Morning all!

When we picked our Lab puppy up from the breeder a couple of weeks ago, she had a scab on her head.  The breeder thought it was either from a bit of rough and tumble with her litter mates or a thron from the garden.  It didn't look anything much to me adn I wasn't worried, just a bit disapponted that she wasn't 'perfect' to bring home - had a little bald patch.  That was 2 weeks ago adn at first it seemed to be healing - the scab fell off and the hair started to grown back and then we noticed that it seemed to be going scabby again but was also spreading....

Kiera had to have her second jab this morning so the vet had a look at it and decided to do a skin scrape - so now my baby has 2 bald patches on her forehead and looks like she's really been in the wars!!  The vet thought it might be a small skin parasite that is quite common in puppies but she's already had the first of those drop things on her neck for fleas, mites, worms, etc - her second one is due end August.  The vet had a quick look under the microscope and couldn't see anything but she's going to look again after surgery and ring me.....

Oh I almost forgot to mention - it's not itchy, Kiera isn't bothered by it at all?

I'm new to dog ownership so I'm a bit worried, my cats sometimes have the odd skin complaint and I know they can be unsightly (nothing current though so it's nothing to do with the cats & she had it before she came to us.)

I just hope it's not something that's going to keep coming back or get worse, it would have to be on her face wouldn't it.................

Hi, sounds like it could be demodex - type into the search box on here for more info. There is a new treatment called advocate (a spot on like frontline). The skin scrapes should confirm it if it is. Hope you find out soon, enjoy your new pup :) :)

HI Poppynurse

Thanks for the response, the Vet has called me and whilst they can't see any mites in the skin scrape they are pretty sure that that's what it is - I think they must be right as one of my cats had a skin mite once adn it looks quite similar - 'crusty'!!

My vet automatically uses Advocate in new puppies and Kiera had already had one treatment, we've got to go back for 3 more over the next 3 months and just monitor the hair re-growth, etc.  Poor little bean had only just grown some of her hair back and now it's gone again! Not that she minds!!

I will just have to suffer the constant embarassment of people asking me what it is and turning their nose up when I tell them (I already feel like she is subject to fatist remarks at the puppy parties as she's such a big girl!! makes mince meat of the other 10 week old pups!).  Mind you I once caught scabies myself when I was abroad so I think I can cope with a bit of mite-prejudice!!  I'm just glad Kieras mites don't itch - mine were excrutiating!! LOL

Nx

Ask if you can just buy the three month pack and administer it yourself....cheaper than three consultations, unless it is not improving of course. Hope it works.....will you post and let us know? :)

HI Poppynurse,

That's a good idea.  We go back on the 27th for the next one so I might ask then if I can buy the last 2 and do it myself, I've had plenty of experience with the frontline and 3 cats.

How to administer frontline to a cat:

Chase cat around house, as he/she has already spotted the packet and knows what's coming
Fetch gauntlets from garage
Catch cat and roll up in a large towel making sure all legs are tucked in
Wedge cat between legs, being careful not to squash it
Try and cut the top off the frontline whilst holding the cat
Find patch on back of neck and administer drops ASAP whilst avoiding snarling nashing jaws
Release cat and run for it!

How to administer to a dog:

Pop biscuit in dogs mouth
put drops on scruff of neck
carry on watching TV

I've got 3 cats...................................

:) :) :) sounds familiar!
By the way, you should tell your breeder about the demodex as there is some suggestion that it is inherited and the parents should not have a repeat mating (some suggest neither should be used again) and I believe that you should not breed from your pup.

I'll mention it next time I speak to her to give her an update.  Our pup is being spayed at 6 months so it won't be an issue for us.
Nx

hi Nicky..its very common with puppies that they bite each other on the top of the head  then get a little secondary staph infection.i see it often .demodex does usually appear as scabs..washing with malaseb and possibly oral cephilexin clears it right up

Hi Kelly,

Well the vet didn't actually see any mites in the scrapings, just thought it was the most likely cause and should be trated as such.  She'd got to have 2 lots of Advocate anyway, that's just the way our Vet does things, so 2 more will only cost me another £14.  I've never heard of the things you've mentioned - can I get Malaseb from a pet shop?  What is it? Will it compliment the Advocate or interfere with it do you know?

We did orignially think it was a puppy bite from the litter - it started to show 2 days before we picked her up....

Hi Nickyxh,

Our puppy had exactly the same problem. It started exactly the same as your puppy, small scratch on the head when we picked him up from the breeder (at 10 wks old)
In 2-3 wks it spread from a tiny almost not-noticeable scratch to a moth eaten appearance on his head and around his eyes.We took him to the vet several times and he did a hair plucking and he saw only one dead demodex mite. By this time he'd had the second Advocate vile, so the vet recommended to stick with the Advocate treatment as it only really works after at least 3 treatments.This was 2 wks ago.
Since then his patches are almost gone and now are barely noticeable.
We researced Demodex on the net and from books and this is what we did in order to boost his imune system;
We changed his food from Royal Canine to Burns (his coat got shiny after 2 days on Burns), we add vegs in his food (2 chopped small cherry tomatoes, or half on a small carrot diced, and Echinacea drops), we noticed an improvement after 3-4 days.
The Malaseb wash must be prescribed by a vet and we've been told it is the only treatment for Demodex (and now Advocate) but its apparently nasty and makes the dog very poorly. Its basicaly a toxin that its widely used on cattle and horses. Even with this wash, results are noticeable after 8-10 wks (this came from our vet).
Our vet did not favour Malaseb and adviced on Advocate instead.
Puppy is due for a chech up in 2 wks time but we think he might not need it as he's looking better by the day.

Good luck and if you need further info or advice please do not hesitate.

MGRR

HI MGRR

Thanks so much for replying - this is really useful!  We've got Kiera on Hills so I assume that the food is okay, though she doesn't exactly wolf it down like a Lab usually would!

Is the Echinacea just from a chemis/healthfood shop - not a special doggy version?  How many drops do you put in the feed?  I'll go and get some today and add a bit of veg to her food adn see if that helps.

Thank you
Nicky x

Hi Nicky,

Regarding the food; when he used to be on RC he would almost always eat a small amount and would leave the rest. Never really had a great appetite, like you say would not wolf it down like you would probably expect dogs (especially labs) to do.
Since he's been on Burns he wolf's it down and would go back to his empty food bowl licking it.
However, if you are happy with his current diet then maybe try and add just a pinch of Gravy, small amount of water and pop it in the microwave for 10sec. Let it cool down for 5min and see if that works.

Regarding Echinacea drops, yes you can buy them from any chemist or health shop, they are the normal drops for humans and I believe I paid about £7. As he's a puppy we gave him the recommended for small children which is 2-3 drops in the food.

Hope this helps and I hope your puppy gets better,
MGRR

LOL Nicky - you should try the cat worming tablets, we normally ahve to give in and take one of them to the vet for his tablet. It is the only way we can be sure that he gets it and the £13 charge is worth every penny :D