Question for breeders on Mange - Page 2

Demodex is a sign of a compromised immunesytem. However that can also happen due to undue amount of stress. Hormonal changes in a bitch can be stress. So flareups are possible.

I have a dog here where I know the history many years back and there is no traces of demodex in any littermates. But there was a lot of stress in her previous home.

Non-contagious. Standard treatment being Mitaban baths and ivomec. On very young pups many vets do not recommend treatment (while watching that it does not get out of hand of course) to see if they will clear it on their own. If treatment becomes needed I would not consider breeding that particular dog.

Demodex on an older dog, provided it has not been going on undiagnosed for many months, would make me definetly spay the dog. Also look into feedprograms that are yeast free. There is some believe that it may influence it as well as recurring earinfections.

 Ther is also a new heartworm/flea/intestinal parasite product called Advantage Multi which oversees is labeled for Demodex mites. You may want to check into it.

GSDfan,

If you would shoot me an e mail. So I'll have something to respond to when I get back. Otherwise this thread may be long gone and I'll forget. Don't spay the dog yet. It will be clear in about 10 days and hair will be back shortly thereafter.

Thanks everyone, great information!!!! 

To answer Blitzen... I believe it is generalized, not just small spots....although he just mentioned she was missing hair on her face.

Dog 1, I emailed you this morning...is your email in your profile correct...I'll try again. Thanks.

Also to clear something up that I'm not sure I said clear enough.  The 15 mos female with mange will NOT be bred (she's a pet). 

The puppy's breeder wanted to know if the Dam of this puppy should or should not be bred again (Dam never had mange or produced any other puppy's with mange) 

and also to know for "responsibility" of the breeder reasons too as far as the heredity goes.

Thanks again,

Melanie

I had this same situation occur with a schipperke pup I sold.  She was returned back to me because she had a couple small patches of hair gone on the legs.  The owners vet said demodetc and the buyer went berserk calling me a irresponsible and unethical breeder.  Her mother is 5 years old, this was her second litter, no demodect with any pups to date except this one, her sister or mother never produced any with it, and neither has another breeder with the same lines. 

Over the years I have been amazed at the stupidity of alot of our vets. 

My sister in law had a dog with chronic mange and after two years of battling this took her to a different vet who happened to be a county vet and he said to put her on heartworm meds because it was his experience that for some unknown reason the heartworm meds took care of the mange.  Lo and behold after 2 years and thousands of dollars, it worked. 

Dog1 I emailed you again...my email is GSDfan1@yahoo.com if it didn't go through again.

Judy K, wow...very interesting...than you.

Beckett had some spots on him, and our vet immediately said to neuter him, which kind of blew my mind! On my own I did some research, and Blitzen's post pretty much covered what I found, except that if there are small areas that clear up on their own, there is no need to spay/neuter, as this is a sign of an immature immune system, and most will grow out of it, which, thank goodness, Beckett did! His spots showed up during the hottest time of the summer, and right after we had applied Frontline, which I feel must have stressed him. Needless to say, we won't be using Frontline anymore, but will look for an alternative. I increased the Omega-3 & Omega-6 oils in his diet, with good effect. jackie osborne

I suspect the heartworm preventative cleared the mange because it contained ivermectin. There is also the chance it was a cooincidence and the mange would have cleared spontaniously with or without the heartworm med.

Interesting that a vet would recommend neutering for a male with localized demodex. I don't think the male has anything to do with the pups getting mange and so what if it's a localized case. Hmmmm...........

Melanie, I really don't think I'd withhold that bitch from having another litter given this is the first puppy she's produced with generalized demodex.  On the other hand I'd never breed a bitch that produced it in multiple puppies or that had generalized demodex herself. I've seen the result of a bitch that was successfully treated for generalized being bred and producing an entire litter of puppies that also came down with generalized cases and bacterial infections. It was a horrible mess and to add insult to injury this bitch was also misdiagnosed and treated for a fungal infection while pg and some of these poor little puppies were born with cleft palates. In this case, spaying this bitch may be the best thing for her as she will no longer come into season and that might reduce her stress level.

I really get ticked off at the vet that tells a client with a german shepherd that has been brought in with diagnosis of Dermadec mange....First thing they do is scare the person half to death,,,,,,yes there may be some dogs have a worse case of it,,,but I have seen the lightest case told to go tell the breeder to spay the female...do not breed this female either and spay her....

Well ,if this be the case , then there would be half the lines in the working dog class walking around snipped and useless.. There are many gsds that have gone throught a brief breakdown in the immune system during teething, new home or several homes, and the introduction to a new streneous sport.....most high drivey pups have the tendency to go through the mite onslaught....

Some overcome it thoroughly, and some dont...if it is a dog that doesnt show clear and clean...then spay that one....

Our new pup had dermadectic and her Mom has an announcement on Meerhouts website for a new fall llitter...You think they are gonna spay her......dont think so....neither have any other schutzhund bitches , who happen to have a pup they produced go thru the seizure of that mite...Its wasnt  made by the Mom,,,it is a weakness, of the immune system,,usually inherited from the female or Mom....that is caused by a stress point in that pups life...can be anything if the dog is drivey and is a pup wanting to please its master or wanting to work extensively and even household upsets can effect gsds...If all of us were more diligent in feeding our gsds the best raw meats and veggies, and making sure Omega 3,and 6 are big dosaged , which is the first thing you treat with in diet....which raw gives another dosage of natural Vitamin C, needed to keep immune system working....from the time the pup is home, some of this stress level might not happen....

Lava v Korbelbach and Monteforthalle produced a male I havae and he and his sibling had a bad case of dermadectic....I dont think the breeder , right here in Texas even gave a thought to spay Lava or quit using Kanto for breeding ....and I dont know of any others,  at this time.

I guess I am lucky as my vets are very common sense and don't attempt to scare me. However, the vets would not be doing their jobs if they did not give a heads up.

My big concern is if too many people take the stand of "no problem, the sire and dam have produced it but they are titled and this and that and so we don't see this a problem" or the likes of it. We are supposed to be breeding the best stock only. To the best of our ability. At what point does the attitude of it just being a minor problem have the tendency to become a big problem if everyone just looks past it because in most cases it can be controlled or goes away?

Just because someone does it - does not make it right. This is just my opinion and I am just throwing it out there for thought. I don't know the answer. Just what is ok for me.