brookitar Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 About a few weeks ago we noticed a small 1 cm patch of hair missing from our Effie's face. We at first assumed it was from getting into a scuffle with another dog at the dog park. The little mark started to spread around her left cheek area only. She isn't itching it but it has periods of becoming inflammed with a dry appearance. My mom is mad and thinks I'm overreacting about my dog's health since she goes for something new almost every month. But this effects my dog and her care....she can no longer go to daycare or out to the park since it might be contagious. My mom thinks it is a case of ringworm and gave me "Terbinafine Hydrochloride Cream 1%" for athletes foot, ring worm, yeast infections, etc. We have used for a week now and it seems like her hair loss and inflammation has become worse. My mother still thinks I shouldn't take her to the vet... Does this look like ringworm or a cause for alarm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brookitar Posted February 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 uploading better pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brookitar Posted February 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 This was taken last weekend. This was taken today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 I would take her to the vet, personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brookitar Posted February 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Yeah I'm planning on it this week when hers is open. I'm hoping we can get her in Tuesday if it's not too busy if not we will find a different vet worst case scenario. I just wanted to make sure this is a good reason to take my dog to the vet since some people I personally know don't think so. I would take her to the vet, personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chene Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 We had a dog at our kennel who had something similar. It was environmental allergies, and it just kept getting worse. It wasn't contagious, that's one thing, but it was certainly uncomfortable for the poor guy. A vet visit sounds like a good idea no matter what though. Best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brookitar Posted February 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 We had a dog at our kennel who had something similar. It was environmental allergies, and it just kept getting worse. It wasn't contagious, that's one thing, but it was certainly uncomfortable for the poor guy. A vet visit sounds like a good idea no matter what though. Best of luck. That's also what I'm afraid of. As a puppy she had a lot of problems with allergies...in Texas the weather has become warmer and rainy so the pollen is horrible. Her eyes are always red and have drainage. My fiance and I are thinking about taking her to the petsmart clinic and paying for year-round treatment since we have to take her so often...most of the time it is allergy related. Do you know if the dog ever got treatment for the allergies? The vet said to call if it gets too bad and we could put her on histamines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teresaserrano Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Tess had something like that, same spot and all, a few months ago. It began to spread, turned out to be demodetic mange. It's easy to treat, it's gone now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brookitar Posted February 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Tess had something like that, same spot and all, a few months ago. It began to spread, turned out to be demodetic mange. It's easy to treat, it's gone now. Yeah I hope its not something like that. :/ We go to the dog park nearby a lot and she has already caught kennel cough. If this is the case we probably will stop taking her to that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teresaserrano Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Demodetic mange is not contagious. It's opportunistic and usually appears when the imune sistem is a bit down. In Tess's case, she had got a parasite that weakens the imune sistem (probably by eating dog poop), then the mange apeared. Both have been successfully treated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted February 9, 2015 Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 Demodex lives inside normal hair follicles. People even have it. It's controlled by a healthy immune system so the population doesn't get out of hand. Stress, such as illness, hormone changes, etc. can allow it to break out. Most dogs get over it without treatment as whatever stressors work out, but some dogs seem to need extra help in getting it under control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosikins Posted February 9, 2015 Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 Callie's last vet appointment to confirm that her demodex mange is gone is tonight. That looks exactly like how it started too - it's not contagious and pretty easy to treat! Callie's was on her lip and just looked pink and uncomfortable. It sometimes got kind of pimply-looking too. It just takes time to treat (several months, at least). On the bright side, it's also not super expensive to take care of. I think our bottle of Mitoban that we rub into the fur/skin on her cheek was about $40 and it's a tiny bottle that's lasted us for about 6 months now because you dilute it before rubbing it in. And I've heard that many vets won't charge you for both a skin scraping and the vet appointment every time - they'll just charge for the scraping to check for the parasites. If you don't go in, it could either clear up on its own if her immune system ramps back up (many young dogs apparently get over it on their own, but it's best to treat it to ensure that it doesn't get worse, per our vet) or it could get worse and spread in patches, in which case the treatment is more time consuming. Edit: Demodex is not contagious. There are types of mange that are and I'm not sure if they look similar to demodex or not! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journey Posted February 10, 2015 Report Share Posted February 10, 2015 My prior vet used a Preven-tick collar for demodex. It has amitraz in it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ourwully Posted February 11, 2015 Report Share Posted February 11, 2015 Juno had some spots on her stomach like that and I wondered if it might be a tick bite. I brought her to the vet and she said it was probably an allergic reaction. I also asked her to check another spot that appeared to be black. The vet informed me it was a nipple! My wife will never let me forget the $54 to identify a nipple. Hope it turns out to be something minor. cheers Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brookitar Posted February 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 Hey everyone sorry for the late reply been having a super busy week. Well it turns out Effie did have Demodectic Mange! They prescribed ivermectin once every 24 hours by mouth for a month. I thought it was interesting but it replaces her heart worm treatment for this month. Kind of worried though right when we brought her home (without being treated with the new meds) she vomited without gagging...I'm not sure if this is even normal for this kind of mange? For now we are keeping an eye on her and hope she starts to feel better soon. So glad I went against my mother's advice and took her to the vet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Good that you have a diagnosis. The vomiting was before you have her the medication? Definitely give yourself a pat on the back for taking her to the vet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brookitar Posted February 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 It was before we gave her any kind of medicine. We are thinking she got a little nervous...she tends to get the runs and vomits after she's had a traumatic experience. She absolutely hates going to vet and hides underneath the bench when the doctor comes in the exam room haha...smart girl! So far she hasn't been sick again and has taken her medicine quite well. Thanks! Its that momma tuition I knew I wasn't over reacting my mom feels bad now! Its like you think she would learn from us kids. I've had a broken toe before and she said it wasn't broken...well guess what mom it was broken! I guess that's a typical nurse parent though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brookitar Posted February 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Made Effie a pallet on the floor while I study. And I did not put that duck there lol she fell asleep this way. I have a feeling she will be feeling much better soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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