Well, me and kasha have just returned from a beautiful 2day music festival/camping trip called Landcrabs - and it seems she has bought back with her "crabs" (hehe) or "mange". Now, monthly I give all my dogs an injection called "Dectomax" Dectomax Injection 500ml :: Farm Animal Supplies & Vet Meds :: Vet-N-Pet Direct :: Vet Meds & Veterinary Supplies for Horses, Dogs & Cats which covers mange and all nasty parasites, so the vet did say they were quite sickly and gave her another injection to help clear the rest up. Apparently she will loose more hair, "has to get worse before it gets better" - and she cant pass it on to my other dogs....but thats where im left confused, how did she get it in the first place?!!! I must be mistaken because I always thought, stray, not looked after dogs get mange - and here is my little baby girl with a big funny looking bald patch above her eye. *sigh*

Oh wow guys thanx for all the advice......
Everyone wants to read - but no one wants to help. Nice to see what this forum is really like - snobby dogs owners

[Lara's mom]

I'd have been very happy to help you but, I don't know the first thing about mange. I didn't even know that you could get prescription stuff and medicate your dog yourself! It's usually quiet here on weekends. Just hang on and I'm sure that someone who knows a whole lot more than I do will be able to help you out. We really aren't "snobby".

[CorkyMax]

Originally Posted by Sonny&Akasha

Oh wow guys thanx for all the advice......
Everyone wants to read - but no one wants to help. Nice to see what this forum is really like - snobby dogs owners

First off I am not a snobby dog owner, THANK YOU!!
Truth be known--I looked up in my home vet book and found that there are 3 different kinds of mange and I wasn't about to copy all that info! You did not say what kind it is but now that I've taken a 2nd look at the 3 dif. descriptions, my detective work has pretty much singled out this one---demodectic mange---Can you confirm that this is the kind!!?? Right now, assuming that this is the one---I decided to check on the web to see if I could find something before I started copying all the info from my book. I am a one-fingered slow typer to start with! Well, I found all kinds of info--I am surprised that you didn't check the web out!!! All you had/have to do is put:
demodectic mange/dogs in your browser and it will bring you to a lot of sites on this kind of mange. I only checked out the 1st site listed and it pretty much said the same as my book--prob. even more.---And I'll bet all the other sites are very informative too. This is the link to the 1st site I checked into:
Demodectic Mange
When you are done reading that one --I hope you will put the words I mentioned above in your browser and check out some more of the listed sites!! And if this turns out to not be the type your dog has--- here are the other 2 kinds to put in your browser: sarcoptic mange/dogs and the other is:
cheyletiella mange/dogs. By the way sarcoptic mange is another name for scabies. The last 2 types of mange appear to be very contagious and the 1st one (demodectic mange) is supposedly not catching and that is what I based my convictions on as you said the kind your dog has is not contagious.
I expect some feedback from you when you have checked the above info out!

And they call the cheyletiella mange-walking dandruff

Ok, so I was out of line when i said "snobby" but I was slightly offended no one offered some help/advice. Im a good dog owner, and im embarrassed my baby has this mange, as I have no idea how she would have got it - as it apparently cant be passed on. And I have looked all over the internet but now of it made sense to me.
Thanx for the help and the websites. I do really appreciate it. I only want the best for my lil baby, and dont want all of my other animals contracting it.

[pinsnpugs]

I do not get a chance to log on frequently. I am tempted though to not reply now seeing the sarcasm when you didnt get answers right away.
Personally, I would prefer that someone NOT reply if it is something they have no clue about rather to reply with guesses or misguided info.

Demodectic mange is not cantagious, is self contained to that dog. This is the type she likely has if the vet said it is not contagious.
Every dog has the mites on thier skin that cause mange. In most dogs these mites never multiply or cause any issues. When they do it is generally due to a compromised immune system. In your case, though, it is quite possible that she was stressed on the trip, causing her immune system to deplete just enough that mange occured.

Mange is a hot or miss thing. Most dogs can have stress, low imunity but never get mange symptoms. For them it may come in the form of illness in another way.

