Sounds like demodex (which is a version of mange). If it is demodex you'll be happy to know it isn't contagious and there are treatments if the hairloss gets too severe but your dog should be able to fight the mites on his own. You're vet will do a scraping to determine if it is mites or allergies. In some ways its easier if it is mites and not allergies because then there is a specific way to deal with it.

 

The best stuff I have found for any skin thing is m-t-g (mane and tail groom). I use it on my horses and dogs and does it ever clear up the skin and conditions their coat. The only downfall is it is kinda stinky. The base is sulphur. The smell dosen't last long and is worth it. The hair grows back so quick that it is amazing.

 

Yep, sounds like Demodex! The worst treatment your dog could possibly get would be a bath dip every two weeks. Otherwise, your doctor will prescribe either a topical ointment or nothing at all! Don't worry...it happens to the best of them. Two of my three dogs had demodex due to stress...one had to have her dips, the other one I had to keep an eye on.

No big deal, the worst for us was that the one that had to get dipped was my highly fearful abused puppy and it was very hard for me to drop her off to get dipped in the morning and have her sit at the vet all day to dry (the medicine has to dry and they can't blow dry her)...it just broke my heart how scared she was about life in general and then I had to go do THIS to her!

 

The age and description makes it sound like mange, but a scrapping is the proper way to determine if it's red manage, but your description is very accurate of what d-mange is.

If it's just around the face, tail and legs it's localized manage and 90% of the time it goes away naturally with age as their immune system matures, which is normally when they are over a year old. localized manage is very easy to treat and is very common, especially in a lot of short hair dogs like Boxers.

If it's all over it's called generalized manage, which is more serious. I would stay away from the dips and treat it with ivermectin as well as a combination of diet, herbs, vitamins. Sulphur and neem based products are the best to apply to the skin (cream/shampoo). You can even give neem leaf capsules and MSM (natural sulphur). These two are known to actually fight the mite itself, but vitamin E is probably the best thing you can give your puppy for their immune system and skin.

 

You are my hero! Finally someone who speaks my language. I was going to recommend Neem! There's a couple companies out there that make shampoos for dogs with Neem. Ark Naturals, Organix South. I actually just bought Neem Aura Neem oil. I bathe my dog and then use the dropper and spread across her back, rub in, let it sit for 5 - 10 minutes and rinse. Neem is an anti-parasitic, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial. It does stink, but it makes the coat so smoothe and the skin conditioned. Another great thing to add to food for skin/coat and is a natural immune balancer is Coconut oil.

To soothe puppy's skin, you can brew A LOT of chamomile tea, let cool, and rinse.

Only thing is I'm not thinking it's mites, especially since my dog who is going to be 4 next month recently had a similar reaction when bathed with a shampoo called Whiff. She broke out in hives the next day. I didn't realize it was the shampoo until I gave her a bath the next time with it and the hives were immediate! I was actually worried it was mange, too, but it wasn't. Since using the Neem, adding extra-strength probiotics (Multidopholus), digestive enzymes, she's been a lot better and her coat has improved. Also, if you want to detox, you can use milk thistle and dandelion root can help with skin problems.

Quick question. Is TOTW grain-free? If it is, or actually even if it isn't, lots of times dogs have reactions to oatmeal, believe it or not. Oatmeal can really wreak havoc on their systems. I don't know why companies think this is a good thing to put in shampoos.

Good luck, and don't let your vet just try to give a steroid injection to cover up the symptoms! You'll just be sorry later.

Oh, and blukitty, I for sure wouldn't let them do a dip with any pyretherins (sp?) or ANY chemicals for that matter, especially since he's so young. I'm pretty sure you can treat the mange with Neem.

 

Mr. Boxer,

Odie goes next week Tuesday to be neutered and while under he will have his skin scraped because the vet thinks he has the generalized. Poor boy scratches excessively when he gets aggitated, like sitting in the vet office, etc. I am concerned about the dip, being that it is not a natural substance. Should I be, or am I just being a newbie and over reacting?

Denise

 

Here's a natural treatment for mange made with Neem. If I've learned one thing at all after losing my last Boxer to cancer at the age of 5, it's if you feel uncomfortable about a suggestion made by your vet or are afraid something may be harmful, SAY NO!! Just because they have DVM after their name does not make them right. If you ask for other options and they are not willing to respect your beliefs, LEAVE. Or if you have a problem with chemicals or synthetic drugs and want to treat the cause and not just mask symptoms, try a natural/holistic vet. It has made a huge difference with my dogs and has given me peace of mind. Good luck!

http://www.botanicaldog.com/neem_oil.php

 

Oh, gosh, thanks! Many people don't want to hear what I have to say when it comes to my beliefs in natural/holistic pet health and my disdain for traditional veterinarians' steroid/antibiotic panacea attitude. I think sometimes people don't realize they have a choice. I have learned that if I feel uncomfortable about a certain treatment or don't agree with certain meds, I SAY NO!

 

Oh, gosh, thanks! Many people don't want to hear what I have to say when it comes to my beliefs in natural/holistic pet health and my disdain for traditional veterinarians' steroid/antibiotic panacea attitude. I think sometimes people don't realize they have a choice. I have learned that if I feel uncomfortable about a certain treatment or don't agree with certain meds, I SAY NO!

