Demodectic Mange - Page 2

My puppy had it when he was 15 weeks old - he flew and was a little stressed out. But I treated it with a soap and an ointment that is called Goodwinol Ointment out of Pierce CO..........I actually talked to the the gentleman (Dr.) that formulated it - I treatment my boy once and it was gone forever. I will see if I can find an address or number for you.

Here is the information.....take it to your vet and talk to him about it. It worked.

So sorry - it would help if I included the site http://www.medi-vet.com/SearchResult.aspx?KeyWords=goodwinol

There are two types of demodex - localised which sounds like you dog has usually one or two spots that are around the eyes or head and the worst which is generalised - outbreaks all over th body which end up getting a staph infection. As stated the localised is nothing to worry about and left alone will clear up just as advised boost the immune system. I presume your vet took a skin scraping and checked under the microscope for mites. We bred Dobes for over 20 years prior to GSD and Dobes have a very bad track record when it comes to demodex. We imported a Doberman from Denmark in whelp (total working lines) and she had two female puppies the best characters ever however both developed very bad generalised demodex which we were still treating at 6 months old. We tried everything ivermectin, whatever we could to try to get rid of this problem. As soon as the antibiotics were finished another outbreak would flare up. It was horrible especially as the two females had such great natures. Both never recovered and we never bred from the female again.

I sold a nice puppy that developed demodectic mange in the usual area of the muzzle. The outbreak was small, and was easy to cure. This puppy was being trained for an obedience title, and the mange was noticed by the trainer. I found this out when I sent out the questionaire that I use when the puppies are about six (6) months old. The owner of this puppy took him to the veterinarian, who proclaimed the presence of this outbreak as "genetic" in origin and declared this puppy was never to be used as a breeding animal. I was ready to throttle this veterinarian, as in my opinion the puppy was a still a bit young for all that he was asked to do and was being stressed. I asked the owner to let the puppy have a rest from training for several weeks and then take it a bit easier with him. The puppy recovered very well and eventually continued with his training. In my opinion it was "too much too fast" for this particular puppy, and it stressed him. We know that all puppies respond/react differently to various stimuli and are easily stressed at certain times in their lives. The puppy had received his rabies shot too early (in my opinion) and this was given at the same time as some of the later immunizations. Again, this was the owner's veterinarian at work here. The owner had no intent of breeding the dog-he just wanted a nice dog that he could title. All puppies obtain the mites from the dam, and carry them throughout their lives, just as we humans carry at least one (1) species of mite on our bodies. If the immune system (theirs or ours) is compromised due to illness or stress, then these mites can multiply to the end that they suddenly cause an inflammation to appear. A depressed immune system can be genetic in origin-that is a proven fact. But in that case the demodectic mites, as well as many other issues are much more prevalent and affect many other places of the body. It seems so easy for someone to use the word "genetic" to describe certain maladies that are often created by us. Bob-O

Apparently the demodectic mange mite is passed from the mother to the pups so is inherited, but not genetically if you get my meaning & therefore, it is advised not to breed from bitches who have produced dogs that have developed the illness. A dog carrying the mite will only be affected by it when its immune system is weakened, primarily from stress, so it is more common in jouvenile dogs who are undergoing a lot of hormonal changes & stray/ mistreated dogs. My dog got demodex at 14mths we treated it with a skin wash called Aludex (in the UK) but it didn't seem to work. When I called the vet to order anothe rbottle I was told it had been withdrawn due to its toxicity & was being redeveloped. It is basically sheep deep & most treatments are very dangerous so be very careful using them. I decided to go natural & fed green tripe & raw meat, plus vit C & a really good vit supplement called 'Immune Plus' no longer made but 'Immune Formula Complex' plus Echinacea & 'Missing Link' plus multi vit is all much better for you & the dog. Also I looked into his routine & found that he was a bit lonely so made adjustments to his day. He got over the illness within a few weeks. I did not give him a booster that year beacuse of his illness, but on the next years booster he got Lupus & nearly died (vaccine reaction). We got him over this with homeopathy but he got DM at 7yrs & had to be PTS at 9yrs. All immune related. His litter mates also suffered from immune related problems including anal furunculosis & DM, allergies, etc. I would say others in the litter may be affected, but you have your dog now & that is all you need worry about. Pay special care to your dog avaoid vaccinating where possible, feed natural & organic foods & try to think what may be causing stress, it may be something small. I was working at home at the time of my dogs illness, but he would not sit upstairs with me, instead i brought my work down & did it at the dining room table, starnge though it is he was happier with this! GSD's are sooooo sensitive!

Good post, Lily. I'm afraid we will see more cases of generalized demodex since the disease is being "cured" with the use of Ivermectin and more potent antibiotics are used with success to treat the secondary bacterial infection. Some breeders continue to use the dams that have produced generalized in their progeny or the treated offspring themselves assuming since the mites have been killed, these dogs will not pass them on to their progeny. At one time, generalized demodex in a young dog meant either euthanasia or weeks of treatment, dipping with toxic chemicals, antibiotics. Many had to be hospitalized and treated at a vet college to affect a cure. We knew those dogs and their dams should never be used for breeding. Now I'm afraid that message is not getting to the breeders or they do not take it seriously enough to withdraw from their breeding programs dogs that have been treated for generalize demodex of those dams that have produced generalized cases in their progeny. It's not about the mites, it's about a weakened immune system that fails to keep the mites at bay. When these "cured" bitches are used for breeding they are passing on the inability to supress the disease, the mites spread into a generalized pattern and secondary bacterial infections develop. Demodex is present on every dog and we humans have our own species of a similar mite. However, the immune system keeps it under control and allows it to only express itself in the milder form known as localized. It would stand to reason that your dog responded to your efforts to boost his immune system. Personally I would never vaccinate a dog that recovered from generalized demodex. Odds are that dog is not going to develope a protective titer anyway, so why stress it's immune system farther with another challenge.

 What if a bitch has multiple litters with the same stud, and lets say one out of the three litters shows signs of generalized demodex. What is the reason for this? Wouldnt all the litters have it?

Hello 10 mins,
What you wrote on your second post, 3rd down from the top, is exactly what a vet told me 30 years ago.  Not only do most all dogs have this mite, but many people carry this mite under their nose I believe.  There were some exhaustive studies back then and it was a general consences of Vets that the mite is harmless until stress brings out a reaction to it, but, it is also a weakness in the imune system that is genetic.  At that time they were recomending that dogs that had reactions to this mite not be bred.  The dog that I had this trouble with was one of the few American lines dogs that I have owned so I had no problem with not breeding her.  If some have more accurate information, more up to date information, then I stand corrected,  but I am unaware of any extensive studies that have been done to refute this.  By the way, it does clear up easily when treated properly, at least when it is localized in a small spot on the face.

ANy ideas for my question?