Has anyone ever experienced Demodectic Mange? Rodney has a red sore on his face and it sounds like he may have localized demodectic mange... I just wanted to know if anyone has experienced this and what they went through or what they did...

Seems to be brought on by stress and Rodney is new to our house and we did change his food so I am thinking maybe that's why he has it.

He has an appt with the vet next week and he can check it out.

Demodectic mange is found on the skin in small numbers in healthy animals. It can get out of control from stress, or a weakened immune system. Family susceptibility can be a predisposing factor as well. Depending on how it looks your veterinarian may recommend a skin scraping. If demodectic mites are found there are a few different treatment options. Typically localized demodex is easier to treat than generalized demodex. There are a few breeds that are predisposed to his condition but the husky is not one, this doesn't mean that it is not possible. Is the area losing hair? Demodex does not have to be itchy either, but is your dog itchy? And do you see the lesions anywhere else on the body?

No he just has a bump on the side of his face, then it started to red like bloody and got a little larger now it is a blackish color. It looks like a large zit! ha. It almost looks like a strawberry or something...

I have noticed since we got him his eyes have been red and red around the eye like his eye lids. I was thinking it may be allergies to something. He doesn't seem to be scratching at it or loosing any hair there or anywhere else.

That doesn't sound too much like mange... Maybe it is an infected hair follicle... But it's a good idea to get him checked out just because and the eyes may not be related to the bump at all.

oh we are he is going in next week for his one year check up and we will have him look at it...
I am not sure if the redness around the eyes is normal b/c his fur is red or what. Maybe thats just how is color is.. He came with an ear infection to so I wasn't sure if they get those from allergies.
Thanks for your help!

Yep:) ear infections can be associated with allergies, what food are you feeding? Sometimes
even if it is the best food on the earth (if that's possible) your dog could have an allergy to it. But other things that can cause eye irritation can be environmental, like cigarrette smoke. Sometimes your heating system can contain irritants too.

well we just got him in the middle of Jan. Not sure what he was eating before think it might have been purina one seafood or something.. We use Eukanuba but have been discussing going for a premium food once this runs out.

Here is a picture of it. It has grown since I saw him this morning so it is growing pretty fast. Started as a little bump under the fur then it just started getting bigger and redder.

.

Ami had demodex. I would get him in asap...it takes 6 months to a year to heal, all depending on how early you start the treatment...and how fast it spreads. It's not considered healed until a skin scrape comes back with NO live or dead mites.

Ami had to go in every other week for a skin scrape, and hers was in a similar location and about the same size...they probably won't give you any cream in case they lick it...so it will take longer.

What he has looks more bloody than what Ami had. I wouldn't wait a week, I would take him. See if you can move the appointment.

Steroids are used as an anti-inflammatory and are used successfully many times in many cases, I think that every single case needs to be viewed subjectively and steroids may not be the most effective or safe option every time depending on pre-existing health conditions or other factors."here4thepics": I'm sorry that you had a bad experience with your vetrinarian and all I can do is apologize in place of your veterinarian and request that you still trust your vet as your healthcare advocate ... Christine: if steroid therapy is recommended I wouldn't outright decline it. Be wary, you have the right to be, and ask that your vet explain the risks and benefits of each treatment option so you can make an educated decision. I do know for a fact though that steroids would make a mite infection worse so if that is what your veterinarian suspects or finds than they would not be a good idea. I personally don't think that looks like mange (thanks for posting the pics) and I've seen a lot of mange, but I am still learning:)

britandsteven wrote:

I personally don't think that looks like mange (thanks for posting the pics) and I've seen a lot of mange, but I am still learning:)

The outside of it looks like it could be, but the raw red area is not something the mites would do...it would only look like that if he was scratching it or rubbing it on the floor....I stand by that you should get it checked out sooner than next week.

We didn't get steroids for Ami...she was on a medication that I can't remember the name of. twice a day for about 5 1/2 months. vet visit every 2 weeks...it got expensive, and her little circle of mites was probably only 3/4 an inch around on her upper lip.

Ok I have noticed another one is forming above his eye.. He has an appt Monday at 10 and I called yesterday to try to get him in today but he said they didn't have any opening. He really hasn't been scratching at it that I have seen but he is alone in his crate during day and may get bored and think about it more. I hope it doesn't get too expensive b/c we are stilling paying of Jaxs vet bills from his surgery. :-(

Araini~ I have read that these heal on there own and no treatment is necessary, so if thats the case why did they have to do the skin test every two weeks? It seems that would make it take longer to heal...

Some cases can heal on their own, but there are other types of mites like sarcoptic mites that always need to be treated. Demodex is usually treated when it is found though, unless it is a very mild case. Sarcoptic mange is always treated because it can spread to other animals and people( scabies).

They don't heal up on their own when they get that big...dogs always have a small amount of mites on them, they usually live in harmony, but when the scale tips and the mites get a leg up, its really hard to get them to go away.

With a location like you have, it will take longer to heal because they can't put anything on the mites themselves.

Ami had a scrape every other week to see if the results came back negative so we could take her off the medication. And even after they were gone, it took a while for the fur to grow back. The longer the mites have to take over, the longer it will take for the healing to begin.

Ok thanks for all your input... He goes Monday at 10 and I will let you all know what it was :-(.

Good luck Rodney!

Ok so Rodney just got back. Vet said it is not any kind of mange and not to sure what it is. Thinks it looks more fungal than anything. Siad it could be allergies also b/c he had an ear infection when we first got him and not he has some crustiness around his eye.
Gave us some cream to put on twice a day and told us to put neo around his eyes for the dryness. We are also to give him benedryl at night! ha....
Everything else looked great and he got all his shots! :-)

Well I'm glad it's not mange! Looks like BritandSteven was right

I hope it gets better soon! It's lovely to see how wonderfully you are taking care of him

im glad its not the mange! that would have been horrible! glad he will live :-)

I'm glad it wasn't mange that stuff is never fun. Good luck!