Home Remedies for Demodectic Mange - Page 2

We have an Australian shepherd pup who was developing a case of red mange. We tried the ointment from the vet with some positive results in small areas of face but it wasn't possible to doctor the whole outside of the pup.  Aussies can't tolerate Ivermectin so that wasn't an option. We bought a 30 day supply of Interceptor which is a non-ivermectin heart worm medication. We will continue to give this to see the results.

HOWEVER

My husband searched on line because seeing his puppy's misery was breaking his heart. He found an old fashioned treatment...very easy, non toxic and seems to be working wonders.

1.    1 part 1% peroxide

(bottled peroxide is generally 3% so in order to get it to 1% we cut in half with water-say half cup peroxide with half cup water and then add the cup of water. This should yield 1.5% peroxide and since the dog will be wet it will be further diluted)

2.    1 part water

3.    as much borax (Old fashioned laundry detergent 20 mule power Borax available in grocery stores and Wal-marts) as will dissolve in the solution.

wash dog so coat is wet

rinse with the solution- as you would a flea dip

don't dry dog..allow solution to dry on coat

The theory is this-the peroxide helps to open the pores and hair follicles to allow the borax in and then the borax kills off the demodex mites.

We have only been using this for 24 hours and have seen a HUGE improvement in our pup. We bathed his full body yesterday am and then sponged the bad spots on his head last night. He slept through the night without crying for the first time in over a week. This morning he is bright eyed, playful and full of energy. We will sponge the sores on his head again tonight and give him another full body wash tomorrow to prevent it from spreading to other parts of his body.

Good luck to all

How old is the pup?  Where are the problem areas located?

I've never taken a dog to the vet for demodex, ivomec works just fine for me.

you can use echinacea to boost the immune system you can get form  health shops it does work  hope your gets on the top soon

the pup is now about 14 weeks old. Problem areas first appeared around lips. muzzle and eyes but then spread to open wounds on the top of the head. There are certain breeds who can not tolerate Ivermectin...any of the collie/shepherd types

Thank you all for your ideas.  I found a stray in a back alley near my home.  I took him, Ruff, for his first set of shots and the vet said he had sarcoptic mange/scabies.  Actually she said he had signs of it.  Ruff really smelled badly.  I had purchased Revolution for him and my house dog since I'd allowed them to meet.

In the last week he did seem to be getting better but it's flaired up again.  I don't know if it's because I put Happy Jack's mange medicine on him causing irratation or the chemicals causing it.  He cries so while digging that when I bathe him, blood runs down the drain as well.

I have used medicated powder trying to help.  When he is asleep and cool is the only time he is not in misery.  We use to treat our pets with motor oil years ago but that's dangerous too.  My dogs want to play together and can't understand why I'm keeping them apart.

I also treated my yard but the grass should have been dried by the time I let him back onto it.  I just don't know and can't afford to keep going to the vet.  I spent $106 just last Friday.

If anyone has any suggestions for me I surely could use them.  I prefer natural remedies if possible.  Ruff, is 15 wks old and weighed 18lbs a week ago.  He needs your help.

Thanks in advance.

Revolution should do the job alone, 2 applications and it will be gone.

I have used the NuStock also on a couple of baby foxes I found,that with a shot of Ivermec worked great. The NuStock is one of the best things I've found for hot spots,and flies on the ears.The cost is minimul compared to results.

This is the best thing I have ever found, I have seen quite a few dogs cleared up with all kinds of skin and coat issues and mange. I also have a breeder friend who give this to her females after weaning the pups it brings the coats back wonderful. Best thing it is all under $20.00. It works slow, first you are not sure if your seeing improvement, then you notice the improvement, then WOW! I get it from Mothers Market, a Natural market with vitiamins.

                        biotin tablets 1 a day

Sarcoptic mange, scabies, is not the same thing as red mange, demodectic mange. Sarcoptic is much easier to deal with, a few dips or a few shots of ivermectin and it's gone. Once the scabies mites fall off the host animal they dry up and die fairly quickly so it's probably not necessary to treat the environment, but it can't hurt. Scabies will also get on humans, bite them where their clothing fits the tightest and fall off looking for a dog. If you've even been bitten by a scabie you will have a whole new appreciation for the word "itch". It is truly the most intense itch you will ever experience. The good news is, in a few days it goes away. The bad new is it's highly contagious to other dogs and can be very difficult to find in a scraping.

Demodex, as others have already said, is the result of a compromised immune system.  Demodex is not contagious one dog to the other, all dogs have demodectic mites on their bodies. (So do we, the human variety - ugh!!) Any time a dog is stressed or ill, it can develop lesions caused by demodex.  There are 2 varieties of demodex, the localized type where only a few areas are effected, generally around the eyes and on the muzzle, and the more serious type, generalized. Every case of generalized begins as localized, so there is always that concern.  Before ivermectin generalized demodex was often a death sentence.  It took months and months to cure dogs with generalized and some never did recover and were put down. Most dogs with generalized also develop secondary bacterial infections and that is what causes the itching and odor, not the mange mites. BTW, bitches that have produced the generalized type in their progeny, should probably not be bred again.

Years ago farmers and hunters used motor oil to cure red mange. That was in the days when motor oil contained sulfur; some here have said that sulfur is a good home remedy and I believe it would work. However, don't use today's motor oil, no sulfur anymore and you'll just end up with a very, very messy dog .