Hi all,

Been following champdogs for a while but first time posting.

My 18 week old puppy was diagnosed with demodex mange 2 weeks ago, and I was just looking for any tips people had from there own experience of dealing with it?

Background
I purchased my puppy from a reputable breeder, who’s waiting list I had been on for a couple of years (breeder does not breed very often - I was very keen to have one of his dogs and unfortunately his last litter did not go ahead - so had to wait two years) I noticed small patches on my dogs face and after a skin scrape my pup was diagnosed with Demodex, he unfortunately contracted kennel cough at the same time as being diagnosed with Demodex and has finished a course of antibiotics for this within the last week, he has recovered well from this and has no symptoms. I have contacted his breeder to let him know of the demodex  and the breeder was quite shocked he had demodex , he has informed me the dam never had symptoms of demodex and he has checked with the stud owner and neither has the stud, he has also put all the new puppy owners within a WhatsApp group and asked if any of the other pups had any signs of demodex and fortunately no other pup has. The breeder has suggested adding cod liver oil and a puppy friendly probiotic to his food (raw fed), which I have been doing, the vet has advised that a monthly treatment of simparica trio should clear it up and the pups immune system developing over time, the demodex is on his face, front legs, back legs and sides of his body, I was wondering if anyone else had any tips they could recommend? Or a time scale on when his skin will improve? Apart from his demodex he is a very happy little puppy, eats well, plays well and well behaved.

A friend used Advocate monthly to keep Demodex at bay, as her bitches immune system had collapsed due to a virus, and Demodex was one of her issues..

Demodex mites live in the skin of most dogs without issue.

If the dogs immune system is not functioning properly, or with pups whose immune system is immature and the immune system is seriously challenged they may proliferate to the extent of causing issues.

You mention Kennel Cough, so this may not be a permanent immune system issue.

So a parasitic that deals with Demodex should sort the problem.

We just went through suspected demodex, but it wasn't (twas allergies)...

But the treatment is either one of the oral tick/flea/parasite isoxazoline meds like Simparica OR the Advocate spot-on, monthly for at least 3 months. (NB - not Advantage, it has to be Advocate.)

As there are some safety concerns around the oral isoxazoline class of flea and tick meds (Simparica, Nexgard, Bravecto etc), we opted for the Advocate spot-on, which has been around a lot longer. They are all prescription though, so you will need to get whatever from your vet - and have your vet's agreement to use it. Advocate is licenced for use with demodex though so I can't think they will refuse.

As Brainless says, demodex mites live in the skin of almost every dog and never do any harm, but when the immune system is challenged (such as a baby puppy with kennel cough) they can flare up and get out of the normal balance. It isn't necessarily a problem caused by bad rearing, just bad luck that the pup caught kennel cough before his immune system is still developing.
Some spot-on treatment are effective against demodex but sometimes antiparasitic baths are needed in very bad cases.

Thank you all for your swift replies.

He was very unfortunate to of caught kennel cough so early, can only put this down to his walks in the woods. He seems to of fully recovered from kennel cough.

I will stick with the treatment the vet has given and hopefully this will work.

It’s just nice to know others have dealt with it and come out of the other end, the breeder and vet have both reassured me that he will be fine with the right treatment and care but you can’t help but worry. The vet actually told me not so long ago there was no treatment for it and if the dog could not get rid of it, then it worst cases the dog would have to be Pts, which is a horrible thought.

Probably in worst case scenarios of any health condition, dogs have had to be PTS. That wasn't a very nice thing for the vet to tell you, it was pretty scare-mongering really...

I sometimes feel like vets deliberately try to create conflict between new puppy owners and breeders by trying to insinuate that breeders have been remiss in some way or their puppy's current problems are their fault or something. Whilst that is obviously sometimes the case, many times it really isn't - and vets can't tell when it is and when it isn't, so should really just keep their mouths shut and focus on helping the current problem the puppy is presenting with. Really it is just another form of breeder-bashing. And not all breeders deserve bashing. 'Good' breeders are worth their weight in gold.

I completely agree with you, thought at the time it was a very harsh thing to say.

The vet I used previously for my old dog sadly shut down, so I had to try a new one, at first they recommended a shampoo to be used, I paid for it and then on returning to collect it, was informed it is no longer made.

Fortunately, our puppy’s mange does not seem to be bad and hoping I caught it early enough, very hopeful we will have this all sorted within the next couple of months.

given the advice from your breeder and the treatment you are using once his immune system is built up again no reason at all why he shouldn't make a full recovery .

I assume that he has had all his vaccinations given his age ? If not I would hold off until he has recovered completely and then no need to start the whole programme again . Dogs over 16 weeks only need one vaccine not to start again

Thank you furriefriends!

The breeder gave him his first jab at 8 weeks and he had his second jab at 11 weeks (lepto 2), on that front his all covered.

Overall his a very happy puppy, eats well, confident and playful, a little bit of a crocodile but this is to be expected with his breed.

Really hopeful his immune system will kick in now and this will be over soon, the vets recommended more antibiotics for him but I refused, as I believe this is a bit overkill, as his already been on them for two weeks. His currently taking simparica once a month, his just had his second dose of this, his getting cod liver oil and a probiotic in his food and when he is itchy I have been rubbing coconut oil into his fur.

I dont understand  the need for antibiotics unless there is a a secondary infection, but then I am not a vet :)
Think u made the right decision there. Dont be tempted to add coconut oil to his food as some people suggest as given he is having cod liver oil it could be too much fat. A good raw diet will help anyway