Q about mange - Paw Talk

corgimom · #1 09-18-2006, 03:57 PM

Tippy had a bad case of demadex (sp?) mange when her foster mother found her, and she was told that mange can return under stressful conditions. Moving into a new house with a new family is pretty stressful. We (and Ein) spent an hour and a half with her, but we are still new, and the house is new.

I have never seen mange, with the exception of some episodes of Animal Cops/Animal Precinct. I want to make sure to keep a close eye on her while she adjusts to our home, and I was wondering if someone could tell me what the early signs of mange are so that I know what to look for.

corgimom · #2 09-18-2006, 05:01 PM

Also, is it highly contagious? If Tippy comes down with it again, should we have Ein and Tucker looked over as well?

epundt · #3 09-18-2006, 05:09 PM

First of all you need to find out how long the dog has been mange free. Next, find out what was used to treat him to get rid of it. Look for very small white spots, you may think he has been bitten by a fire ant. Take him to the vet, they can take a scraping of the spot to determine what it is. He should be treated immediately. The longer you wait, the worse it will be and harder to get rid of. We had a mini dachshund that had it from birth. It took 2 years to get him mange free. We had to change vets and the method of treatment. He was dipped every 2 weeks with mitoban. We continued the dip every 2 weeks for 2 months after he was mange free and then once a month for the rest of his life. Even though the dip would make him puny for a couple of days, it was the only thing that would work. It can be cured and controlled with proper treatment.

ratty_ratkins · #4 09-18-2006, 05:28 PM

if i am not mistaken isnt it caused by mites that are buried in the skin? if i am not mistaken then yes they are very contagious. wait for someone else to reply because i dont really know.

corgimom · #5 09-18-2006, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by epundt


	First of all you need to find out how long the dog has been mange free.

She was on treatment for 59 days and has been off treatment for about 3 weeks. The foster took her to the vet again in the past 36 hours because she was getting a small spot that the foster was worried about. They did a skin scraping and said it came back clear. The foster was late giving her monthly flea treatment, so she thinks she may have been scratching at a flea.

eta: Ein is due for his shots/annual exam on September 30th, so I plan to take Tippy in with us for an evaluation. Personally, I think she looks a little thin, so I want it documented in our vet records that she was this weight when we got her, plus I want to have her checked over to see if our vet thinks she is healthy. I read somewhere that they sometimes do a final skin scraping 4 weeks after stopping treatment, so I think I will have them check her to be sure.

pitbullforever · #6 09-18-2006, 10:32 PM

no its not contagious if it was demadex there are two different kinds of mange the one that ratty is talking about is scavies and that is highly contagious to EVERYTHING includeing people!!! however your talking about Demadetic mange and thats not at all contagious and can be caused by a number of different things. look for dry skin and hair loss.

Puttin510 · #7 09-19-2006, 01:40 PM

We've have a few dogs in our rescue that had or are getting over Demodex mange. Thats not contagious. Its the Sarcoptic mange that is the one to worry about I believe. One of our pits looked horrible but for the last 4 months or so has looked georgous. Lindsey is being cured now, and she had nearly no hair at first. her coat is coming back. I believe the gal that has her said its being treated with Ivectermite. But I hear stressful situations can bring it on. You catch it early and deal with it. Everything will be fine. Tippy is sooooooo pretty.

Oh yeah and when a human catches the mites its called scavies. Something like that.

corgimom · #8 09-19-2006, 05:15 PM

Thanks for the info! I'm must admit that I'm very relieved to know that if she does get it back, we do not have to worry about Ein and Tucker catching it.

One dog with a $300 bill is one thing. THREE dogs with $300 vet bills is quite a bit more. (I'm assuming that it wouldn't cost $300 if you catch it early, but you never know.)