Demodex Mites

[RoughCollies]

Demodex mites are a tiny, microscopic mite that live on the skin of most, if not all, dogs. They live there peacefully, not bothering the animal for it's entire life. No one knows it is there, no one really cares...until...




The reaction is caused by an immune deficiancy that is genetic in some dogs. Collie and Sheltie breeders are especially feeling the effects of this deficiancy. The mites do not make the dog itch, but rather the dry, flaky skin that they cause. Oatmean shampoos at least once a week are a must.

My collie, Tess, a beautiful Sable rough (pictured NOW as a healthy, mite free girl) was plagued by these mites for the first year and a half of her life. She was constanly covered in dry, flaky, bloody skin. She lost most of her hair and was covered in medication most of her life. She was scheduled to be spayed at six months but went into heat just days before. Her mites became so bad, that the vet refused to operate on her, until it seemed like she was going to die either way from her weakened body.

The treatment and cure for this problem is ivermectin. There is also a dip that is supposed to kill the mites, but it is rarely successful. Of course, collies and shelties also have an ivermectin intolerance, so this is deadly when used on some collies. Some vets will even have owners give their dogs a daily dose of a heartworm pill, like Interceptor, to help with the mites, though this is only successful sometimes and is not backed by sufficient research yet.

Of course, there are ways to prevent it... DO NOT breed any dog who had the mites or had parents/siblings that had the mites. This is a genetic problem that is being seen more and more frequently. In fact, it is common for a whole litter to have a minor case. If the breeder you are looking at has a dog with mites, make sure it is not in the line of your puppy. It is known that it is an immune deficiancy, although I am not sure if the exact gene has been identified yet. As of last time I checked, there is no test available to find out whether or not a dog has the deficiancy.

After watching Tess go through this, I am able to identify whether a rough spot on the dog is mites or something else most times I check. So far, I have identified four dogs with them. It takes dedication to help one of these poor souls who aquire this problem. The dogs are disgusting to look at, but to us, Tess's mites made her beautiful in her own way.

[mara]

Wow--looks like a miserable thing for a dog to have. I've never heard of it. Is ivermectin an oral medication? Your Tess is beautiful.

[RoughCollies]

Ivermectin is in heartworm pills such as Heartgard. It is oral and safe for most dogs. Only certain breeds have problems and they are only now starting to be able to figure out which dogs are affected by it. The dogs with reactions usually die. We were at the point with Tess where it seemed like ivermectin was worth the risk because she was going to die anyway. It was a last resort and thank goodness we did not have to use it.

She has been mite free for a long time (feel like I am at an AA meeting) and is as healthy as can be. Thanks, she is a beauty, isn't she! Her eyes are still bad though. With the mites, sometimes, the dogs get **** in their eyes. She still gets her eyes cleaned out daily. Luckily, even though it would make sense for a breeder to sell a dog like this, my stepmom decided that the stress from changing lives would cause a reaction by the mites again. So she is home for good with us!

[TashasMom]

When i first got tasha she had this too. the Dr told me to wait a while to see if it got better because most dogs that have it usually fix it themselfs because every dog has the mites (or something like that i dont really remember).
Her hair has grown back. but her case wasnt half as bad as the mildest picture you put up. it just looked like the top of her head was thinning out.

[.Little Texas.]

Thanks for making a thread, RC I really needed to know cause I thought Harry might have it, but no, I guess he just has a rash from running through long grass! LOL, I was getting worried

[TashasMom]

Originally Posted by .Little Texas.

Thanks for making a thread, RC I really needed to know cause I thought Harry might have it, but no, I guess he just has a rash from running through long grass! LOL, I was getting worried

you might wanna get it checked out still.
i didnt think anythiing was wrong with tasha. but like i said. it wasnt bad. although when we got her she did have a bald spot about a quarter of the size of an eraser when we got her. but they (the pound) said that it would go away and there was nothing to worry about

[RoughCollies]

Tex, you will notice thinning, not a rash. It might get a little red, but not like a rash. Usually, they get it before a year and it clears up by 18 months. Severe cases last can last forever, or will weaken the dog till the point of early demise.

[.Little Texas.]

Thanks, RC and TashasMom! I'm quite sure now that it isn't mites, but I'll still mention it to the vet, though last time I did that he said Harry had fleas...a bit confusing, as Harry has been deflead heaps of times and there aren't alot of cats, nor dogs, and the ones that are there have no fleas either, we're living in a flealess neighborhood lol!

[Blaze]

Thanks for posting this RC! I've never really known much about it, but it seems like an awful thing!! The poor dogs!