Mange

[bina]

nienke,

manges are often breed/species specific: rabbits give us mange but the mites die off before they can lay their eggs; the itching lasts for about a week then it all goes away, with or without treatment. the best immediate remedy we use is aloe vera gel to help the itching...

thanx for the info on ivormectin on humans, but it is off label for the goats etc as ive stated before... so the dosage is guess work unless u really know your animal's anatomy... so i dont think we'll try it on ourselves yet...

[elfe]

there is a herbal (?) tonic you can buy at petshops called 'pour on'. it works very well for slight forms of mange, i also tried it on myself once and itching stopped immediately (at the time i had a mangy pup sleeping in my bed )

[girlx]

this site has some good info on mange, particularly demodectic see here

[elfe]

another interesting link on

mange treatment

[girlx]

what they don't tell you is that generalized demodectic mange can get out of control to the point that the dog is suffering constantly and needs to be put down. this is the case with my dog, the vet said today...

[elfe]

no dog with demodectic or other mange needs to be put down!!!!!!!!

there is cure but sometimes it is exhausting and expensive care! also the food should be raw meats which is not cheap.

this is my latest addition, ice, formerly 'nam kaeng', his owners were at wits end and said if i won't take him in they would bring him to the temple...

now i'm busy treating him and it is lots of work and will take long time but any dog is worth it (in my opinion anyway)

[Nienke]

Wow, a pure bred husky?

I had a while ago one in that looked like that. He was rescued by Lanna Dog Rescue.

The poor dog was worse than skin and bones. If he had 10 hairs left on his body than that was a lot. Sores all over the body, pretty much all pores were filled thick grazy stuff, thickened and pigmented skin.

Sure enough, he was switched to raw food, supplemented with oils, and also oils topical. Every three days medical shampoo against the sebborhea, once a week an ivermectin injection, in the beginning daily antibiotics against the secondary infection. And, of course, sufficient physical and mental stimulation.

Like what Elfe said, it took a couple of months, but the dog is pretty much ok and with a new loving owner, a couple of other dogs and 4 rai to play and run on. It's so wonderful when you see an animal (or human) slowly getter better and opening up like a flower.

I've never experienced a dog that needed to be put down becasue of the mange. But then, I run a kennel where the dogs have owners and not a shelter or rescue organisation, where these kind of poor creatures are almost more rule than exception.

Nienke

[elfe]

hi nienke, i treat ice pretty much the same as you describe. i guess huskies are pretty prone of skin diseases and need extra good care and food.

hope he will stop the bleeding soon (i know i have to be patient..) and that he does not have another underlying trigger disease.

maybe you can help me later finding the perfect home for him

[girlx]

hmm well my dog i have given antibiotics to clear his existing infection, and dipped him with amitraz about 6 or 7 times so far. in between dips i dab tea tree oil on his sore and infested spots. it is only getting worse- right now the mites have infested his face and head and he cries all day long- his face is so swollen from itching that his eyes are shut. i can not seem to get rid of this! i can not feed him raw food as i don't have access to it or any place to store meat (small fridge). i do add a very good supplement called "sea meal" from solid gold to his food- which is usually pedigree canned food mixed with rice. i just had to leave him with my friend as i am now headed to south america. it is cold and rainy in koh phangan and he has no more hair, so that combined with the act that i have left is enough stress to make him worse. my friend stopped by the vet after i left to get antibiotics for his newest infection/fever and the vet told him that if he isn't better in a week to bring him in to put down. anyone have any advice i can give my friend? i don't know how to fix this dog!!!! he is suffering horribly.

[Nienke]

Definitely sounds very bad.

I do get the impression there is more to it than the mange. It could be this dog has an (allergic) reaction to the food he gets and, therefore, can't get the mange under control. Pedigree canned food is not exactly a good and nutritious food with lots of water and very little animal protein and also rice doesn't contain much. In other words, not much is done to boost the immune system of this dog. Another possibility is that he has an impared thryoid and/or other organs that don't work well (not really suprising on such a diet). If the immune system of the dog remains low, little change on recovery from the mange.

If under my care, I certainly would change his diet to a raw one (first thing). I assume they have local markets on KP where they sell chicken pork and buffalo meat. These markets are open every day. And yes, it means a little bit more effort, for the sake of the dog!

Nienke

[girlx]

well it is rainy season in koh phangan and to get to the village i live in (from the market) you have to traverse a 40 minute dirt road through the jungle. it is nearly impassable at this time of year... so it is not as easy as you would think to stock up on food. he does get added nutrition from that supplement but that is the best i can do!

[elfe]

so what do people eat, there must be fried/cooked chicken or pork, fish around...

[girlx]

when i have it i give it to him, but no, there is not much around, most shops close for the season. i will tell my friend to try and stock up next time he is in town, but other than feeding, does anyone have any experiences or advice?

[Nienke]

This whole thread is all experiences and advice.

From what I understand from your posts, you've tried ivermectin, amitraz, antibiotics, TTO and you give a supplement with a not very nutrious diet.

Underling causes have been addressed in this thread, as well as a change to a raw food diet. Again, from what I've read from your posts, the diet hasn't been changed (yet), and also the blood hasn't been checked yet for a possible impared thyroid function (they may not be able to do this on KP, but very possible that if you or your vet send the dog's blood to BKK they can check it for you), done a full blood test, with kidney and liver, etc.

Please, correct me if i'm wrong.

In my experience, dog's that survived distemper aren't always really healthy and strong. The virus can do some sort of damage to organs, but that doesn't necessarily show on test results. It is possible that your dog suffers some kind of damage done by the distemper virus and/or by the treament it has received at that time, resulting in an impared immune system.

Nienke

[girlx]

this dog did survive distemper... but then the demodex appeared... hence his name, 'sick'. most likely that is the problem. his immune system is impaired and he can't fight off mites.

as for pedigree canned food mixed with rice and supplements, i disagree that it is not a healthy diet. my other dog, whom i have had since she was a baby and have fed the same thing, is very healthy- Phangan Animal Care told me she was the most healthy/well taken care of dog they had seen. i do take into consideration your comments about a raw diet, however in all the years my mother bred (very healthy) dogs throughout my childhood, none of them ate raw foods. i am sure it is beneficial, but not necessary, and where i live it is impossible to stick to such a diet.

unfortunately, according to my friend, my dog 'sick' has disappeared since i left for vacation (i am in NY now) and has not even come home for feeding. my assumption is he either went away to hide and finally die, or my neighbors took advantage of the fact that i am gone and dropped him in the jungle somewhere, which i have been afraid they'd do for awhile. so all points are moot anyway.