My lab Pam has demodectic mange.

[anj]

Hello guys,

Please help me.
I am from the Philippines. My black lab Pam is 16 months old.  She hasn't had puppies yet.
When she was about 6 months, she started getting these patches that would swell and she would itch them like crazy. We went to the vet and he gave her shots, 3 times for every 10 days and it proved effective. He said for us to stop feeding her fish or chicken as she showed allergic reactions to them.  I saw the alligator-like pests under the microscope as she was given the shot.
After 2 months, she got it again. So I had to take her back to the vet and went through the same procedure. Additionally, the vet gave us some OMEGA MAGIC (aussie brand) to help her with her coat revival. And she went back to her beautiful black! We were so happy. After a while, the mites came back! and now I don't know if she is "handicapped", I hate to think that she probably is because of the mites' recurrence. I don't want to feel that she shouldn't have puppies because she may infect them.  My dad and I are wondering if there are any other alternatives (the vet gave her IVERMECTIN once only and maybe she should have had follow-ups for that). please help me. I don't want my Pam to be a handicap. Thank you.

[VdogLover]

First welcome to the forums...
 I will not touch on the subject of treatment since your vet already seems to have a plan. Often the treatment route vets take is not one I agree with so I will leave that between you 2.
As far as breeding goes...
 The problem with breeding a dog who has GENERALIZED demodectic mange is not the passing on to the puppies as much as the reason why the mother has it in the first place. Generalized demodectic mange does not take hold on dogs who has normal immune systems. Often it is not the real problem but a symptom of an under lying issue that may not be seen yet. In case you do not know 90%+ of dogs have the mites on them they only become a problem in dogs who's systems can not keep them in check...a weak immune system.
Now localized demodectic mange(rule of thumb is less then 5 spots on the dog) is often seen in dogs starting when they are under a year old. It is believed it is not a immune issue but can be bought out by stress.
A general rule of thumb is if the dog clears up and does not spread past 5 spots) without medicated baths or IVERMECTIN it is local. Problem here is your vet already started treatment so there is no way of knowing which form she has unless of course she already had it in over 5 spots.. In my opinion she should not be bred and risk passing on a weak immune system.

[angelsmama]

welcome to bpo.

my root mix, angel, has demodex but you'd not be able to see it by looking at her, she had a big outbreak at about 6 months of age then another when she was a little over a year. my vet did dips and they worked great for her. usually a dog that suufers from the genetic mange, demodex, has very problems if any at all after their immune system matures. every once in a while i'll notice a small thin patch but it always clears itself up.  i'd highly recommend against breeding. you are playing a big game of chance in doing so. here's a picture of my girl.

 

[navarre1316]

My mom's dobie Bella has demo mange.  She had a really bad break out when she was younger, my brother had her at that time, she got some dips and is on Ivermectin.  I'm not sure of the dose but she gets it every month, so it also acts as heartworm preventative.  The vet told my mom NOT to breed her as it was genetic, but my mom had not planned to breed her anyway, and to try to keep her as stress free as possible.  I don't know if it was just her specific type of mange that is genetic or not.  And I will repeat what everyone else has said, don't think of her as having a handicap!  Once this gets under control she will be a happy dog, you'd never know anything was wrong with Bella.  Oh and she hasn't had any recurrences in years!

Welcome to the board!

[Duramax]

welcome to bpo! your pam is a cutie i love her smile. i know youll recieve excelent info on mange from the bpo'ers. keep us updated on how she's doing!

[kathryn]

Welcome to the board and Pam is a cutie.  When Shiner was a puppy he had demodectic mange.  Actually the whole litter did because they all wound up with a respiratory infection that compromised their immune systems.  When I got him he just had a couple of spots that the hair was growing back in on.  Then he started loosing fur on his face and after a skin scraping we knew we had another case of mange.  So he received a shot of ivermectin on top of the ivermectin dose that is in his heartworm preventative and it worked great.  You can't tell that he ever had mange.  He was already neutered when I got him but I wasn't planning on breeding him anyway. 

[anj]

A bunch of thanks for the warm welcomes and praises! 

I am so happy to have found this community, at least I can always talk to you guys about my dogs' problems!

It is saddening to realize that my Pam has to be spayed.  Actually, she's still a virgin, so to speak. She still thinks like a baby, after all, she is still my big baby.

I appreciate all the replies to my first post. I will keep you guys updated on Pam's condition. Again, muchas gracias to all!

All your dogs are wonderful!!!