It is not a 'dirty dog' disease, so no worries there. Follow your vets advice and it should clear up in no time.
If it does not improve though, there are other treatments you can use, but prefer to wait until we see if your vets treatment works before I suggest anything over a professional.

[Lara's mom]

You posted your question on a weekend which tends to be a little slow in here. Nobody will hold the "snobby" comment against you. When any of us has a problem with our beloved baby, we're ALL a little frantic! We've all been there at one time or another. I hope you'll hang around. There are some amazing people in this forum. I've met and talked to so many really knowledgeable people here. I've learned so much just from reading the posts and asking questions. People here are really willing to do their best to help.

[CorkyMax]

I am just going to quote about demodectic mange from my vet book. There is another
new member in here who has a cocker with similar problems. Her thread is titled: Cocker spaniel has some type of ongoing skin condition. I just 'pasted' a lot of info/links to her that you may find of interest!!! And here is the quote from my book on Demodectic Mange:It is caused by a tiny mite, Demodex canis, too small to be seen with the naked eye. Nearly all dogs acquire mange mites from their mothers during the 1st few days of life. These mites are considered normal skin fauna when present in small numbers. They produce disease only when an abnormal immune system allows their numbers to get out of control. This occurs primarily in puppies, and in adult dogs with lowered immunity. A high incidence of mange in certain bloodlines suggests that some purebred dogs are born with an inherited immune susceptibility.
--Demodectic manage occurs in a localizedandgeneralizedform. The diagnosis is made by taking multiple skin scrapings and looking for the mites.

LOCALIZED DEMODECTIC MANGE
--This disease occurs in dogs under 1 yr. of age. The appearance of the skin is similar to that of ringworm. The principal sign is thinning of hair around the eyelids, the lips and the corners of the mouth, and occasionally on the legs and feet. The thinning progresses to patches of moth~eaten hair loss about 1 inch in diameter. In some cases the skin becomes red, scaly and infected.
--Localized mange usually heals spontaneously in 6 to 8 wks, but may waxand wane for several months. If more than 5 patches are present, the disease could be progressing to the generalized form. This occurs in approximately 10% of cases.
--Treatment:A topical ointment containing either benzoyl peroxide gel (OxyDex or Pyoben), or a mild topical preparation used to treat ear mites can be massaged into affected areas once daily. This may shorten the course of the disease. The medication should be rubbed with the lay of the hair to minimize further hair loss. Treatment may cause the area to look worse for the 1st 2 to 3 wks. There is no evidence that treating localized mange prevents the disease from becoming generalized. The puppy shoud be checked again in 4 wks.

GENERALIZED DEMODECTIC MANGE
--Dogs with the generalized disease develop patches of hair loss on the head, legs and trunk. These patches coalesce to form large areas of hair loss. The hair follicles become plugged with mites and skin scales. The skin breaks down to form sores, crusts and draining tracts, presenting a most disabling problem. Some cases are a continuation of localized mange; others develop spontaneously in older dogs.
--When generalized demodectic mange develops in dogs under 1 yr. of age, there is a 30-50% chance that the puppy will recover spontaneously. It is uncertan whether medical treatment accelerates this recovery.
--In dogs older than a yr. of age, a spontaneous cure is unlikely but the outlook for improvement with medical has improved dramatically over the past decade. (NOTE: This book is 10 yrs. old) Most dogs can be cured with intense therapy. Most of the remaining cases can be controlled if the owner is willing to commit the necessary time and expense.
Treatment:Generalized demodectic mange must be treated under close veterinary supervision. Therapy involves the use of medicated shampoos and dips to remove surface scales and kills mites. Shave or clip hair from all affected areas to facilitate access to the skin. (Am going to skip the treatment part here as this is an older book and this should be done with whatever your vet says to use and how to do it but will add this part--Secondary skin irritations should be treated with antibiotics, based on culture and sensitivity tests.
Corticosteroids, often used to control severe itching, lower the dog's immunity to the mites and should not be used to treat this disease.
--Because of an inherited immune susceptibility, dogs that recover from demodectric mange should not be bred.
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