dennis malec Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 my dog max is an 11 month old border collie who i thought was doing wonderfully, we go to the dogpark daily, he is in great shape lean and full of energy. max has been on chicken soup for puppy lovers, adding yougurt and cottage cheese for interest. not a lot of treats usually used in training, she is enrolled in beginners agility at a local kennel. last week i noticed a red spot near his eye which i treated with neosporin after calling my vet. the spot became larger and ouzing so i took him to the vet and was diaganosed with demodectic mange. i read on the internet that dogs under a year old probably have inherited this from their parents. i understand that the mange is not the problem it can be corrected with medicinal dips which i am doing. the first one was yesterday and max who is usually pulling at me to go to the dog park is fast asleep at my feet. i am told that the real problem is max's immune system. has anyone out there ever suffered through this with their dog and what was the outcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailrider Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 Demodex mange is pretty common in being on most dogs. When they are showing evidence of a problem, it is because their body immune system has not been able to deal with the irritation at that time. It sounds like demodex, and body dips are a great overkill for treatment. The mange mites are on the majority of dogs without any resulting aggravation. There are gentler treatments than body dips, so keep an eye on your puppy and side effects. Maybe more expert responses will be presented with their experiences. I had a dog with demodex 30 years ago. Grew out of being sensitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 Yes, you are correct, demodex is an immune system problem. It's not inherited, since all dogs have the demodex mites, it's only when the immune system isn't able to "fight them off" that it turns into mange. I don't recommend the harsh chemical dips, and neither did my vet. I chose to treat my dog naturally. Having said that, most dogs will outgrow it as their immune system develops, but you need to help boost the immune system. Here are a couple of threads discussing demodex, I explain my treatment in both of them. Hopefully you will find it and the rest of the threads helpful. Good luck! http://www.bordercollie.org/boards/index.p...&hl=demodex http://www.bordercollie.org/boards/index.php?showtopic=5256 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheRuffMuttGang Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 My 6.5 month old pup has had a rather large spot on his face for about 2.5 months now. Up until this point I've attempted treating it naturally with immune boosters and tea tree oil but to no avail. A few days ago I gave in and got some Goodwinol ointment to use on it for a couple of weeks. Sue me if I want to see my puppy's face look cute before he is no longer a puppy anymore! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journey Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 Yeah, demodex is pretty common. My vet gave me a preventic collar and told me to keep an eye on the pup. Seems there is something in the collar (amitraz sp???) that helps take care of the mites. He didn't want to go with any harsher treatments on a pup. Pup healed, life evidently was stressful at the time for him. Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 A few days ago I gave in and got some Goodwinol ointment to use on it for a couple of weeks. Sue me if I want to see my puppy's face look cute before he is no longer a puppy anymore! Has it helped any yet? I don't consider Goodwinol harsh. I was talking about the Amitraz (sp?) dips. Karen, I've heard that about the Preventic collars, too. Good to know, though I hope I never have to deal with it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journey Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 Has it helped any yet? I don't consider Goodwinol harsh. I was talking about the Amitraz (sp?) dips. Karen, I've heard that about the Preventic collars, too. Good to know, though I hope I never have to deal with it again. Amitraz, that it! That's what is in the collar. Don't ask where I came up with the other......it's Friday and it hasn't stopped raining for 2 days here. Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheRuffMuttGang Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 I've only used the Goodwinol for three days now. So far, no noticeable change. It doesn't help that the patch is right above his lip so he licks and licks and licks when I put the ointment on--the stuff is pretty gooey though, so a lot of it stays there. I may try one of the Preventic collars if this doesn't help. The vet said to use it for 2 weeks and see how he's doing. He really wants me to dip Tank but I don't want to. The patch on his face is pretty big but it's nowhere else on his body. I am quite sure Tank's demodex erupted just because life was so stressful for him. He and his littermates were rescued (by me) from a kill shelter at 5 weeks old. They were all worm infested and had huge raw, bald spots on their tails and feet from nursing on each others' appendages. A couple of weeks later the two smaller boys (Deuce and Tex) got very sick with kennel cough/URI/distemper (not really sure still) and Deuce passed away. It took several more weeks for Tex to get well but Tank never got more than a very, very mild cough. But I can only imagine how hard it was on his immune system to fight off getting the same crud the other two pups got. I loaded him with immune boosters but even that was not enough to prevent the demodex mites from taking over because his immune system was so stressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenajo Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 Instead of tea tree try plain lemon juice or a gentle wipe of white vineger. And if you're into alternative/holistic medicine a consult for a vet who specializes in that is in order. 6 weeks is the usual turn around for mange of that type. The pup may need some immune support. All dogs have demodectic mange mites, but the tendancy to be sensitive to them - espeically in the generalized (whole body) form of the diease is very definately inherited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 Yes, perhaps my post wasn't very clear. Demodex is not an inherited condition, but the suppressed immune system that allows the puppy to be susceptible to the mites can be. Therefore, it is not ideal to breed demodex dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenajo Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 Yes, perhaps my post wasn't very clear. Demodex is not an inherited condition, but the suppressed immune system that allows the puppy to be susceptible to the mites can be. Therefore, it is not ideal to breed demodex dogs. A small patch that self resolves is not a non-breeding issue. Generalized demo or repetitive cases is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 Ok. Forget I said anything. Good luck, Dennis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheRuffMuttGang Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 Instead of tea tree try plain lemon juice or a gentle wipe of white vineger. And if you're into alternative/holistic medicine a consult for a vet who specializes in that is in order. 6 weeks is the usual turn around for mange of that type. The pup may need some immune support. He's had plenty of immune support since he's been 5 weeks old. But the demodex is not spreading and it's only one spot so it doesn't worry me too awfully much. Dipping him would only weaken his immune system further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenajo Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 He's had plenty of immune support since he's been 5 weeks old. But the demodex is not spreading and it's only one spot so it doesn't worry me too awfully much. Dipping him would only weaken his immune system further. I wasn't suggesting dipping him, or anything else so harsh. But a good holistic vet might have some suggestions in the area of homeopathy or herbs to help. I've also had them put pups on Transfer Factor for while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K2R Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 My youngest pup Lexie had pretty severe, generalized demodex that my vets treated w/ 3 rounds of mitoban dip when she was about 5 months old. Mitoban is nasty scary stuff for sure, and Lexie definitely experienced some not-so-nice effects like being dopey and uncoordinated for a day or two after. I especially disliked that her fur was toxic to other dogs for a while after treatment so she had to be quarrantined from my other pups. But the treatments did not seem to effect her immune system (she's otherwise been very robust and healthy), and afterwards she grew back all her hair and to date she's not had a recurrence (she's just over 2 yrs old now). Kind of funny because at first we thought she was a JRT mix due to her thin, wiry coat, but after she got her real coat back, we knew we were WAAYYY off!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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