prosperia Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 After the bad experience with the mitaban dips, and not being able to find a vet who would OK the ivermectin treatment, I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that Buddy was going to have to deal with the demodex forever. Julie, I know that you said that I could do it myself, but, I dont know, I was scared to do it without the support of a vet. He wasn't doing to bad. He had a few spots and his hair was thin, but he was still active and happy. About a month ago, I took him and Jenna to the river for a swim. I dont know if the water washed off what was remaining from the last dip, or maybe the river water just freaked his skin out, but his hair started falling out like crazy. So, I made an appointment at the vet. Now this isnt the same vet who perscribed the dips. I was all ready for a fight, but was shocked when the first suggestion out of the vets mouth was. . .ivermectin!!! I LOVE THIS VET!!! I was all "Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! So, horray for Buddy!! Horray for Dr. Slayman!! Keep your fingers crossed that he doesnt have a reaction to the meds. I just started the treatment yesterday. We are adding a CC a day, today he's at 2CC's, and we are working our way up to 6cc's. Here's a picture of what he looks like now. I told him yesterday that the medicine was going to make the itchies go away. . .He got all happy, jumped up, threw his paw up on my lap and cocked his head as if to say "Really!!! Thats Great!!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flrpwr52 Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 I hope this does the trick for Buddy. I had a Westie that had demodex and we got it cleared up only to have it come back in his later years, age 14. The vet said his immune system wasn't able to ward it off and the treatment would be too hard on him so we gave him Benadryl to help with the itching. He did very well until he left us at age 16. Good luck with Buddy, I can't wait to see him with a lush beautiful coat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan's Mom Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Hope Buddy feels better soon. How long do the treatments take to rid him of the problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Aww, poor Buddy! Jack and I can sympathize, we've been dealing with it the last year. Just FYI, demodex doesn't "go away", and yes, you may have to deal with it forever. Like Linda's dog, it can come back at any time. Mostly brought on by stress. I chose to treat Jack naturally. No dips or ivermectin (which my vet didn't want to take a chance with, even though Jack's an unknown mix). My vet has not seen any success with the dips, anyway. Since demodex is an immune system problem, I boosted his immune system and had him on a schedule of frequent baths followed by a rinse of tea tree oil. (a lemon rinse is supposed to be good, too) It wasn't a quick fix, but I felt better about going the natural route. Prosperia, if you're interested, I can give you the email address of the woman who gave me the treatment I followed with Jack. She's not a vet, just someone with a lot of experience and she's helped a lot of people through it, including me. Hugs to poor little Buddy Bear! (he's a cutie) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prosperia Posted May 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Yes, I know he may never be rid of it. But hopefully the meds will sucessfully get it under control. The mites started taking over after his neuter back in Nov. We are hoping that the meds will knock them out to a level where Buddy can deal with it on his own. Rachel, we are looking at a dose every day for at least 3 months, or whenever his hair starts growing back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 FWIW, you may want to consider giving Buddy milk thistle during his treatment. Ivermectin in high doses is very hard on the liver. Milk thistle is supposed to help the liver detox. I give it to my dogs for a week after they get their monthly heartworm meds. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flrpwr52 Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 When Chip had his worst days I used Benadryl cream on the bad spots to help with the itching. I do hope Buddy bounces back quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prosperia Posted May 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Well, as far as the itchyness, the demodex isnt actually causing it, thats a secondary skin infection. He's on a round of antibiotics that will clear that up. Milk Thisle? Is there anybody else who would second that suggestion? No offense, its just that I dont really know aything about herbal remedies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunar Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Oh man, poor guy! I hope it clears up on the treatment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 I don't have time to post links right now, but if you just do a Google search (something like "milk thistle liver dogs"), a ton of info is out there. It's used in both humans and dogs to treat liver aliments. As I said, I use it strictly as a preventative measure. I wouldn't expect you to take my advice without some research, first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punkrockbc Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Aw, Buddy! You look so pitiful, little guy ;0) but you still look happy in you loving home. Good luck with the meds. I can't imagine how frustrating the lake experience must have been! I hope Buddy will be all fuzzy again soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie Oop Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Poor little darlin'. He is so cute (even with bald little legs). I wish you the best with his recovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northof49 Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 There are excellent holistic protocols that are very effective of getting