Demodex ... Grrrrrr

Can you believe how quickly this horrible skin issue takes hold of our beautiful doggies...
These were taken on Aug 16th..


Then these on Aug 21st..


An these were taken today..



She still likes to be close to her big sister Inca ..




My poor baby ......

Ahhhhh Sky, it looks so uncomfortable for her, what has your vet suggested ?

kathytake2 wrote:Ahhhhh Sky, it looks so uncomfortable for her, what has your vet suggested ?

Hiya Kathy... The vet suggested to use Advocate drops fortnightly and she did say it would go worse before it got better but as you can see it has really takin hold of my little girl so i wrung the vet today explaining how Sky is an she said to give her the Advocate drops weekly for 3 possibly 4 wks to see if that helps her feel abit better.. Also she is having 2 sometimes 3 piriton a day to help with her scratching !!!... Which makes her slightly sleepy but i think whilst she is sleepin then the mites can't be driving her batty..

You know you'll get through it Sue, you did with Inca. Poor little Sky and you having to go through it twice If there is anything I can do to help, look after Inca for a bit just ask, would be my pleasure honestly

I know the vets said the demodex would get worse before it gets better but there are some days when it looks like its never gunna get better and poor Sky continues to get patchier & patchier...
Isn't it weird how the minute they get demodex that their skin goes all wrinkly ... as though there an OAP !!!
Here's my little pudding today (aug 27) and she looks alot worse than the last pics (aug 23)...



Bless her little cotton socks... her face looks all crumpled when she's sleepin...

...........................................
Also some people (an some of them are 'so-called' dog owners) can be so with their stupid comments about Sky's face an fur since she got demodex.. Some of the stupid comments ive had said to me are,
1) Oh where's beautiful little Sky gone !!!
2) She looks like one of them street dogs you see in like cambodia ... but in a cute way !!
3) Don't you feel embarrased having to bring her out looking like that ...
4) If i stroke her will i get demodex or can i pass it on to my kids..

My OH says the minute we bump into other dog onwers i get 'that look' on me face as if am sayin 'go on i dare you to look at her like she's summit youv'e just stood in' or 'make me day an insult me dog'...

Awww bless lil Skye xxx

She will get thru it, you're doing all the right things hun x

Has the vet done a skin scrape?

Caryll wrote:Has the vet done a skin scrape?

No she didn't do a skin scrape as she said the Advocate that she's having covers both the types of mange.. I will be taking her back the vets in the next week as she will need the next size up in the Advocate to continue her course..

Sue, it looks so uncomfortable I really hope it can get sorted for her soon. Sending big hugs >< ><

Oh the poor little baby i have had experience with demodex with a friends dog it was horrible and the vet thought my Ava had it but thankfully her skin scrape was all clear.
I really hope they can help her soon.
I am surprised they haven,t done a skin scrap as this is the only true way too diagonise demodex also it shows if there are still live mites, it can help with treatments choice, its an awful dilemma as the skin is so irrated, but as abit of advice the only thing that cured my friend staffy and his was an awful case he lost all his hair!! was ivermectin worth asking about it i guess for skye i wish her a speedy recovery aloe vera gel helps too soothe the sore skin too ><

Poor little treasure

hollymolly wrote:

Caryll wrote:Has the vet done a skin scrape?

No she didn't do a skin scrape as she said the Advocate that she's having covers both the types of mange.. I will be taking her back the vets in the next week as she will need the next size up in the Advocate to continue her course..

So, the vet's assuming it's demodex? What if it's an allergy? I'd really ask them to do one, just to be certain.

Caryll wrote:

hollymolly wrote:

Caryll wrote:Has the vet done a skin scrape?

No she didn't do a skin scrape as she said the Advocate that she's having covers both the types of mange.. I will be taking her back the vets in the next week as she will need the next size up in the Advocate to continue her course..

So, the vet's assuming it's demodex? What if it's an allergy? I'd really ask them to do one, just to be certain.

welcome back Caryll hope you had a great holiday, I said exactly the same i don,t know how the vet could diagonise without a skin scape, and the treatment plan is quite unusal for demodax i really hope poor little Skye gets well soon xx

Demodectic mange is actually caused by a tiny red mite invisible to the naked eye. This may explain the story that follows:

When I was living in Zimbabwe, I had a Staffy bitch who was the apple of my eye (naturally!). When about a year old she developed all the symptoms of demodex and I feared the worst (forty years ago there was no effective cure). But my father, a pharmacist, suggested I try the anti-tick and flea tablets that were quite new on the market. He gave me some and my staff, Josie, went on a course of them. Incredibly, they worked and the mange went away - permanently.

Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the tablets but it should not be too hard to find a similar or identical product on the market. Well worth a try, I think.

Mynannywasastaffy wrote:Demodectic mange is actually caused by a tiny red mite invisible to the naked eye. This may explain the story that follows:

When I was living in Zimbabwe, I had a Staffy bitch who was the apple of my eye (naturally!). When about a year old she developed all the symptoms of demodex and I feared the worst (forty years ago there was no effective cure). But my father, a pharmacist, suggested I try the anti-tick and flea tablets that were quite new on the market. He gave me some and my staff, Josie, went on a course of them. Incredibly, they worked and the mange went away - permanently.

Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the tablets but it should not be too hard to find a similar or identical product on the market. Well worth a try, I think.

Hi & welcome to the forum.

The point is, although Advocate is used to treat demodex, the vet can't be absolutely sure that it is demodex without a skin scrape!! He's assuming that it is, and that in my mind isn't good enough.

Yeah, I get that but his assumption is understandable (even though I agree he should have done a skin scrape). Staffies are particularly susceptible to demodex and it is the most likely culprit therefore. If the Advocate doesn't work, take the lady back to the vet and yell at him!

Mynannywasastaffy wrote:Yeah, I get that but his assumption is understandable (even though I agree he should have done a skin scrape). Staffies are particularly susceptible to demodex and it is the most likely culprit therefore. If the Advocate doesn't work, take the lady back to the vet and yell at him!

I have to disagree with this. Staffs are no more susceptible to demodex than any other breed. I would be very unhappy about using unnecessary chemicals on my dog on an assumpton.

Perhaps "susceptible" was an inaccurate word - my apologies. But owners have been battling against demodex from very early on in the breed's history. They worked hard (unsuccessfully, obviously) to rid the breed of the disease and so it may have seemed to them that they were the only ones with the problem.

As for feeding "unnecessary" chemicals to your dog, that's a matter of personal choice. It just seems to me that the quickest and least expensive way out of the problem is to give the Advocate to the dog. If it works, great, everyone's happy and it no longer matters whether it was demodex or not. If it doesn't, look for another solution - but at least the dog will be be guaranteed free of fleas or heartworms for a while...

We don't get heartworm in this country & the dog doesn't have fleas!

By assuming that it's demodex (& I am not saying it definitely isn't), the vet could be missing something else.

Now dont shoot me down, would bathing and washing with tea tree oil help?

I took Sky back the vets as she had finished 1 box of Advocate and the vet wanted to see if there was any sign of improvement... I commented about the skin scrapes to which she said she would be willing to do but because Sky is showing sings of new fur growth on the balding bits and is no longer itchy, then its obvious that her fur lose is down to the mites and not an allergy ...
She is on the same food, i am using the same washing detergent, she has the same shampoo, she no longer needs the piriton due to her not scratching anymore basically nothing has changed since her fur started to thin out ... Apart from being put on the Advocate which is finally starting to work ...
I understand where your coming from though Caryll about getting skin scrapes done (as Inca had them done as they weren't 100% sure if it was demodex when she was a pup) ...
xx