General Question Demodex mange

[Hero4u2b]

Hi everyone. After returning from the vet with Buddy this morning he has been diagnosed with Demodex mange and is to go back on Friday for a dip @ 75.00 and may need more than one. She also did a Culture and sensitivity test @ $67.00. Does this sound normal to anyone having experienced this before? She went on to say she think we caught it in time but that there are times when they have to spade a male dog to get rid of this. Thanks Hero

 

[elearn]

The dip sounds right. She will probably have you bring him back in 2 weeks after the dip to scrape again - and if they aren't gone, he'll get another dip. Keep him dry, dont bathe him or get him wet after he's been dipped. The dip will continue to fight the bugs in the pores and on the skin. I dont know what she means by caught it in time, I'm guessing she meant before it got worse (although she probably should have checked when you brought him in last week).

You'd have to fix him because hormones could contribute to not being able to get the mites under control. If you're not planning to fix him yet then wait to see if the treatment works first (ie if you were planning to wait a while before getting him fixed). Did you get any antibitotics? The mites might cause a secondary bacterial infections, so the antibiotics would help.

 

[Dubbiedog]

Hi everyone. After returning from the vet with Buddy this morning he has been diagnosed with Demodex mange and is to go back on Friday for a dip @ 75.00 and may need more than one. She also did a Culture and sensitivity test @ $67.00. Does this sound normal to anyone having experienced this before? She went on to say she think we caught it in time but that there are times when they have to spade a male dog to get rid of this. Thanks Hero

Sorry to hear about Buddy but the good thing about Demodex it is curable. Patience is needed so keep that in mind. Dublin had Demodex and I did freak as I really didnt' understand at the time and had not found EBN... My vet does not do "dips" on bullies so we went the Ivermectin route. We had to do two series before she was mange free. It did not have any side effects on her and she is sensitive to sooo many things. I belive there are peeps on here who did go the dip route so maybe they can address that for you. I do believe that at least two dips are needed. As to vet charges...dont' get me started. i can send you Dublin's file and it is thicker than any file I have on anything. Did your Vet mention Ivermectin to you? You are in the right place for lots of great advice.

 

[Gunny B]

Gunny was diagnosed about 7 weeks ago with Dermodex. No dips or oral meds for us, our vet took the topical route as we just had one localized spot that was caught early. We took him in about 3 weeks ago, scraped again, much better, still on topical, will go in the next week or so to see where we are at. As far as vet costs, I think the scrape was about $40 and the meds were approximately $60. All covered by insurance.

 

[Gunny B]

We did opt to delay his vaccinations as we didn't want to take an additional hit to his immune system.

 

[Dubbiedog]

We did opt to delay his vaccinations as we didn't want to take an additional hit to his immune system.

yes we opted to delay vaccinations also for same reason..

 

[EmmittPylate]

Emmitt had that too and yea it's expensive that sounds about right.. But I've never heard of the needing to be fixed to get rid of.. That doesn't make since to me.

 

[BullDogGunner]

We are going through this RIGHT now. Gunner had the topical first, and he got another spot. Then the doctor tried something topical again, and it didn't work. I asked for the dip and here in Florida it's almost extinct, so... we are doing the ivermectin. However, do your research... Mange is carried by the MOTHER,therefore a male is not a carrier. You do not need to neuter him. Most dogs that are scraped will have something just because of the aggravation of the skin scrapping, and often mange cures itself. If you are a hyper Mom like me, I want it gone NOW NOW NOW...We have pictures planned, parties delayed and I want my handsome beautiful coated baby back.

Best of luck and do not neuter if you don't want to.

 

[Hero4u2b]

Thanks everyone for the input and support. I really don't want to neuter him I think until about a year or year and a half of age. I read that a bulldog won't fully develope all their prominent features if they are neutered young. I do want Buddy to look like a bulldog so I will wait if I can.. Thanks everyone, Hero

 

[Lily122511]

We are going through this as we speak.
Lily had 3 dips and now she is on Ivermectin for about 6 weeks then we go back for a scraping.
It seems to be a long process. Like others have said. I have found that patience is the key here.
I can't wait for the mange to be gone. She hates the meds and now my poor baby runs from me when she see me coming.
Good luck & keep us posted!

 

[Hero4u2b]

Wow I hope that isn't something that I have to look forward to ! I rather just do the ivamectin if possible. I spoke with a few other vets on the phone here in Florida to get a second opinion and none used the dip anymore. I do have health insurance for Buddy but don't want to wear out my insurance. They already paid a $,1,640. claim for 5 days of hospitilzation for Buddy when he contacted parvo around here somewhere. Maybe I should ask if the ivamection alone is an option to try? and mention I spoke with someone going thru the same thing and had to do the ivamectin anyways?

 

[Gunny B]

Gunny hasn't lost hair where is spot is. The only way you can tell is that it is on his white area and the topical meds we put on at night are a rust colour, so it temporarily discolours his fur. Best of luck to you all.

 

[Lily122511]

Wow I hope that isn't something that I have to look forward to ! I rather just do the ivamectin if possible. I spoke with a few other vets on the phone here in Florida to get a second opinion and none used the dip anymore. I do have health insurance for Buddy but don't want to wear out my insurance. They already paid a $,1,640. claim for 5 days of hospitilzation for Buddy when he contacted parvo around here somewhere. Maybe I should ask if the ivamection alone is an option to try? and mention I spoke with someone going thru the same thing and had to do the ivamectin anyways?

Yea see what they say. The vet I was going to did the dips. But after 3 dips I wanted a scraping to see if she still had mange. But for some reason they would never do the scraping. They would just keep saying.. well bring her back in for another dip. And that they don't do scrapings. That once the hair started to grow back then we would know she was getting better.
I was like what??? I never heard of such a thing!
I know you are suppose to get scrapings done like every 2 weeks or so I think.
So I took her to another vet and he put her on Ivermectin.
So fingers crossed that this helps now. After the 3 dips she still had Mange. I'm not sure how many dips would be needed. Every case is different. But Lily only had 2 small blad spots.
I hope everything works out for you!!

 

[elearn]

Thanks everyone for the input and support. I really don't want to neuter him I think until about a year or year and a half of age. I read that a bulldog won't fully develope all their prominent features if they are neutered young. I do want Buddy to look like a bulldog so I will wait if I can.. Thanks everyone, Hero

Right - the reason to neuter when mange is involved is because the hormones affect the immune system and make it difficult to get rid of the mites. Neutering is not because of transferring the mites. Since its just a few spots you wont have to since you caught it early. But also you need to work on building up his immune system.

Buddy will probably recover in no time because you take good care of him. Don't forget he had parvo and that was a big hit to his immune system - with the meds, etc because of that is probably why he's showing the spots now.

 

[Davidh]

[MENTION=5798]Hero4u2b[/MENTION] I would not do the dip. The only reason to use the dip if your bully has a severe case of it. If it is localized then a topical ointment and some antibiotics will work. They get this from being stressed or they have a low immune system. Start giving your baby some plain yogurt in the morning and I would put them on either NuVet or HardyPet supplement every day to help build their immune system and this will help to rid them of these mites and help prevent further infections. Most all dogs have the mites, but their immune system keeps the mites at bay. Most adult dogs will build an immunity to the mites. Plus you do not need to neuter your bully yet either, if you want to wait until he is older, which our vet does recommend to wait until the male is between 12 to 18 months of age.