rid of demodectic manage, part of which includes getting the immune system healthy again. If you are interested please email me privately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Oh Maria...I'm so glad you finally found a vet willing to try the Ivermec. It took about 3 mths of every day doses for Pache too but he cleared up beautifully. From what I can tell from the pic, he was as bad off as Buddy w/ the hair loss. It may possibly be at least a month before you start seeing results but hang in there. Hopefully Buddy does just fine on the medicine and gets cleared up soon. It can be a tough road but worth it in the end. I still have to keep a close eye out on Pache and keep him as stress free as possible, but he's doing just fine now. Oh don't forget...if you have him on Heartguard (of course check w/ your vet first) don't give it to him as long as he's on the Ivermec. My vet told me that 1 daily dose of Ivermec is more than enough to last the whole month of Heartguard. But as I said, doublecheck w/ your own vet. Get well soon Buddy!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted May 14, 2006 Report Share Posted May 14, 2006 My parents' epileptic dog was on milk thistle while on phenobrb since the herb helps w/ liver stuff and the pheno was hard on that organ in particular. We never had a problem and our trditional vet didn't even bat an eye at its inclusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prosperia Posted May 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 Ok, I'll look into getting some then. How many mg's should he take? He weighs 40lbs. BTW, so far so good with the ivermectin. Tomorrow we up it to the full dosage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted May 15, 2006 Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 My herb book says the tincture is best and to dose at 1 mL per 20lbs of weight. Milk thistle should not be used unless the body/liver is under stress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammy525 Posted May 16, 2006 Report Share Posted May 16, 2006 Stupid question having nothing to do with the topic. What is FWIW? I got a list of online lingo from a school thing I went to on protecting your child on the internet, but that one isn't on there. From what I ???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Posted May 16, 2006 Report Share Posted May 16, 2006 FWIW= For what it's worth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smileyzookie Posted May 16, 2006 Report Share Posted May 16, 2006 LOL! Tammy dont feel bad, I have to sit here and run stuff through my head a lot of times to try and guess what it means lol! One that really got me once was IMHO.... yikes lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammy525 Posted May 17, 2006 Report Share Posted May 17, 2006 Thank you for helping me stumble along on my way to online education! Maybe I am just too old for this stuff, but I'll be counting on you guys when I need a translation for my kids, too!! They will hit that stage soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris B Posted May 17, 2006 Report Share Posted May 17, 2006 Prosperia, Best of luck with Buddy. I hope everything works out for him. If you don't mind i'd like to ask you a question... You may have seen my previous post about Zoe's hairloss, but recently it's been getting worse. She's due at the vets on Friday (I've been trying to bring forward the appointment but they are really busy). Her hair loss started a few months ago but has got worse recently. She started loosing hair on the side of her body in the past few weeks. Her skin is smooth and she doesn't itch which made me think it isn't demodex, but you mentioned that Buddy's itching was from something else, so that has got me thinking again.... A few friends have mentioned it could be an allergy and based on that we swapped her yesterday onto Innova EVO (the grain free version) from the regular version. We very worried and anxious to get to the vets, and i'm just wondering if this looks familar to you with what has happened with Buddy. Our previous post Her latest hair loss.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prosperia Posted May 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 Hmm, I honestly dont know. Buddy has always been scabby in places, but Im thinking that was due to the skin infection. His all started with a small crusty patch at the tip of his ear, and after his neuter, it began to spread around his eye and muzzle. The vet will be able to do a small skin scraping and tell you whether its demodex. Honestly, it doesnt really look like it, but im not sure. Does she lay on concrete a lot? She might just be rubbing it off by laying on a rough surface. Either way, dont worry yourself to much. Buddy will be fine, and Im sure that Zoe will be to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted May 18, 2006 Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 I didn't want to answer first, since you asked Prosperia, but I agree. I don't think it's demodex, but the vet can confirm it. As in Buddy's case, demodex *usually* starts on the face. My Jack's started around his eyes and spread. It'd be unsual for her to have it on her legs without having her face affected first. Also, the skin usually gets pinkish (demodex is sometimes called Red Mange), and Zoe's doesn't look pink. Good luck, I hope the vet can give you some answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smileyzookie Posted May 18, 2006 Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 lol can I ask about Riven? She's got a small patch of missing hair on her chest. What you think? Vet worthy or no? She doesnt itch, and it doesnt seem to bother her. BTW her tummy is growing back in from getting fixed thats why she has such little hair on the tummy. The spot on her Im talking about is right below the white trail of fur on her chest. I know the picture is bad and Im sorry. Riven chest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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