my dachshund has a strange skin rash. help?

Question

she is a red female mini dachshund who is 9 months old. on her stomach is a large red rash with tiny black dots in it. it smells weird and it seems to itch her. i will get her to the vet as soon as i can, but i was wondering if anyone knew what it is and what i can do to make it feel better or heal in the meantime. thanks!

Answer 1

If it smells then it is probably mange. You must get this treated as only a vet can cure it. You should also keep your dog away from other animals as it is highly contagious. Some forms of mange are also contagious to humans too, so get that treatment as soon as possible, and keep her quarantined.

Answer 2

Hey there, I think you should see a dermatologist immediately. You may be able to get some answers on here, or from doing an internet search or from going to some of the many medical websites out there. However, your best bet is to visit a physician who can give you an accurate diagnosis. Hope you feel better.

Answer 3

The smell is not caused by the mange mites but from a secondary fungal or bacterial infection.

As you may already know and for the benefit of those who read this post and are not familiar with this problem, mange is a skin condition caused by tiny mites that you can't see with the naked eye. There are three types of mites that attack dogs most often: demodectic (not contagious and may itch or not), sarcoptic (very contagious and extremely itchy) and cheyletiella (contagious and mildly itchy).

The typical symptoms as the mange condition progresses include hair loss and scaly or crusty skin. If the condition causes itchiness, scratching opens the door to secondary skin infections (bacterial or fungal) that may cause an unpleasant odor. Unfortunately (except in the case of demodectic mange on puppies with immature immune systems), mange does not go away on its own and the lesions continue to spread so it should be treated as soon as possible.

The most common type of mange today is demodectic mange (not contagious type) which is triggered by a weak or compromised immune system due mainly to factors such as immaturity (as in the case of puppies), improper nutrition (commercial food being the main culprit), stress and advanced age.

Vets can do a deep skin scraping and check the sample under a microscope to detect the presence and type of mite. However, everyone should be aware that there are some very serious problems caused by the use of the most common prescribed treatments and there are safe and affordable alternative treatments to cure any type.

Regardless of the type of mange, in order to cure it you need to treat with a medication that kills the mites. The mange medications most often prescribed by vets contain pesticides and other toxic chemicals that are detrimental to your dog's health with resulting health issues that you will have to face sooner or later. These medications include Ivermectin (also known as Ivomec) and Amitraz (also known as Mitaban). See the links that follow for toxicology information. It is always advisable to check the veterinary drug database for the side effects of any medication prescribed by your vet http://www.drugs.com/vet/

Thankfully, there are a number of effective alternative treatments out there that are safe and natural at a reasonable cost that will kill the mites. You can easily do some research in the Internet to find out about these and compare your options.

I prefer the 'spray type' because it is inexpensive, very effective, convenient to use (no mixing and no mess), and it is natural and harmless to pets and humans.

Hope this helps.

Toxicity:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18627233

http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/toxicity/c_dg_ivermectin_toxicity\

http://www.drugs.com/sfx/ivermectin-side-effects.html

http://www.drugs.com/vet/mitaban.html

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1677&aid=2245

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1481314/?page=1

http://www.petmanage.com/dog-health/what-is-amitraz-toxicity.html


Mange spray:

http://www.florapetnaturals.com/online-store.html

Different skin conditions can look similar. There are other skin issues you need to consider. For details see answer :

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AmNHNKCYzFGJ5CYRKOfjFdDsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20130814125751AA190yC