When you hear the word mange,
what do you think? Most probably think of dirty, diseased dogs, but that’s not
the case when it comes to demodectic mange.
Demodectic mange, or demodex is
caused by the mites of the demodex species. It differs from scabies or sarcoptic
mange in a number of ways; it isn’t contagious to humans or dogs like scabies is,
and it causes hair loss in pets, skin thickening, irritated red skin, and is
very itchy (vaildaily.com).
The same mite causes two different
forms of the disease – localized demodicosis and generalized demodicosis.
Localized is only visible in a few spots, like around the head or neck. It
sometimes shows in puppies that are around six months old and can go away
without treatment. Generalized is when it begins to spread all over the puppy
and is a serious disease that requires therapy.
“There is a lit we do not know
about demodectic mange,” said Dr. Stephen Sheldon, DVM, at Gypsum Animal Hospital. “Most agree it has an underlying immune system dysfunction involved
with it. The most popular theory is that affected dogs have an inherited,
cell-mediated immunodeficiency. Some breeds of dogs, like Shepherds and
Dalmatians, seem to be affected more than others, but demodex is seen in all
breeds.”
In order to diagnose the demodex,
a scalpel blade scrapes the top layers of the skin off the animal and is
examined under a microscope. Veterinarians try to correct any problems such as
nutritional deficiencies, parasitic infestations or secondary skin infections
(vaildaily.com). In the past few years, off-label treatments have been
discovered that are not FDA approved. These include the ingredients in
Heartguard and Interceptor.
If you happen to see any skin
irritation on your puppy’s body, please contact us immediately at the BregmanVet Hospitals to schedule an appointment. We want to help you before the
problem could get worse!
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