Hi i posted a few days ago with regards to baldness on my staffie pups head and was told a few different things went to have it checked today and the vet has told me its demodex something which every dog has living harmlessly in the skin but staffies in particular suffer from it most it was quite frightening as its a form of mange isnt it? she is only 18weeks old how can this be and will she suffer from this baldness for always i am deeply upset as the breeder has moved house and left no contact details and i feel for my baby as everyone looks and stares and wont touch her in fear of her being contagious which i know it isnt but it does look unsightly

You're right, all dogs carry demodex mites, which are passed from mother to pups in the nest, but it only causes problems when their immune system is under par. It can be treated using special shampoos, and she should regain her normal looks, but it's recommended that dogs who've had a demodex flare should never be used for breeding.

The vet gave me a new treatment she said as the dip as she nicely put it causes dry skin it was called Advocate similar to frontline every 2weeks apply at the bnase of the neck for 6 weeks i am angry as i wanted to breed her around the age of 2 to 3 years old as she is a lovely looking dog and we wanted to keep one of her offspring i am most annoyed that the breeder let this happen surely he must of known? as for the immune system being under par what could that be from she has seemed ok

With mild localised cases they will resolve once the stress to the immune system has gone, in her case it could be teething that has set it off.  All you can do is treat the symptoms and it wouldn't be a bad idea to give supplements of vitamins or minerals that are known to have immune boosting properties (worth asking your health food shop or herbalist) and treat the areas so that secondary yeast or bacterial infections do not occur.

And no the breeder could not ahve known unless the bitch had produced affected pups before, or been affected herself.

Thanks Brainless i just hope it recovers well poor little thing is treated as if she has a disease its unfair on her and me although maybe its a good thing people are not making such a fuss as she is constantly nipping we cant seem to stop that either we are working so hard with her training classes and all sorts but the bites are getting harder and harder as she is a stff im getting concerned and wonder could this demodex be playing a part in her nipping maybe its annoying her more than we think she isnt scratching or anything like that though :(

A bald spot on staffies heads is quite common and often related to teething.
My Raff had one and he had the bald spot for about 8 months and the vet checked it and said as long as it didn't grow or he didn't develop other bald spots then we wouldn't treat and it's gone now.

Thanks altough it is a very big patch and is getting worseshe didnt take a scrape she said no need for the expense as she was confident its demodex

Hi Happygirlie,

Just a quick note to let you know that I've been through the exact same thing with my labrador puppy.  She's only had one of the advocate philes so far, our vet applies them once a month for 4 months.  She has the second one on Saturday and I'm confident the problem has already resolved itself.

I did speak to the breeder, who was very surprised that it 'could' be demodex as she's never seen it in any of her dogs before and none of the other puppies had reported any signs.  I say 'could' as even though poor little Kiera had a skin scrape on her forehead nothing was found under the microscope.  Maybe your breeder didn't have any previous evidence of the problem either?

Best of luck with your puppy, hope it all clears up soon.
Nx