11 month old with skin problem

[Merryann]

I have 2 boxers a girl (Zoey) 11 months old and a Boy (JD) 10 months. They play rough as boxers do and we started noticing patches of hair missing from my Zoey. I am going to take her to the vet on Monday. I have been reading a lot and it seems like Mange might be the culprit. The patches are dark and it is dark in the hair folicle. I have read about the dips and I don't think I want to do that to her if that is what needs to happen. Unfortunately, before I knew much about breeders I purchased her from a BB the people seemed nice enough but I wasn't prepared when I bought her - She has behavioral control issues, Hip Dysplasia, allergies (I think) and now possibly mange. I love my baby and I will do whatever necessary to keep her as healthy as possible. They get the best treats, and I feed them canidae and she also get treats with Glucosimine to supplement inbetween pills.

Anyway - does anyone have any websites or informaiton on steps I can take to take care of the mange and also an alternative food? Any supplements that might help her immune system?....They don't like plain Canidae so they usually get it topped with parmesian cheese.

JD is very healthy and a perfect boxer! no issues whatsoever.

Right now they go to the petsmart vet - however, I plan on changing them to a different vet as soon as I find a good one.

 

[Merryann]

Well we took her to the vet today and it is generalized demodex. They put her on ivomec...anyone know anything about that?

 

[Khudson]

Hi Merryann,

Sorry to hear about your baby, we're going through the same thing with ours. We're trying some immune system boosters, and natural type things with Jackson. Gmacloed posted an excellent explanation in a thread I started its down the page called "hairy problems" and also there was a ton of help in the holistic care thread on d-mange! Best of luck

 

[gmacleod]

Ivermectin is actually heart worm medicine - but it works quite well for the treatment of demodex mange also (just don't ever give it to a collie breed). It have adverse effects on some dogs, certainly (any insecticide can) but it's far less likely to cause problems than mitaban.

A bit of information on mange here: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1352&articleid=729
Patient information sheet on ivermectin: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Rx_Info_Sheets/rx_ivermectin_heartworm.pdf
One thing to bear in mind is that you'll be giving much higher doses than is given for heartworm prevention (and of course, there's no need to ALSO be giving heartworm tablets).

 

[Merryann]

Thanks Everyone for the input. She seems to be handling the medicine okay - (has been playing more) but I noticed more hair has fallen out. We have her on a multivitamin, 1 sardine a day (Supposed to be an immunity booster) and I have been putting a little egg in her food. She is also getting bath's 2ce a week. She is so sweet it breaks my heart to see her going through this but she is taking it very well.

I am still angry that some breeders don't care about the beauty of this breed and just do it for the money.