As you may know from my other thread, our two year old has picked up some mites on her paws which have been driving her mad. The vet used Frontline spray, which will hopefully do the trick, but if the problem recurs he said that he could give us a shampoo/wash that we could use to wash her feet to kill the mites.

I wondered if anybody has any experience with these products and if they could recommend a good one that we could buy online, rather than have to pay the vets' high prices. Ours is a long haired breed and she's had spells in the past where she has chewed her paws that in retrospect was probably mites, so it would be good to have something in. We can't buy the spray he used as it is prescription only.

We do use Frontline spot on regularly, but apparently this isn't very effective around the paws, where mites can get in between toes and around pads and claws.

You can get the pump spray I think, we used to get that.  Online stores like petmeds are really good and I use them for lots of stuff.

You could maybe try asking a dog groomer, as they deal with lots of freeloaders :-) good that you got it diagnosed!

You could ask your vet about Benzyl Benzoate.  If he's not a youngster he'll know that 'it kills anything that crawls' is how my old vet used to describe it!  I prefer the old tried and tested remedies rather than over using new strong chemicals. :(

thornit is good for prevention of mites in feet as well as ears.

Ascorbiol (sp) is the brand name for Benzyl Benzoate. I used it for pups (very diluted) when a couple of years back they had 'walking dandruff' and this was recommened on here as well as frontline.

I got it from chemist and its cheap, normally used to treat scabies in humans.

Dont think you get frontline spray on the net without prescription, only the spot on types are available.

These little red mites are they easy to find in the fur? did you see it too? just wondered how easy to spot so i can look out for them in future.

http://www.k9centre.co.uk/mites.php

Above site has some stuff about the mites.

http://www.yourpetshealth.co.uk/page9.htm#harvest

This site has a picture of the mites on a cat's ear - hard to see on it tho, little orange dots. :-)

These little red mites are they easy to find in the fur? did you see it too? just wondered how easy to spot so i can look out for them in future.

Not at all easy, though hopefully now I will spot them now I know what I'm looking for.

The vet kept separating all the hair on the paws, so he was looking right on the skin, and pointed out the tiniest reddish orange dots, much smaller than a pin-head. They would be so easy to miss I'm not surprised most people do. Not at all like ticks where you can see the critters.

Thanks for all the tips guys. It's such a relief that we may now be able to treat our girl. In the past she has chewed her feet so hard she has made her pads bleed and couldn't walk for a week. The mites must be in the grass somewhere that we walk, but who knows where. Hopefully now we can manage the problem if it happens again.

I seem to recall that you can use Thornit powder on the paws for mites. Much easier than sprays or shampoos to use as well.

I use thornit as well for ears & feet. Had the mites on his feet & the spray didn't clear them. Cost effective too!!!

Brilliant. With the Thornit, does it matter if the dog licks her paws after we've put the powder on, or should we keep them wrapped for a couple of hours to stop her licking the powder?

Nope, they don't like the taste or smell!!!. If she does won't do her any harm. Easiest way to get it on is to put inside a clean pepper shaker & sprinkle over the toes, making sure you get it between them. Either that or put a small drop on the end of a teaspoon & sprinkle - maybe need someone to hold the dog. I've trained mine to hold his paw up. Once I've put it in I sometimes rub it in to make sure its in the correct part.
Edited to add, should calm down naturally soon now that the farmers are bringing harvest in. Can be found in grass too but usually disappear when weather changes.