In my opinion, red mange, or demodectic mange, is one of the worst diseases a pet owner can be faced with. I feel that way because one of our dogs had it. The dog in question was a stray and had contracted it shortly after birth. We had no idea that the dog had red mange until he starting showing signs of the disease. Here’s a bit more information about what it is and what you can do to treat it:
What is It?
Red mange is a skin disease that a puppy can catch from its mother shortly after birth. It is caused by a microscopic mite that establishes residency in the puppy’s hair follicles. It is said that dogs are born with mites but not all develop red mange. The ones that do develop red mange tend to have a weakened immune system. Unfortunately for us, our puppy had a severely weakened immune system.
Signs, Symptoms and Treatment of Red Mange
The first thing that we noticed was little bald spots forming around the puppy’s eyes. At first we thought that the bald spots were caused by the puppy itching himself courtesy of the fleas he had when he first arrived at our home. We expected the hair to return and the itching to stop since we had already treated him for the fleas. It didn’t.
We consulted with a vet who recommended that we treat the affected area with Sulfodene. It is an over-the-counter, topical medicine designed to treat hot spots. It didn’t work. The puppy kept losing more hair. The bald spots started looking crusty and red. We went back to the vet repeatedly. His misguided attempts at treatment allowed a secondary bacterial infection to form and our poor little puppy became very sick. He ran a fever and was lethargic. Frustrated, we switched vets and the puppy was ultimately diagnosed with a severe case of red mange. The vet that made the diagnosis determined that it was red mange after taking a skin scraping from the dog and examining it under a microscope.
She started treatment right away and ordered repeated, intramuscular injections of Ivermectin. It was scary at first because the vet was not sure if the Ivermectin would cure the puppy or kill him. Certain breeds of large dogs are hyper-sensitive to the medicine and have died within hours of receiving their first treatment. Since our dog was a stray, we had no idea how he would react to the medicine. Thankfully, he survived the first injection. It took weeks and massive amounts of expensive medication before the vet could get the red mange under control. By that time, the dog had lost most of his hair. In addition to treating the dog, we also had to treat the areas he frequently came in contact with by disposing of and replacing his bedding and his collar. He eventually got better and his hair grew back. Because of his weakened immune system, the dog was prone to periodic outbreaks of mange. As such, we had to be vigilant for the first signs of a relapse and treat accordingly.
What Not to Do
Despite what some well meaning people may tell you, home remedies for red mange can only complicate matters more. Do not coat your dog with dirty motor oil, sulfur or yogurt as it can cause a secondary infection to form. Putting funky and seemingly innocuous additives like vinegar into your dog’s food doesn’t really work either. At least it didn’t work for our dog. The only thing that his red mange responded to was the Ivermectin.
My Suggestions
Based on my experience, I would recommend that you take your pet to the vet as soon as you see the bald spots and request that he or she perform a skin scraping to help determine whether or not your dog has red mange. From my perspective, the sooner you can start your pet on the right road to recovery the better.
Killeen Gonzalez enjoys the great outdoors with her family. She has several pets and has traveled extensively.
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