Demodex Mange - Page 1

I was just wondering what thoughts others had on Demodex mange? Is it inherited? My new puppy has it I think...she is losing hair around her eyes! Should I contact the breeder?

Some Demodex is genetic and some is not. Sometimes a dog/puppy will display patchy demodex because of haveing been through a stressful situation, such as going to a new home. The stress related flare up will eventuall go away. The genetic kind will always be a problem.
Debby

The mange is not what is inherited....Its the weak immune system's inability to prevent it from flaring up that is heredity.  All dogs and puppies have the mite..Even humans have mites....Its the "job" of a strong  immune system to fight it off.....If there is no immune system strong enough to prevent it from flaring up, it than becomes a problem....Once the dog is dipped for it the mite, the mite should no longer be present, therefore will not flare up again......

Do  a website search.....There have been many threads on this topic...You will get all the information you need.

Also, YES, ABSOLUTELY notify the breeder....

Definitely notify the breeder about this. Be sure to take your pup to a vet right away and get it started on treatment. My son's French Mastiff had demodex as a pup. He had to be dipped regularly and was on Interceptor (Ivermectin is also used) as well as antibiotics (off and on) for about 4 months. The dog is 2 years old now and is doing fine. According to my son's vet this is genetic issue and dogs that produce pups that have it should not be bred, although I have heard opinions to the contrary.  

Good post Nonacona,

Please read the peviously posted threads on demodex. Stress in any living thing can cause a weakened immune system. A dog's first year is still developing their immune system. If I had a dog older than a year and contionusly had demodex problems than I would be concerned about rather to breed him or not.

First year stress factors
First heat,
Teething
new home (leaving mother and littermates)
vaccines


I would not go to the vet to treat demodex. The same protocol the vet will use is available over the counter.  I would not use ivermectin to treat demodex. the ivermectin levels to treat demodex is kind of high. Their are several other products to treat demodex that are more reliable and less invasive.

Goodwinol ointment (spot treatment for areas a quarter size or smaller)
Virbac tick collars
Promeris (you will have to order online or directly from your vet)

My son's dog had  juvenile onset generalized demodex mange and required the treatment listed above. Localized demodex can be treated more conservatively and some even resolve with no treatment at all. I personally would still take my dog to the vet to have a scraping done and to get professional guidance, but to each their own. By the way, the prognosis for juvenile onset demodex is quite good, whereas adult onset can be very challenging and ongoing because it is likely due to a chronic immune system issue. In puppies it is an immune issue too, but for reasons Jamesfountain listed above, which are temporary (new home, teething, first year stress factors, first heat, etc.).

Two theories exist about why certain dogs develop demodectic mange, both of which deal with suppression of the immune system. While not proven to be inherited, most researchers believe the tendency to develop demodectic mange is hereditary, and most breeders seem to find evidence of certain families that are more prone to the problem. Either way, treatment is the same.

 Treatment is not necessarily the same. Some concentrate on WHY the immune system isn't working and fix that, and the mange goes away.

Regardless, no way would I breed dogs who are producing pups that have this problem. As has been said all dogs have the potential; only the weak ones express it.

@Jenni, I kind of agree to a limit. Some stress factors you can not avoid. Sometimes changing diets can give immune system boost, but I believe that is better as a preventive vs a treatment. Often times as previously stated when the stress factor has ceased the immune system will fight off the demodex.

Kind of like letting a cold run it's course, but be careful and not let the simple cold turn in to bronchitis.

I don't think I would cull  a female or male for  exhibitting demodex as a puppy or producing dogs that exhibit the trait as a puppy. I don't rank this flaw as high as HD or floppy ears. If a dog was perfect but had HD I would still cull. I would be mindful and breed away fom puppy demodex but not an autmatic cull trait.

My 3 yr old is just getting over demodex. Its been 7 weeks since her diagnoses. I agree with taking your pup to the vets for a skin scraping to see if it is demodex or something else. You need to make sure you are treating it with the proper meds.

I believe that the demodex came out because of bringing home a puppy. My dogs demodex showed up around her eye. The first week I treated it with Goodwinol Ointment every night. The second week I did the GO every other night.  I did get Promeris but I did not use it at all. I did not want to weaken her immune system anymore than it already was. I did some reading and learned that most dogs dont necessarily need treatment and will get rid of it on their own once their system gets back to normal.

I have never had a puppy or any other dog that had demodex besides my current dog so all I know is what worked for this one dog. I also had my dog on allergy pills because she was rubbing it and making it bleed and I did not want a secondary infection to develop. The allergy pills helped.

I have pictures of her progression with this. I can send them to you privately if you would like. Once you start treatment, it will get worse before it gets better. I read that in some of the articles and it is very true. A couple of weeks in, it looked so bad but within a couple more weeks it started looking lots better. Now it is almost completely healed up.

Good luck with your pup and I hope she gets better very soon.

Donna

nothing against  other people but I was more so referring to my own knowledge of dogs, is the reason I wouldn't go running to the vet for something like demodex. Kind of like running to the Doc for a cold. I believe many things can be safely self diagnosed and treated,especially if you catch it early enough.

And also fyi, vaseline and antibiotic ointments will help with the scratching and prevention of secondary infections.