[heather-mumofdaisy]

As some of you may know, Daisy has been having a bit of trouble with bumps on her face/chin. We were treating them with a skin cream but we decided that things didn't really seem to be improving so we've taken her to the vets.
At first the vet said it looked like a case of puppy acne but really she was a bit too old to be getting that. Instead she thinks it might be demodex mites causing the bumps and we have treated her with a spot on treatment for fleas and all types of mites and she is on anti-biotic tablets. Has anyone else ever had any problems with these demodex mites? Apparantly they lie dorment in all dogs as they are passed on from their mum when they are suckling. The strange thing with these mites is that they don't cause any irritation or itching.
If anyone has any more information on these mites I'd love to find out more. Daisy's back in the vets in a weeks time for a check up on how things are improving.

Heather

 

[BurningRiver]

What your vet said is partially true. Yes, the mites are passed from the dam to the puppies, however, this happens with *all* dogs, yet only a fraction of them go on to have issues with Demodex outbreaks.

In an affected dog, the demodex mite takes over because the dog's immune system is unable to fight them off. Outbreaks typically occur in times of stress.

First, I'd have her thyroid tested. Low thyroid can cause immune system problems and, as a result, a variety of skin disorders.

My preference over using chemicals in the meantime would be to try to boost the immune system through a variety of methods. 1) Give Vitamin C to bowel tolerance, 2) Start her on Vitamin E capsules and Omega 3 Fatty Acids (ie: Fish or Salmon Oil), 3) make sure she is eating a high quality food, 4) make sure she has access to fresh water at all times, 5) keep the affected areas clean, 6) add Bovine Colostrum to her food twice daily, and 7) us a topical Ointment called "Goodwinol" ointment.

Some use Echinaecia, but I've not seen a real difference in using it. You may want to throw that in just because.

I would try adding these things one at a time to work up to something that will do the trick.

Sure it's easier to put a chemical on her, but is that really doing the trick? Is it really fixing the root of the problem (which is actually a poorly functioning immune system)? Goodwinol is a much less "toxic" chemical than the others, and as a last resort, I would prefer to use that over the dips and flea/tick/mite pesticides.

Good luck, I have no doubt this is frustrating for you.

 

[deas]

Is demodex mites the same as mange mites? I had a look on the net and there was heaps of info and good ideas how to cure them! The reason i ask this is because our pet rat had them and we had to give him regular injections and drops to put on the back of his neck to cure them! I have hoestly
never seen a dog with them before but i would definatly ask around for some
different ideas on how to cure them. Good luck on that!   :emtthumbs:

 

[BurningRiver]

Yes.

There are two kinds of mange mites that affect dogs. One is Sarcoptic, which is communicable, and the other is Demodex, which is not.

Did your vet do a skin scraping of the area to check for the mites? They can be easily seen under a microscope, and a diagnosis can easily be made that way.

If the vet didn't do a skin scraping, I don't know that I would be so quick to treat it as mange. You have to be very careful with some of the treatments, as some can be toxic and others can make the outbreak worse.

Boosting the immune system is never a bad thing though, and you can do that whether it is mange or just a little infection on her chin.

 

[heather-mumofdaisy]

Our vet didn't suggest doing a skin scraping, nor did they suggest looking into why she has had an outbreak. We had to go back to the vets yesterday for a check up. Our vets are normally really helpful but we saw a man that we haven't seen there before. He just had a really quick look at Daisy's face, asked us if we thought it was getting better, and just prescribed another weeks worth of anti-biotic tablets. What suprised us the most was that we had to pay an extra

 

[BurningRiver]

Hi Heather,
I think that your vet should do a bit more investigation and make a proper diagnosis. At this point, he's just assuming and throwing antibiotics down her throat (that don't seem to be working, nonetheless) rather than trying to find out the root cause. If he believes that it could be mange, then he needs to give you a proper diagnosis with lab results, not just guesses at what it could and could not be.

I'm not a fan of vets who prescribe antibiotics willy nilly. IMO, there is a problem there, and your vet owes it to you to help you to figure out the root cause, not just giveing you some pills, sending you away with no answers, and crossing his fingers that it gets all better in the meantime.

Good luck, sorry - I know this is probably very frustrating for you.

 

[deas]

Yes, our vet did do a skin scraping and thats what he came up with after it!! As i said the injections and drops worked for us but that was not on a dog hey!!!!!  Anyways good luck on finding a cure for daisy and let us know when you found one and what it is!!!!  

 

[g8trkim]

My dog had a mean case of Demodex. Our vet did a lot of guessing with what treatments and when and Rocco unfortunately had allergic reactions to a couple of them, that or he had no reaction and the mange continued spreading. You're best bet may be to see a specialist. We spent so much money going back to our vet over and over, blood work here, more antibiotics there, and it took so much time and put stress on Rocco. We went to see a dermatologist and she knocked it out immediately. She understood his allergic reactions. Any symptoms he had. After all, it was her specialty. And, Rocco noticed he was getting better and loved seeing her. So, depending on your situation it may be a good option for you. Best of luck.