my minpin has demodex?

Question

so i asked a question before about my bald minpin. i did take her to the vet and she has demodex. they said it wasnt a bad case since they only found one but they did say she will have it forever. she had her first dip this morning and i have to go back again in 2 weeks. i was reading about demodex and it said she can fight it if she has a healthy immune system. i am feeding her eukanuba small breed puppy food. the vet said that was a good food but is there anything else i could maybe give her so she can start fighting this? she is also 5months old.
thanks

i also have 2 black labs. they are both about 2. they always play with her so i was wondering if it was safe for them to play together also?

Answer 1

Your other dogs are completely safe-Demodex is not contageous. As far as the mange in your pin, this is a mite that lives in all of us, and is usually dormant. The problems arise when a dog does not get the proper immunities transferred from mom during puppyhood. Some of the reasons for this are poor condition of the mom, being weaned and sold too soon, or the puppies not being nourished properly. Your vet is right, a compromised immune system is for life-it can't be fixed.
What you can do, is make sure your dog is on an extremely healthy diet, and I would not suggest Eukanuba for this-your dog needs better nutrition than that to keep her healthy. I would look into some of the holistic natural foods for your girl, such as Candidae and Timberwolf, or Innova. This will help her to stay healthy and strong.
In addition, your vet can sell you a prescription vitamin called Duralactin, which is an immune booster vitamin-it works great and will help her with her present condition as well.
Demodex mange can come back at any time during your dog's life, and sometimes when it comes back, it is much worse than the first case. It can also come back with a secondary bacterial infection that can further compromise the dog.
My avatar had Demodex at three months old. She was found in a kill shelter and was completely bald. It took seven months to grow her hair back, with much attention paid to the health of her immune system by my vet. She is now a year and a half, and is absolutely beautiful and healthy. She will be on Duralactin her whole life, just to be careful. She eats a holistic food with fish, sweet potatoes, and sometimes venison.
It almost sounds like your vet doesn't have alot of experience with nutrition, so you may want to get a second opinion there.
Other than that, she should be just fine.

Answer 2

Your vet is an idiot. Dipping the dog is VERY dangerous and bad news. You are correct in that the immune system needs boosted to get rid of the mange. Your vet CAUSED the mange in the first place. Here's how..
Your young puppy is growing fast and trying to build a strong immune system when all the sudden your vet jabs 5 to 7 live viruses into her and does it again 2 weeks later and again 2 weeks later and adds in a rabies shot and starts her on heartworm prevention/chemicals and then you feed the dog grain based cereal. So look at all the viruses and drugs put into this dog at such an early age. Where in nature would a dog come into contact with 15 to 21 or more live viruses?
4 and 5 months are when people generally see mange come up. Right after all the rounds of vaccines have been given. Vets like to blame the dog or breeder or think that its all inherited but i assure you it is more times then not, vet induced with an assault on the immune system with multiple vaccines and other drugs/chemicals in the name of 'health'
As far as always having it.. well yes and no. ALL dogs have mange mites living on them. They never cause a problem or are seen unless the immune system has been compromised.
The immune system of puppies is not only compromised, it is challenged and ruined for life in MANY dogs. All the vaccines can and do cause a lifetime of ill health, skin issues, allergies, cancers, death.
Please do not take this puppy in for another toxic dip. Feed a better food. One with less then 2 grains in the first 5 ingredients. (Pricey, but you are spending the money at the vet now and won't be later if you feed better).
Get the puppy on a good multi vitamin. Echinacea, Vita C are also good for building an immune system.
Do more resarch on the ill effects of vaccines. What you learn will shock you.
Get the book called Shock to the system by Catherine O'Driscoll.
Check out the following links.
http://www.britfeld.com/vaccination-adverse.htm

http://www.whale.to/vaccine/driscoll1.html#A_Wide_Range_of_Vaccine-induced_Diseases_

http://www.petresource.com/Articles%20of%20Interest/rabies_shots.htm

http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/examples_of_vaccine_reactions_in_great_danes.htm (Be sure to scroll down to the pictures of Danes with reactions to vaccines) It's eye opening!

