After weeks of going to the vets and 2 skin scrapes later Tasha, my beautiful baby, has being diagnosed with demodectic mange.
I thought i'd post this as I know a few members have asked about skin rashes and whilst they are probably nothing more than a skin allergy it is best to be warned.
I noticed Tasha was getting a couple of bald spots only small and as it was summer, long grass and such thought it was an allergy. She goes to the vets every month for her weigh in and parasite treatment so mentioned it to the vet . He did a skin scrape and it came back negative so he gave me some antibiotics and told me to return when they were finished unless it got worse. The spot by her eye and under her chin had got better and started to grow hair again but she has now developed a patch by her back leg and a tiny tiny patch on her side. She still has the one on her elbow. I took her back and the vet said he would do a 2nd scrape as some things don't show on the first and if it was negative he'd let her heal herself as this seems to be what it was doing.  I was told to that they would ring me Wednesday if they had the result , if i'd not heard by Thursday to ring them. I was ill Thursday and missed ringing them but rang tonight (friday). The nurse told me she was positive for Demadex and needed treating..Is it mange...sort of..is it catching i've got another dog?...i'll ask, can be, when can you collect the stuff?....ASAP I want it treating...you'll need a nurse to show you how to put it on and how much to use can you come Monday?
I was so shocked she had mange I said yes. I'm so angry that I didn't tell her i'm not an idiot and can follow simple instructions as how to apply lotions and i'm coming down now!!
After much reading on the internet I've found out it's not the nasty sort of mange, that some dogs are prone to it (bull terrier of all sorts) and it is a mite present on all dogs living quite happily (as we have bugs on our skin) passed from mother to pup.
Howvever some pups have a sensitivity to it (which is inherited) and the bugs multiply due to their weak immune system. Most will ''cure'' itself as their immunity improves with age but it can go from local to generalized which is horrible. So I'm glad Tasha is going to get treatment on Monday.
I'm so upset as I give Tash the best of everything. People think i'm mad feeding her steak and now she gets this.
I've added a link to one of many sites in case anyone is worried.

www.marvistavet.com

hello it flares up when the immune system is under pressure when i found annie she was covered head to tail with mange none of the treatments were working because it was so severe si i decided to stop treatments because her skin was getting sore and just concentrated on her diet,exercise,living conditions and generally loving and looking after her and the mange started to clear because with a good diet and somewhere warm to rest her immune system started to fight back and within weeks it had all gone her neck is still a bit sensitive sometimes but she is now fully fit.

 

kevin 

Every dog can have this kind of mange, its not a matter of good hygiene, but really of immune system. Most dogs carry the mite but do not develop the disease. I am monitoring my Dana (8 months today), 'cause she seems to start some kind of skin allergies on her neck = I dont know if it's due to kibble, fleas (I regularly treat her w/ Frontline spray, but seems to collect some fleas when she goes at the obedience club = only found 1 or 2 on her sometimes), or allergy to synthetics material (her collar or her bed ?), or mange. I dont know yet = will take her to the vet if necessary. If it's due to kibble, i may switch to BARF. What medecine is given to your dog for her mange ? I had 2 rotties years back = Kozzy the male, had mange problems. He was treated with a bathing lotion to mix in water called Taktik + shots of a medecine I forgot the name. Take good care of your loved one.

don't feel like you done any wrong that caused this problem. all dogs carry the demodec mite. as previously stated, the immune system usually keeps them under control.

 

two of my boys contracted what is referred to as the fox mite. i have no idea where they got it from. none of my other dogs were affected.

 

apparently it is very hard to detected by skin scrapings.

 

mine were treated with Ivomec, which is sheep drench (worming of sheep with an oral drench)

 

ask you vet about it, it is very effective.

So if they get the Demo mange, are they contagious to other dogs?

thanx guys for all your help we taking her to the vets on the 7th will mention allthis and ask him to give us someting for it thanx again ill post when ive taken her and let yas know what the vet says

its not such a big deal, all dogs have it so do we! the trick is catching it early as you have. the shampoo should sort it, worst case is a few dips in a bath of chemicals. common in puppies like you say when there immune system is low, most often once treated never returns and its not catching to us or other dogs as we/they already have it. hth

ive been back to the vets today with my rox,shes had demodex from 8 weeks and still has a few mites present,she is nearly 6 months,i think because roxy was given the wrong treatment in the first place the mites got a real good grip,she was a right state with it,but luckily all her fur is growing back now(minus the scrape patches from today),both me and my son caught the mite or had a reaction to it,and had to use a scabies cream to sort us out,you usually get the treatment there and then,along with the results of the scrape,so i dont know why they have made you wait?? x i would ask for the malaseb too as that stops any fungal infection starting through the scratching!!! x
i also gave roxy garlic bread once a week too,i dont know if it made any real difference but her fur is lovely now