MANGE TREATMENT

puheen · 22-07-2011 11:24pm #1

Hello all looking for some advice or suggestions.
Two of the dogs have persistant demodectic mange and have been under the care of the vet for some time, tried lotions, washes, steroids and antibiotics to no avail. An old boy in the local co-op told me to use Cyperguard sheep dip, said it will clear it up. If anyone has tried this or any other treatment I would be grateful of your experiences.

Regards, p

kieran1141 · 23-07-2011 7:41am

Can only say for 25 years have kept a half barrel with sheep dip in it, and a few times a year wash the dogs and have never had a problem, 1 of my springers had a bad rash on its belly and put her in the sheep dip and gone within 2 day, cant remember the mix its not needed very strong for dogs, 1 friend of min dips his dogs every week during shooting. think a mug of sheep-dip to a half barrel of water.

landkeeper · 23-07-2011 10:26am

a mug in half a barrell is very very strong :eek: sheep dip is toxic to dogs modern sheep did is totally different to the old style stuff i wouldn't chance it
you would be better to use an injectable ivermectin type product like ivermec
but do it in conjunction with your vet
i had a terrier once that got really bad mange as you did we treated him with everything but it wouldn't go and he was in a bad way with very little hair left on him and sores all over , i think he would have died if left i gave him a tiny bit of ivermec and he started to get better and turned back into a fit and healthy dog in a couple of months

Half-cocked · 23-07-2011 7:49pm

+1 to Ivermectin.

It can be given oraly. You'll need to keep dosing every 2-3 days for a few weeks. The mange mite eggs aren't killed by it so you need to keep going until all the eggs have hatched and the mites killed. Ivermectin is prescription only, so you'll need a vet. I successfuly treated an very mangey urban fox with it:D

Edit: By the way, what do you feed your dogs? Animals fed a lot of dry food are more mange prone. Plenty of oils in the diet helps prevent mange.

Cass · 24-07-2011 1:47pm

Moving to A&PI for better exposure.

Shanao · 24-07-2011 1:55pm

One of mine had demodex on his stomach, the vet didn't want to do steroids and all that so he prescribed doing treatments of advocate every two weeks for eight weeks. It was gone within six weeks and hasn't come back.

Whispered · 24-07-2011 2:31pm

Meet my mangey boy.
picture.php?albumid=1605&pictureid=9022

As you can see he was totally and utterly bald from mange. He had regular outbreak of sores and was very very itchy.

He's much better now thankfully, but it took a lot more than a few baths tbh. I don't know what you've already tried so you might have done a lot of this already but what I would suggest is.

Ask your vet about aludex. We had weekly baths with the stuff.

Ask your vet about further investigation. This is caused by a weak immune system. If you can find the cause and eliminate it it should go a long way to helping.

See if you can spot any stress in your dogs life. (eg if he is entire and there are bitches about, you should never breed from a demodex dog anyway so cutting this stress may help) Often stress can bring on this condition and provide a relaxing space for your dog to get away from it all. A crate with a cover and a fluffy bed so he can hide away when he wants to might help. Wash blankets daily. Make sure he gets plenty of rest.

Look at the food he's on. Buy the best you can afford. We had Phoe on Robbies for the first 2 months to give his digestive system a chance to recuperate.

Make sure he's getting plenty of water, and have a look at supplements to help with digestion and to help remove toxins from the body. We had Phoe on milk thistle and echinacea as well as a myriad of other supplements for a few months. Every now and again I'll give him a few drops of them in his water. I also used to give him a small bit of natural yogurt to aid digestion.

To be honest it was a very long road, and I had so much help in the form of EGAR and contributers to his FB page (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001981871592) that I really can't remember everything we did. If you have a look through his page, there is loads of advice but it's a bit all over the place

How old are the dogs and what breeds? Are they related?

DBB · 24-07-2011 4:05pm

Half-cocked wrote: »

Animals fed a lot of dry food are more mange prone. Plenty of oils in the diet helps prevent mange.

Realy? I have never heard of this! Any chance you could post some links to research on this topic? Thanks!

OP, an age-old and still-popular way of treating any skin parasites is Apple Cider Vinegar diluted in water: one part ACV to 4 parts water I think is the ratio. Many rescues treating mangey dogs swear by this treatment and find it more effective, and of course less "chemical" than the standard treatments.
The idea is that you give the dog a sponge bath every couple of days with the ACV/water solution.
You can also put a few drops of ACV into the drinking water: not so much that you'll put the dogs off drinking it though.
It apparently changes the pH of the skin, making it hostile to exoparasites, including mange mites.
Worth a go perhaps?

BCollie · 25-07-2011 7:42am

Hi

I found a Mange treatment on www.earthclinic.com that definitely worked for my own dog (collie X) This treatment invoves mixing a 1% solution of hydrogen peroxide with water and adding borax powder. You need to wash the affected dog with the solution at least every second day for about 5 to 10 treatments. I was able to buy the hydrogen peroxide and borax in a local chemist. The hydrogen peroxide i got came in a dark bottle at 6% strength so i diluted it to roughly 1% by adding 5 parts water to 1 part hydrogen peroxide then add 4 tablespoons of borax per litre of solution. I made up the solution in a jug then added it to a bucket of warm water to wash the dog. This is a very easy treatment to administer as there is no strong chemical smell. There are much more detailed instructions and case studies on the earth clinic website. I noticed a huge difference in my dog after the first 2 treatments and he was completly free of mange within about 2 weeks.

Wisco · 25-07-2011 9:31am

I'd be cautious of using ivermectin, depending what the breed is as some breeds have a reaction to ivermectin that's potentially lethal (collie types mostly).
Advocate will treat demodex but you have to use it more frequently than for ordinary flea preventative, as one of the other posters stated.
Have you tried getting a second opinion? Some vets will use stuff like Dectomax (a large animal injectable parasiticide) as a course to clear things up. there could also be some sort of immunosuppressive problem too- might be worth a bit more investigation.

lasgaviotas · 25-07-2011 4:56pm

My dogs (they are both dead now) got mange type symptoms once and and old farmer advised me to buy a yellow cream from a chemist (which would be in the business of supplying medicine for animals as well as humans)..which he used on cattle to treat sores on cattle..not only was it very cheap but it worked like magic..this yellow cream is known to all farmers and chemists supplying farmers..

carwash_2006 · 25-07-2011 5:06pm

Definitely look into improving the immune system of your dog through diet and supplements. Demodectic mange is inherited and even if you cure the symptoms they will always be prone to a reoccurrance if their system becomes suppressed.

I would be cautious of using any treatment without the supervision of a vet as a result as you could be adding to the problem if you get the dosage wrong or use the wrong thing.

piperh · 25-07-2011 9:43pm

Having seen the fabulous Phoenix that Whispered posted pic of i'd say consider the advice she's posted because he now looks great.

MANGE TREATMENT

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