Jack has demodectic mange! :(

NekopanNekopan
edited September 2008 in Food, Nutrition, & Health
Shortly after Jack's accident we noticed he was beginning to lose hair in patches. We knew it wasn't from scratching, because he had an Elizabethan collar on at the time. On subsequent vet visits we were told it was nothing to be concerned about by two different veterinarians. We began to suspect it was an allergy of some sort - we had recently switched his food from a lamb formula to a chicken formula (he's now on Orijen puppy, which didn't rule out the chicken allergy theory, but it's a better food).

The bald patches only got worse. The skin underneath was red, and began to get scaly. Our vet finally decided that it was important, and did a skin scraping. Sure enough, it was demodex. My mom decided to go with the ivermectin treatment over the mitaban dip, and signed a waiver.

Please send good thoughts; ivermectin can be very dangerous to dogs, causing severe side effects if misdosed. Jack is getting .4 ml this week, and if there are no adverse side effects, .8 ml next week.

I'm not very impressed with our breeder right now. It's possible that we were just unlucky, but if she knew Jack's dam had a defective immune system, she should not have been bred.

Comments

  • grandemugrandemu
    edited November -1
    Tag had demodex once, on his muzzle. They gave us an ointment for it, and it cleared up right away. The only negative from the experience is when the vet took the skin scraping, it was painful - so now he hides his face at the vet's office. He's not aggressive or anything about it, just would definitely prefer that his face be hidden on me. I'll have to see if I can find out what the ointment was.
  • tsukitsunetsukitsune
    edited November -1
    As I understand it, Demodex usually occurs when the dog is run-down and their immune system is weak. We've used Goodwinol Ointment on a foster dog, I'm pretty sure it was a few times a day for a couple weeks. The hair started to grow back. I've also come across a woman in shiba rescue that uses acne cream (5% benzoyl peroxide lotion) on her demo foster dogs. Then to sooth, a lot of people suggest Neem Oil ( http://www.botanicaldog.com/neem_oil.php ).
  • BradA1878BradA1878
    edited November -1
    poor Jack.
  • dlrobertsdlroberts
    edited November -1
    I'm sorry to hear about Jack. We're sending our best wishes for a safe and speedy recovery.
  • MommyofNikoMommyofNiko
    edited November -1
    That sucks! Im sorry, poor Jack. Sasha had severe mange when she was rescued. I never saw it but it was a serious case, and I have no idea where it even was. Unfortunately mange is not uncommon, but fortunately, that should mean knowledge on treatment!
  • SangmortSangmort
    edited November -1
    Hopefully all will be well!! <3 ~
  • lindsaytlindsayt
    edited November -1
    My understanding is that the immune system is the ultimate cure for demodectic mange in young dogs and dogs with localized infections (less than 2-3 small areas), but Ivermectin is the fastest, surest cure for generalized infections, although obviously higher risk in sensitive dogs. It sounds like your Vet is being careful by titrating the dose. The breeder should definately not repeat the breeding. We are wishing for a very successful treatment for Jack!
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