Demodectic Mange

[Shannon_Goodwin]

For my birthday in August my mother in law got me a chihuahua from a lady. He was 8 months old at that time.
While on a trip my husband and I ran into my dog's original owners. They had given the dog to the lady we bought him from to watch because of this man's family emergency. She was not supposed to sell the dog. They told me that he had demodectic mange, something the lady we bought him from didn't inform me.
I've been trying to research it on the computer but I'm confused. Some websites say its totally curable. Others say it's not curable but can be controlled. I want to know if it's curable. SInce I've had him, he hasn't had a breakout so I had no idea he had this. Sure, his hair is thinner at his throat(I just thought his collar was rubbing) and around his legs but he hasn't been losing hair. Should I take him to the vet and confirm for myself that he really does have it? What are the costs of treating it and can I cure it? Also I was going to use him to breed. I read that it's only spread from mother to puppies so am I safe to breed him? He's a rare blue hair so I really wanted to breed him. Can he the father spread the mange or is it only the mother that can?

[Dignity]

Basically it is a mite that all puppies/dogs have. Some puppies do not have a strong enough immune system to fight mange. Your vet should be able to do a skin scrape in an area that looks infected and let you know for sure. There is treatment out there.

[SalemWitchChild]

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body...tic_mange.html

Theres a website on Demodectic mange.
As far as breeding goes you won't find many here that will advocate breeding your dog regardless of whether the mange would affect his abilities.

For one, there are many dogs in shelters already. Many pure breeds. Those that are a reputable breeder only breed to better the breed.

Have you done health tests? Have you proved he is worthy of breeding? Have you mentored with another reputable breeder? If so how many years? I suggest you look at our breeding section. There is a lot more to it than putting A and B together.

[kowwgurl]

Sorry just caught this thread haven't been on in awhile

All dog/puppies have the mite it depends if something triggers it totally cureable use AvantageMulti10

Are you sure it's demodex mange? The reason I am asking is I had a Blue/white parti pom the vets all thought she had Demodex and we were treating and treating it never went away then I took her to a vet 6 hrs away and it turns out she had Blue skin Alopecia

it is very Common in Blue's and if that is what your dog has it should never be bred because it's hereditary

[JTP]

Originally Posted by Shannon_Goodwin

For my birthday in August my mother in law got me a chihuahua from a lady. He was 8 months old at that time.
While on a trip my husband and I ran into my dog's original owners. They had given the dog to the lady we bought him from to watch because of this man's family emergency. She was not supposed to sell the dog. They told me that he had demodectic mange, something the lady we bought him from didn't inform me.
I've been trying to research it on the computer but I'm confused. Some websites say its totally curable. Others say it's not curable but can be controlled. I want to know if it's curable. SInce I've had him, he hasn't had a breakout so I had no idea he had this. Sure, his hair is thinner at his throat(I just thought his collar was rubbing) and around his legs but he hasn't been losing hair. Should I take him to the vet and confirm for myself that he really does have it? What are the costs of treating it and can I cure it? Also I was going to use him to breed. I read that it's only spread from mother to puppies so am I safe to breed him? He's a rare blue hair so I really wanted to breed him. Can he the father spread the mange or is it only the mother that can?

Usually the cost of treating it is zero, and it can be left alone to take care of itself. Sometimes Vets like to treat it to make money, and by the time all the dips, and treatments are complete, and it clears up, amazingly, that is the same time it would clear if left alone.
It will generally clear itself up with time, as the puppy matures, and the immune system matures, and gets stronger
It is also known as "puppy mange", because for the most part, only puppies get it, and then it goes away never to be seen again.
It is considered a immune issue with the mites passed from the mother during nursing period.
It is not considered a contageous desease, and you, or other dogs cannot catch it
The mites are the same mites you can find in your eyebrows, so you already have them opn you
The dogs immune system generally keeps such critters under control, however in a puppy with demodex, the immune is not keeping them under control.
Even by using strong dips, the mites are hard to kill off, as they bore into the hair folicles, and the chemicals do not always reach them. In some cases the cure is worse than the desease, and can be dangerous to puppies

If your chi is not showing any signs of demodex, his immune system may have caught up with itself, and solved the whole problem, and you'll never have an issue with it again.
Doberman, Danes, and a few other larger dog breed seem more prone to demodex than others. It is not real common in chihuahuas.

My advice is not to worry about it.
if your little guy had it, you would know it.
There would be small round patches of missing hair, maybe as small as 1/16 of an inch in diamters on the legs and shoulder areas, and perhaps around the muzzle. Worse cases sprread further.
Of course in more troublesome cases there can be skin infections, larger bald areas.
Feed a good food, perhaps some supplements to encourage a strong immune system, and don't worry about it. For the most part it is a temporay aesthetics problem that will clear up by 12-14 months of age as the immune system matures, and strengthens

[jnc_mcguire]

Yes it can be treated. But from what the vet told my sister-in-law that they will always carry it. She also has a little Chic. that had it when she got it. I think it took about 4 times in a dip for it to go away.
The vet also told her that he would have it all of his life. But it could be controll.
How he got it was from the mom she was a carrer and when the pups would suck the milk it gave them demodectic mange.Even tho she didn't have it at the time she is still a carrer of it and passed it on to the pups.
If it is a boy it can't pass it on to it's litter when you breed him. Only the female can pass it on to her puppies. They will get it when they suck from her. Maybe not all of them.


By the way welcome to the forum.

[RoughCollies]

Originally Posted by JTP

My advice is not to worry about it.
if your little guy had it, you would know it.
There would be small round patches of missing hair, maybe as small as 1/16 of an inch in diamters on the legs and shoulder areas, and perhaps around the muzzle. Worse cases sprread further.
Of course in more troublesome cases there can be skin infections, larger bald areas.
Feed a good food, perhaps some supplements to encourage a strong immune system, and don't worry about it. For the most part it is a temporay aesthetics problem that will clear up by 12-14 months of age as the immune system matures, and strengthens

Demodex can be as simple as JTP is describing but it can also be devastating. I have personally dealt with demodex on three different occassions now, all to varying degrees. Bailey, my parents Samoyed/WSD mix had a very mild case. It bothered her as a pup and was very localized to her face and legs. Tess, a Rough Collie, had a pretty severe generalized case. She would do great for a while and then have issues again. But, for the most part it was just the mites.

Then there is Dixie. See the little tri-color dog in my siggy? Well, that little dog was the worst case I've gone through. And it wasn't the mites that were the problem, it was the skin infection that came with it. Secondary infection they called it. HA! It was definately more intense then the mites.

Here is Dixie's story.

http://www.prodoggroomingsupplies.co...ie%27s+journey

If you need more advice or have any questions, I would be more than happy to help you out. I've done a ton of studying on demodex trying to fix my girl. I can say that all three were able to recover well. Unfortunately, Dixie is the only one still alive. Bailey had auto-immune hemolytic anemia and passed away last year. Tess died some years ago. After all she went through and having finally come through she was hit by a car and killed instantly while my family was on vacation and she was with the sitter.