[Tina]

My 1 year old large breed dog has demodectic mange, help!

[TJ]

Have you gone to the vet? Our puppy just recovered from mange a few months ago on her head and ears. She was given Ivermectin daily and a topical ointment.

[Tina]

Yes, at 5 months old he was diagnosed with demodectic mange. My vet gave me GOODWINOL OINTMENT to rub on the bald spots and a midaban dip 1 every 3 weeks. We were given some pills to help itching which gave him bad, runny poop.

My vet has said nothing about food, immune system or anything else. My vet did say that I can keep him on Hill’s Science Diet, Royal Canin or Purina.

All the information that I looked up on the internet says that I shouldn’t give him any vaccinations, flea or tick control or any medication at all. I’ve already read that he needs to be on a carbohydrate free or at least a grain free food with high protein and antioxidants.

[TJ]

I was a little hesitant about the Ivermectin treatment at first but that killed the mites and then they went away completely after a couple months when her immune system matured

[Tina]

What about food? What do you recommend? He needs a grain free diet, possibly for large breed dogs?

[Susan]

Did you have a skin scrapping to see if it was mites or yeast infection, it should of went away if it was mites & treated properly be now, my friends white staffy was real bad, real red skin & hairless in the end, she was put on vet prescription diets that didnt help, in the end she was put on Holistic Select Adult health Anchovys Sardines & salmon meal this helped her & she looks beautiful know…Holistic Select have a grainfree puppy Anchovys Sardines & salmon meal but it has potatoes in it…. they have just released a new grainfree called ‘Deboned Turkey & Lentils recipe’ that has NO Potatoes..Its worth a try or the Adult Health Anchovys Sardines & salmon meal.. you have to also treat the outside..I bath Patch every 5-7 days with Medicated Malaseb shampoo & I use a hyrocortisone cream as I dont like medications.. The best is an elimination diet that way u’ll know what makes him scratch, he may not have food allergies, he may suffer from eviornment allergies, or flea allergies, have you googled ‘Atopic dematitis in dogs’..also keep a diary, write when he’s real itchy, what foods he was eating at the time & over the years u’ll start to see a pattern, patch has seasonal allergies worst summer & the end of summer Autumn..also he may need an Anthisimine Patch was put on Iramine 8mg tablets theyre a dog anthisimine not human..maybe find a new vet, I see one vet for Patches skin then the other vet for Patches tummy & bowel they are both in the same surgury but sometimes some vets specialise more in certain areas, well thats what Ive found, Sue’s better with Patches skin & Johnathan is excellent when it comes to Gastro & stomach problems..Give the Holistic Select a try http://www.holisticselect.com

[Tina]

My vet did do a skin scrapping and showed me the scrapping under the microscope.

[Susan]

Its just that you say that when ur dog was 5months he was diagnosed with Dermodectic mange now he’s 1yr old, it should be all cleared up by now, unless the treatmant didnt work properly.. Big Dog Rescue rescues Dogs from pounds that have Mange & within 3 weeks you see a big improvement with their skin, you could send a msg to Mina at Big Dog Rescue on F/B & ask her what treatment she uses for the pound dogs that have had mange.. I know she just feeds them Royal Canin kibble as it gets donated to big dog rescue by R/C, so food doesnt seem to make a difference with mange as its mites that are living on the dogs body..
I’d have another skin scraping & see if the mites are still there….or maybe ur dog has another problem with his skin, I feed Patch vet prescription diet Eukanuba Intestinal cause he has Pancreatitis & IBD & that has corn in it & his skin cleared up when he was put on the Eukanuba Intestinal..weird I know corn is suppost to bad, I have also started a elimination diet 2 months ago & realised that sweet potatos & potato made him itch, then vet said that Patch has seasonal allergies from pollens grasses etc… & was put on an Anthistimine & hydrocortisone cream, I just use my cortisone cream, as soon as I see him starting to scratch, I put the cream on where he’s scratching if he hasnt had a bath within 7 days he has his bath & I have to leave his shampoo on for 10mins then rinse… its time consuming but in the end it all pays off when he’s itch free…not keeping me up at night licking & scratching…

[USA]

Hi Tina L,

Demodectic Mange is definitely related to the immune system. It is believed that all dogs have the mites but they are kept in check by a healthy immune system. Your dog may have a late blooming immune system or there may be other things going on.

I would recommend you feed him the best food you can. Take a look at the 5 star foods on the review part of this website. Try to stay below 25% carbs which is still a lot but it is hard to find dry foods with less carbs. Canned foods can be found with less carbs and if you are able to feed a large dog only canned food then that would be a good option. If you want to look a little deeper into the quality of the foods you might want to join the Editors Choice section here. There is a yearly fee but it goes more in depth into the dog food companies on the list. The better his diet, they better he will do with everything life throws at him.

The pills for the itching might have been a prednisone type drug which stops itching by SUPPRESSING the immune system! This is counter productive to BUILDING up the immune system to control the mites that cause Demodectic Mange!

I agree with you on limiting vaccines, flea control and any other toxic meds although at some point if his mange becomes wide spread and he is in constant distress you might have to seek the least toxic alternative. I would suggest you supplement his diet with digestive enzymes to make sure he is absorbing all the nutrients in his food, probiotics to help strengthen his immune system, omega 3’s to help with inflammation and turmeric as an antioxidant.

Good Luck with your pup!!!

[Tina]

Each dip that he went through he got worst. He would loose over 80% of his hair, his skin would turn red and he would become very lethargic after. Now his hair seems a little better but not like it should. He still has bald spots and is itchy all the time. I thought it was fleas so I got some flea prevention and put it on him but shortly after he got even more itchy then before. Right now he’s on Hill’s Science Diet Large Breed Adult and I’m changing him to Hill’s Science Diet Ideal Balance Grain Free.

[Melissaandcrew]

Put him on high quality grainfree food and repeat scrape. If positive ask your vet to treat with daily oral ivermectin.

[LexiDog]

When I bought my girl home she had demodectic mange. We did the Mitaban dip every other week just because I didn’t want to do the oral ivermectin. Looking back now I don’t think it would have made a difference if I did the dip or the oral meds.

Since Demodectic Mange is caused by a weakened immune system, I did what the vet prescribed (Mitaban dips) and did everything I could think of to help her immune system.

I started her on a grain-free diet (I believe it was Fromm Grain Free and then Acana Regionals), gave her BIXBI’s Organic Superfood Immunity Daily Supplement, Vital Digest by Only Natural Pets washed all of her bedding and sanitized her crate. I know that Demodectic Manage is not contagious but I just took the extra caution by washing everything.

I suggest you boost your puppy’s immune system with good food and some supplements along with your vets treatment plan.

[L T]

My 1 yr old lab developed a small patch on his nose which didn’t seem to bother him, but he did look a little funny with a balding patch. His vet prescribed a topical Ivermectin treatment daily for six weeks with his first treatment at the vet. I am pretty particular about topical treatments and toxicity and questioned him extensively. After doing some additional research (Demodectic is usually immune system related) I decided to not proceed with this course of treatment as the case was mild. The symptom first appeared when he developed a minor cold (sneezing). The patch itself is healing rather nicely without any further intervention. I did supplement his Orijen Regional Red with a small serving of Orijen Six Fish (being careful not to increase his food/caloric intake) as an added boost.

[Author]

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