O.K. the vet said that mainly only young dogs get scabies. Would that explain why only the puppies around here have it and not the older ones.Our dog Smokey is thick haired and also 6 years old and he doesn't have it. And thier are 2 pugs across the street on is about 3 yrs and she has it but the other is older and does not have it.

Sorry, but scabies can be contracted at any age. The mites can survive off the host for two or three days, and can only be caught by direct dontact. Foxes etc are well-known carriers of it and the mites are often picked up when a dog sniffs around where a fox has been, whether that's at the entrance to an earth or where a fox has squeezed between fence panels or similar gaps. It can also be spread from dog to dog on contaminated grooming tools.

Demodectic mange, on the other hand, is caused by a mite that all dogs carry throughout their lives but only causes problems in those with a weakened immune system, especially young dogs. This type of mange is not contagious to either other dogs or man, but is very much harder to treat.