I have an 8 week old puppy which has a skin rash. The vet is unsure whether it is an allergy or demodetic mange. he did a scrape but found nothing. What does mange start like and how does it develop

All dogs have the demodectic mange mite as part of their natural 'flora' shall we say. It usually causes the dogs problems when their bodies are unable to keep it under control ie the immune system is under stress after illness or some such event.

In some dogs it show's during or just after a heavy moult - you can get red ichy patches that the dogs have obviously chewed the hair away from - another sign is a bald circle around the eyes/nose/lips that doesn't grow back after their moult.

Your vet may give you Stronghold to bathe the dog in for a couple of mths to get it back under control - or he may suggest you wait a while to see if it develops any further. One of my bitches had an episode after Kennel cough last year and chewed a patch off her eldow joint for a while - I bathed that area in Teatree oil and within a few days she'd stopped chewing and her hair grew back - the vet never did find any mites when he did the scrapings.

Schip - did you use the tea tree oil neat? I have a westie with skin problems ( not mange) and have been considering trying tea tree oil but don't know whether to use it neat or dilute it in carrier oil.

BFN
Ailsa

Ailsa

I diluted it in water would you believe for the first few times and applied it 3 times a day, after 2 days I applied it neat twice a day, she seemed to have got past the itchy stage and was just chewing out of habit - she soon stopped when she tasted that oil at full strenght.

I use a teatree shampoo for itchy skin works very well especially when they moult and seem to get itchy flaky skin. Works wonders for my psorasi and itchy skin when I stop taking Steroids a wonderful withdrawl symptom I'm afraid lol.

Non itchy sores on the face or front legs - spreading to the rest of the body. All dogs carry the demodetic mite but only a few dogs develope the sores, in puppies it is picked up when feeding from the dam. It is possible that individuals with low imunenity are those that are affected by the sores. When a scrap is taken you would expect to see the mite if there is an above usual number present. May be your pup has some other problem. Jackie H

If you type demodetic mange in to a search engine (I find Google is very good- www.google.com) you will probably get lots of stuff.

What breed of dog do you have?

I have a 12 month old westie with allergies (soya,house-dust mite,grass pollens) which cause skin problems so I have done lots of searching myself on skin problems. My dogs condition is called Atopy or Atopic Dermatitis.

BFN
Ailsa

Hi.
As Schip says all dogs carry the demodex mite, but most do not develop mange.
It is seen mostly on the face, neck, chest and legs, generally in roundish patches. It is very difficult to eradicate and treatment is long, but usually it can be cleared. It is thought that it is to some degree inherited and infected stock should not be bred from. If it turns out to be mange, speak to your vet if you intended breeding.
Good luck
Dawn B