dixie,
I have a 3 month old puppy named Rolly and he has been itching and his skin is all red and inflamed. There are scabs forming on his legs and heels. Rolly's mother, Dixie, is also itching and so is our neighbors dog and the rest of Dixies litter. The vet saw Dixie  today and said it was something called Scrabies. Does anyone know how expensive it is to have it treated? What is the most inexpensive way to get rid of it? I'd really appreciate some help....cause our oldest dog Smokey who is 5yrs old has cancer and is only expected to live another year and i really dont want anything to happen to our other 2.
Can anyone give some advise

I didn`t know Scabies was referred to as mange  but if its Scabies you are talking about I think there is only one effective way to deal with it and that is to take it  to the vets imediately.Please be careful as Scabies is highly contagious between animals and humans alike.This parasite burrows its way under your skin especially were the skin folds at the joints,although it maybe too late separate the affected dogs and wear surgical gloves when touching the affected dog.

In dogs, scabies is the name given to sarcoptic mange. It can be transferred to humans, but it is not such a serious condition as the mite which causes it cannot survive for long on a human host. Here is what one vet health website says about it:
"Scabies is a skin disorder in dogs caused by infection with scabies mites (sarcoptes scabei). Those microscopic mites burrow in the dogs skin surface, storing their eggs in a trail behind them. The tunnels are visible as thin, scaly lines at the dogs skin. The itchy scalp and skin rashes of scabies occur because an allergy to the scabies mite. Scabies is one of the most itching skin disorders in dogs. Scabies mites prefer the dogs abdomen, chest, legs, and ears, but can affect any area of the dog skin.
Scabies mites usually spread by direct contact from host to host. However, scabies mites are only infective for 36 hours, which means that environmental decontamination is generally not necessary.

Scabies infections on humans go away on their own, as the scabies mite is not able to complete its life cycle on the wrong host."

If the affected dogs are in close proximity, they can keep reinfecting one another, so the whole lot need to be treated to control the problem.

Scabies is treated in humans by a permethrin product and the whole family has to be treated otherwise it becomes a ongoing problem it doesnt just go away.

I have forgotten the name but one of the new flea products also treats Sarcoptic Mange (Scabies).  It is the one that works for Worms, fleas and ticks all in one.  It has a different name in the USA to here???

I believe it is stronghold,as it contains Ivermectin. This is not suitable for collies.

Yep think that is what it is called.  Not sure if the poste is UK based, as it has a different name abroad.

Think its known as revolution in the USA.

That is it Stronghold aka Revolution, and not to be used on COLLIES or their crosses.

Hi MickB!  Thought you might like to read this as you don't believe it's a serious condition in humans (knowing what fellas are like about their bits!!;););)) 

http://www.medinfo.co.uk/conditions/scabies.html

As far as I am aware, human scabies and canine scabies are caused by different mites. Whereas the human scabies mite is nasty to humans and difficult to get rid of, the canine scabies mite cannot survive for very long on the "wrong" host species. Of course it is unpleasant if you have it, but unless you keep getting reinfected (or unless you get secondary infections due to the condition), it shouldn't last too long.

Sorry, just to make it doubly clear - in my original post I was referring to canine scabies (sarcoptic mange) not human scabies.

Sarcoptic mange is the same as human scabies, Mick. It's caused by the sarcoptes scabei mite and is zoonotic. Humans will usually recover when the dog is successfully treated.

To the poster who asked about long-haired dogs: my research in books and on the net tells me that long-haired dogs should be clipped for treatment.

Whoops! I must have been looking at the wrong website. Medicine.net says:

"Can you get scabies from a dog?

Dogs have their own mites, which don't like humans much. Scabies on dogs is called mange. When canine mites land on human skin, they fail to thrive and produce only a mild itch that goes away on its own. This is unlike human scabies which gets worse and worse unless the condition is treated."

I guess it doesn't really matter as both conditions (or the same condition) are (is) very unpleasant and needs immediate treatment.

I was reading "Veterinary Notes for Dog Owners". 'Mange' is a condition caused by more than one type of mite: the most common conditions are sarcoptic mange and demodectic mange - sarcoptic is zoonotic and demodectic isn't.
:)

Yes, both are unpleasant but demodectic mange is much worse. We once had a saluki pup with demodectic mange which was resistant to any treatment, We eventually had to put her to sleep. It was the most distressing thing we have ever experienced in dogs.

Having suffered from Scabies for several mths before it was finally diagnosed I can tell you it's not pleasant and can cause some pretty awful infection of the skin, at one point inbetween my fingers were so badly affected I had green blisters and oozing pus all the time.

Ironically I caught it from my husband who was stationed in Belize at the time and it was being transmitted by mosquito's, he had huge bites all over him and all it took was for me to sleep in the same bed.  The RAF Dr's thought I was allergic to something at work as a chef I was incontact with some interesting chemicals for cleaning ovens etc, tried alsorts of treatments but non of them worked and it never went any higher than my neck as soon as I was demobbed I went to my parents local GP's who immediately diagnosed Scabies and had to notify my ex Unit so that treatment could be started straight away ---------- can just imagine it all the Officers with Scabies including the Dr's who hadn't got a clue lol.

Stronghold treats it within a couple of applications about the only thing it doesn't treat is demodex mite anything else, lungworm, heartworm ear mites, lice, ticks, fleas, intestinal worms you name it Stronghold kills it with just a drop on the back of the neck ---- still takes ages to get rid of it in people as I know everything had to be burned and I bathed in 'stuff' for a mth to clear mine up yuk lol.

Didn't the Vet give you any treatment when he made his diagnosis?

I consider it to be a serious problem in humans as a nurse years ago I might add I saw some sorry sights especially the ones with secondry infections because of scratching. Patients and their families had to be painted from head to toe,sorry can`t remember what with.....old timers disease!

Gentian violet? My mother remembers children having their heads shaved and painted with gentian violet for something - could have been nits ...

That was probaly ring worm lol as that can cause patches on the head like a monk .

It was a clear liquid Jeangenie, always ended up doing some places twice as you couldn`t see where you had applied it! Wonder was the G. V. for Ringworm in those days.