Prior to this bout of mange with Bella, I have had little experience with it. We were told that Lola and Axl had a bad case of mange when they were rescued, but by the time we got them it was basically gone. We had to take Lola in for one dip while we had her, otherwise nothing. And that had been my exposure to mange. All my previous dogs - even though we got them as puppies - never had mange at all. So when Bella started getting thinning spots of fur on her face I was a little concerned. At her last visit to the vet he explained that in many cases this will clear itself up. This is known as localized demodicosis. It generally occurs on the face or head and does not spread. This usually clears up on it's own with no treatment at all. Axl has a tiny spot on his face that is bald and I assume it's from the mange. It does not bother him, it is not red or itchy, it's just bald. This is what we thought Bella had so we decided to leave it alone. Well, within a week or so it started to spread. First she got more spots on her face. Then I noticed a large scaly area on her back. Then her legs started to get patchy hair. And the itching. OMG!!! She was itching and scratching so much it was driving us crazy. So when we went to the vet yesterday he did skin scrapings and found the mange mite - I even got to see it under the microscope, cool!!! He also gave me lots of information about mange and I have decided to share it since there may be some people as ignorant as me about it.
When the mange spreads like it did on Bella it is known as generalized demodicosis. With this type of mange there is secondary bacterial infections that can make the skin smelly and more itchy. This type of mange generally occurs in dogs under 1 1/2 years old. After that age their immune system is strong enough to keep the mites under control. Prior to that though, their immune system is immature and susceptible to being overrun by these mites. If this occurs in an adult dog it is generally indication of an underlying condition that is compromising their immune system and it's needs to be checked out. Curing generalized demodicosis in an adult dog is not always possible. Sometimes it can only be controlled and never really cured.
Generalized demodicosis in a juvenile dog however, is another story. 30-50% of young dogs that get this recover spontaneously without any treatment at all. Treatment is recommended to aid in healing since it is ugly and bothersome to the dogs and the owners. In dogs under 18 months, curing it is almost always possible. So what is the treatment? I'm glad you asked...
For Bella, she will be given oral Ivemectin every day for 8 weeks. This is the same medicine in Heartgard but at a much lower dose. So while she's on the Ivemectin she won't need her heart worm treatment, she'll already be protected. Bella is also on Cephalexin. This is an antibiotic to control the bacterial infections on her skin from the scratching. She takes 500mg twice a day for 4 weeks. Finally, she is on prednisone. She is taking 10mg twice a day for 5 days, 10mg once a day for 3 days, then 10mg every other day for 3 days. She has to go in every 4 weeks for a skin scrape and only after 2 clean skin scrapes will she be allowed to stop the Ivemectin. We also have to bath her twice a week with Pyoben and keep her flea free.
Now my big question was why? Why did she get this? The common theory is that puppies get the mange mites from their mom. Demodectic mites are not contagious and can not be transferred from one dog to another. So again, why? She came to us at 3 months old and was clean and healthy. We had her a month and boom - she busts out with mange all over the place. As it turns out the prevailing wisdom may be wrong. It seems that mites may transfer from one dog to another. If these are healthy, adult dogs this is not going to be a problem. But if they are puppies with weakened immune systems this could create a problem. So my theory? I think that Lola and Axl carry the demodectic mite from their bout with mange as youngsters. I think when Bella first got here we kept her segregated enough that she didn't pick up the mite in the first month. But once we let her out and she was around the big dogs all the time, she picked up the mite. It took about a month to really become bad so I think she got it from Lola and Axl. It's not a huge deal, though it is annoying and time consuming to deal with, but it's life. I don't think I will bring another puppy into this house knowing that the mite is probably alive and well on all the dogs. But that's something I can live with....
So there is all the latest information on mange. Who knew that I could go through 52 years of my life and know so little about something so common. Well, now I know more and am working to cure Bella.
All of the information in this post was obtained from VeterinaryPartner.com
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