune system the mites can never be erradicated. Many times, young animals must be treated four to six times until the immune system develops with age. Often, entire litters are infected. These dams should not be bred as the condition is heritable. Treatment involves clipping the hair from the affected areas and then shampooing the skin with a good quality degreasing shampoo. The skin is then rinsed with clear water and towel dried. A dip solution containing amitraz (Tactik or Mitoban?) is then sponged over the entire dog and allowed to air dry. A word of caution: Amitraz can be toxic so protective gloves, eye and face protection should be worn by the person applying the dip. This process is repeated every two weeks until skin scrapings reveal all dead mites. This may take from 4 to 8 treatments. If bacterial infections are present, appropriate antibiotics are also administered. It is very important to not stop treatment too soon. We suggest that the dips be continued on two separate occasions two weeks apart AFTER skin scrapings reveal all dead mites. This ensures a complete kill of all stages of the demodex mite (egg-larva-nymph-adult).
Other treatments include oral Ivomec? which is an injectible cattle wormer. In mild cases this may be curative in itself or may be included in combination with amitraz dips to improve efficacy.
In dogs unresponsive to amitraz or amitraz/Ivomec? treatments, milbemycin oxime has been used with success. This is an expensive medication but very effective.
It is much more common in puppies than adult dogs, but still fairly common depending on the environment you live in. The baths will definitely help her pain and once they're complete she should be ok. I had to put my chihuaua through this process, and he really didn't seem to mind. My pit also had this as a puppy and went through the same process, but she seemed to be a little more irritated by it.
It's a good thing you're doing something about it now....If owners let this get out of control it could kill a dog.