Oh absolutely. I don't have kids, my dogs have always been like children to me. I know that wouldn't think twice about telling a doctor that I wasn't comfortable with a certain treatment for myself or my children, why should my dog be any different? That's the way I see it anyway.

 

Thanks for the advice. Odie had his appointment today, neutered, skin scrape, vaccinations. NO MITE ISSUE! But his ears were so infected that both ear drums burst. The vet at this point has been very open about alternative treatments and she agrees steriods need to be avoided unless there is abosultely no other options.

She feels we did the right thing by switching Odie to the Nutro Ultra food but suggested we stop adding the canned food because of the wheat gluten in it. This is a new vet and she seems very willing to look at natural options and not just the standard "vet" options. He will go for a check up in 1 to 2 weeks unless we have problems before then. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the canned food has been the cause of his problems.

I am glad I came to this forum. Boxer owners are true and caring towards their furry family member. Thank you all!
blukitty

 

Do you clean your dogs ears often? Just curious if the vet made any recommendations besides changing foods. I have heard alot about the correlation with ear problems and their diets. The website many people use for dog food ratings is dogfoodanalysis.com, but there's so many out there that are similar. Most people suggest at least a 4 star rating. What were you feeding Odie before?

 

Oh, no!!!! His eardrums burst? Poor Odie. I hope he gets better. Did she culture the ears and give antibiotics??

My poor Hannah has an ear infection right now. They are so miserable when their ears are bothering them. I hate seeing her in pain.

I am soooo glad that you have a good vet. It's so important to find one to trust. Sounds like she's a keeper! She's right about the wheat gluten. So many dogs are allergic. Keep us posted, and hang in there! We do truly care and just hope that your little guy gets better.

 

Our boxer Zoey had this going on recently but we thought it was because poor nutrition (shes a real picky eater but we finally got her on a good food and schedule), the vet did a scraping and it in fact was mange. she told us about the traditional dips and pills but she said those kind of treatments hardly work. then she told us that promeris had recently been approved by the fda on treatment of mange for dogs. we started her on it a couple days ago. hopefully it works out, im tired of seeing our poor puppy suffer from this. ill let you guys know how it works out. Here's some info i found. Promeris - About Promeris

 

Our boxer Zoey had this going on recently but we thought it was because poor nutrition (shes a real picky eater but we finally got her on a good food and schedule), the vet did a scraping and it in fact was mange. she told us about the traditional dips and pills but she said those kind of treatments hardly work. then she told us that promeris had recently been approved by the fda on treatment of mange for dogs. we started her on it a couple days ago. hopefully it works out, im tired of seeing our poor puppy suffer from this. ill let you guys know how it works out. Here's some info i found. Promeris - About Promeris

I would really be leery of Promeris myself. It's a pesticide. It doesn't even sound right, to put a pesticide on your dog. It's a chemical, as well as the traditional dips and pills your vet was talking about. A healthy dog will fight off the mange mite. A dog with a sub-par immune system will not. Adding chemicals can make matters worse, honestly, IMO. It's your dog, your call. You never know, in a few months the FDA may be pulling it off the market due to problems/complaints.

I really hope Zoey gets better, truly.

 

heres an update. its been maybe 3 months that zoey has been on the drops. and theres marked improvement in her skin. she no longer has red patches of thinning hair and she is no longer scratching or licking. Her hair actually looks thicker now. she does have a reoccurring bacterial infection on the skin on her stomach, which her vet says is secondary to the mange, but shes improving nicely. hopefully this will put her immune system ahead of the mange and she can manage it on her own. will continue to update if anyone is following.

 

here are some pictures.

before

3 months after

 

Awww, the poor baby. She looked so miserable. I am sooo glad that she's improving and the skin is healing. Hoping for continued improvement with her. Thanks so much for updating us

 

please read

if u find out that ur puppy has demodex, please take note. GOODWINOL. this is the only treatment u will need. scouts dad and myself did quite a bit of research when we found out scout had demodex. we even started to try the vets remedy and it was horrible. Goodwynol is so very mild we got it i shampoo and also a cream. the shampoo is great for use for every bath and the cream we only used on the patches of skin where the hair was missing and it too has no effect on the dog just the mites. if you care to hear all the info i learned let me know but please know that any sort of harsh chemicals or treatment is by no means needed

 

if u find out that ur puppy has demodex, please take note. GOODWINOL. this is the only treatment u will need. scouts dad and myself did quite a bit of research when we found out scout had demodex. we even started to try the vets remedy and it was horrible. Goodwynol is so very mild we got it i shampoo and also a cream. the shampoo is great for use for every bath and the cream we only used on the patches of skin where the hair was missing and it too has no effect on the dog just the mites. if you care to hear all the info i learned let me know but please know that any sort of harsh chemicals or treatment is by no means needed

I know this is an oldish post but I just want to mention that Goodwinol contains rotenone, a "natural" pesticide that is believed to cause Parkinson's disease in humans and has been shown conclusively to cause parkinson's in mice, rats, etc. I'm not saying not to use it but at least try to reduce your exposure.
Fantastically, rotenone is a product that was allowed to be used in the USA on veggies labeled "organic" until recently. At work, I used it in a fume hood.