Help my new Pitbull puppy has dedomdex mange

[VOLTIO]

Hi,

I am new here and am puzzled. My new puppy i got from a personal friend is 7 weeks old and had scabs break out all over his head. So i took him to my local vet and they did a scrape test,physical exam,Borodtella Vaccination,DHLPP Corona vac #1, Deworming,Fecal Exam, Skin Scraping to a grand total of 192.00. He then tells me my puppy has Demodex mange. He then tells me he can't do anything becuase he is a puppy and he is to young. He then goes on about dipping and can be from 4 -8 dips. Man is this VET stuff expensive, especially for him to tell me he can't do anything. PLEASE help someone, i have read about Iverentin.

[HugABull1]

Demodex sucks. I've been there, and it's not fun. If it's just on the head, and your pup isn't suffering too much, I would try and wait it out. It's really common in pups, and most of them can get over it on their own. The dips and things are really nasty and harsh, as well as time consuming and expensive, and often don't work anyways. Ivermectin works, but again, if the pup can recover on his/her own, that's better.

Is it localized or generalized? Localized means just a few patches, Generalized means a large area and/or all over the body. Usually pups with localized will have spots on their head/face/forelegs, and pups with generalized will have their entire heads/chest/legs bald and scabby, and some baldness/scabbiness on the back and back end as well.

In the meantime, bath your puppy with a gentle oatmeal shampoo too soothe the skin, not too often, you don't want to overdo it. Aloe vera gel can help with discomfort too.

Demodex is caused by a lowered immune system, so you want to boost his/her immunity. This is done through a good, quality diet, lots of TLC, keeping him/her warm and dry, etc. Don't get your dog any shots until this clears up a bit, vaccines often trigger a demodex break out. Your vet should not have given the pup the shots he did if the pup has demodex - you may want to change vets. Things will probably get a bit worse before they get better due to the vaccine making the immune system work harder.

Good news is demodex is not contagious, and is almost always cureable. My girl had two patches on her face for what seemed like forever (over 6 months). What finally cured her was a combo of putting her on Revolution flea control (kills sarcoptic mites and does help control demodectic mites) and switching her to the BARF diet. Today, her hair is finally grown back, and there is no more visible scarring.

Hope things go good with your pup - welcome by the way!

[VOLTIO]

What is the BARF diet?

Man i feel helpless for him its SAD, He keeps scratching and it bleeds on his face. Its localized mainly on the head and neck.

Thank you for the quick reply

[damienApbt]

its a raw food diet. bones and raw food

feeding them raw animal carcasses, mostly chicken. they would eat the whole carcass bones and all.

[VOLTIO]

Can you give me an example of Raw food

[damienApbt]

yeah, i just edited my first post...raw chicken carcass mostly. they eat the whole thing bones and all. dogs cant have cooked bones..they get real fragile and shatter which causes major damage. which is good to know if you have a "doggy" bag from a restaurant. it doesnt have to be a carcass. but you get the idea. it allows them to digest the bones and everything else. i dont think its recomended for dogs with a "compromised" imune system

[damienApbt]

also check out this thread http://www.pitbullforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=914
and this one .http://www.pitbullforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=926
its about people who tried or are using the barf diet

[concreterose]

My pup had localized demodex mange. She got those dips, I wouldn't waste my money if your pup just has a few spots. Chilliwack gave good advice, a lot of times they'll grow out of it.All of the hair around her eyes was gone, as well as patches on her head and legs. After my pup settled in, started eating good food and getting lots of love, they cleared up. It took a couple of months, but she hasn't had them since. Here she is now:

[moto1320]

Start with a good high quality food like Innova, Canidae, or Wellness. The contents of these foods should do much to build her immune system. Diet change can trigger flaky skin and itchyness, so it may get a touch worse before better. Hang in there though, it'll be better in the end.

[VOLTIO]

Where can i get the foods you recommended

[damienApbt]

most pet stores will sell all those brands. wellness especially. actually i'd venture to say all big pet stores carry most of those brands.

[moto1320]

Go down about 5 or 6 topics in this section to "Which Dog Food Does Everyone Use" there are links to all of them. They carry California Naturals and Innova at the fancy-pants-hippy-tofu-everything-free-range-granola-store-that-smells-funny here in Athens.
Maybe try somewhere like that.

[mydogroxy]

If it's just on the head, and your pup isn't suffering too much, I would try and wait it out. It's really common in pups, and most of them can get over it on their own.

i completely agree. roxy had some localized demodex and after initially going to the vet for treatment, we decided to wait it out. it went away in a short time. like everyone else said get your pup on a good diet, i reccommend barf, and hopefully it will clear up.

also, if the pup (sorry i didn't catch female/male) has scabs and is scratching it's face and bleeding get an e-collar. continued irritation can lead to skin infections which can get quite nasty and compromise the immune system. i reccommend cleaning the demodex sites to avoid infection as well. good luck.

[VOLTIO]

I went and got him Innova food and man he eats it like he drinks water. I am happy he loves it becuase i drove 20 miles to find it. I am bathing him and cleaning the scabs on his head and putting Goodwinol Ointment on him. I hope this clears up becuase this puppy is Energetic.

Also last night i seen 2 big worms in his poop and it was Nasty, the vet told me he would poop them out. Before i went to the vet he never had any worms in his poop.

[Blue Steel]

Also last night i seen 2 big worms in his poop and it was Nasty, the vet told me he would poop them out. Before i went to the vet he never had any worms in his poop.

That's because they were still alive and awake "in there" and hanging on. The vet surely medicated your boy for worms (gave him something like Nemex-2), which in turn, caused the worms to release and be expelled. Good! Get rid of them worms!!