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/petvacc.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12399614&dopt=Abstract

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1713&articleid=962
http://www.critteradvocacy.org/Are%20We%20Over%20Vaccinating%20Our%20Pets.htm
http://www.puppyworks.com/speaker/odriscoll.html

Answer 3

I think you are doing all the appropriate things. If you want to do more things to help her, consult your vet, or try to get in touch with a board certified veterinary dermatologist.

Here is some info from www.veterinarypartner.com about demodex:

Demodectic Mange

(Sometimes called Red Mange) Demodectic mite

Demodectic mange is caused by a microscopic mite called Demodex canis. All dogs raised normally by their mothers possess this mite as mites are transferred from mother to pup via cuddling during the first few days of life. (After the pup is older it is unable to pick up demodex mites. Puppies raised by hand do not ever get demodex mites.) For some reason, conditions change in certain dogs to allow demodex mites to gain the upper hand; the mites proliferate and can cause serious skin disease.

Mites are not transmitted to people or other dogs except from mother dog to pup as described. Demodectic mange (unlike sarcoptic mange) is not contagious.

Mites live inside hair follicles -- a difficult place for miticides (chemicals that kill mites) to reach.

Mites are a normal residents of dog skin; it is only in some individual dogs that mites cause problems.

Stress and Generalized Demodectic Mange:

Physiological stress is an important factor determining the degree of severity of demodectic mange.

1.Females should be spayed as soon as the disease is controlled. Coming into heat, hormone fluxes, and pregnancy are very stressful. Also, predisposition to demodicosis is hereditary and should not be passed on.

2.The dog should be fed a reputable brand of dog food so as to avoid any nutritionally related problems.

3.Keep the pet parasite-free. Worms are irritants that the pet need not deal with and fleas may exacerbate the itchiness and skin infection.

4.Keep up the pet's vaccinations.

5.The mites themselves cause suppression of the immune system so the pet needs every advantage to stay healthy.

Skin infections are usually present in these cases and antibiotics will likely be necessary. It is very important that cortisone type medications such as prednisone NOT be used in these cases as they will tip the immune balance in favor of the mite.
Prognosis

The younger the dog, the better the chance of cure. In many cases of adult-onset demodicosis, the disease is controlled by dips and baths but cure is not always possible. Some cases can never be controlled.

Current Treatment of Choice -- Ivermectin

Ivermectin is a broad spectrum anti-parasite medication generally used for food animals and horses. In dogs and cats it is licensed for use as a heartworm preventive aand as a topical ear mite therapy; the use of this medication to treat demodicosis is not approved by the FDA. When ivermectin was a new drug, it was hoped that it could be used against demodectic mange mites as at that time only labor intensive dipping was available for treatment. Once it was discovered that daily doses are needed (most other parasites can be controlled with wormings spaced several weeks apart) ivermectin was found to be highly effective, quickly becoming the treatment of choice. Ivermectin is inexpensive relative to Milbemycin (see below) and involves no labor intensive bathing. It DOES, however, taste terrible if given orally (it may be necessary for the owner to learn how to give ivermectin as an injectable treatment.)

THIS MEDICATION IS NOT SAFE FOR USE IN COLLIES, SHETLAND SHEEPDOGS, USTRALIAN SHEPHERDS, OLD ENGLISH SHEEPDOGS, AND SOME WOULD SAY, ANY HERDING BREED.

Answer 4

I am pretty sure your pet will not have demodex the rest of her life. Ask them to do a "Mitaban" dip if she is old enough. This will kill the demodex. May take a handful of dips to get it done. I'm not sure if your other pets will get demodex through play with this pet. Maybe so.

Answer 5

Why not pick up the phone and direct these questions at the vet? You'll get much better - and far more reliable - advice than on here!

Chalice