How to Cure the Mange on a Puppy

Keep your puppy clean, healthy and happy

Mange is a skin disease caused by tiny mites that reproduce in large numbers on a dog's skin. As parasites, mites feed on nutrients found in their hosts' skin, causing severe skin outbreaks and several health concerns in dogs. Dogs are affected by three types of mange: sarcoptic mange, demodectic mange, cheyletiella mange. Mange is characterized by severe itching and eventual hair loss. According to veterinarians, demodectic mange--sometimes called red mange or puppy mange--most commonly infects puppies aged three to nine months old. Cheyletiella mange infects both puppies and adult dogs, but sarcoptic mange only infects adult dogs.

Things You'll Need

• Veterinarian

Instructions

1. Know the causes of mange. All dogs can harbor mites but mites generally only manifest themselves as mange in older dogs or puppies that develop poor immune systems or come into contact with other dogs that have mange. Strengthen your dog's immune system by keeping him clean, healthy, happy and as stress-free as possible. Avoid taking your puppy to places where infected dogs are known or suspected to be (e.g., crowded dog parks).

2. Recognize demodectic mange symptoms. General symptoms of mange include excessive itching, hair loss, dry-crusty-thickened skin, foul odor similar to that of strong cheese or athlete's foot, skin sores and blisters. Puppies with demodectic mange usually have reddened, scaly patches on their faces, necks, and front legs, associated with some hair loss in affected areas of the skin. As demodectic mange progresses, skin lesions become larger and symptoms are observed over greater portions of the puppy's body.

3. Recognize cheyletiella mange symptoms. Unlike demodectic mites, cheyletiella mites can be seen with an unaided eye. You can often identify puppies with Cheyletiella mange by the presence "walking dandruff," namely tiny cheyletiella mites, which look like dandruff flakes, walking on your puppy's skin. A puppy with Cheyletiella mange will also be very itchy and have scaling, crustiness, and/or hair loss around affected areas, usually on the neck, head and back.

4. Take your puppy to a veterinarian for a diagnosis, which involves a skin scraping test for mites. Your veterinarian should also inspect your puppy for other health issues, such as secondary infections or diseases that compromise the immune system.

5. Follow a treatment plan. If your puppy has mange, your veterinarian will prescribe a treatment plan that involves medicated lotions, medicated dips, medicated shampoos, topical medications, insecticides, anti-parasitic medications and/or antibiotics. Follow the veterinarian's recommended treatment plan through to completion.

Tips & Warnings

• Treat mange in puppies the moment it is detected. Ignoring mange will almost certainly worsen your dog's health.

• Cheyletiella mange is highly contagious among dogs and is transmittable to cats and humans. Fortunately, if you are infected with cheyletiella mites, you will only experience temporarily discomfort (itchiness and redness of the skin) because the mites cannot reproduce or live long on your skin.

• Cheyletiella mites can live without a host for a short period of time, making it possible for you and other humans and animals to acquire mange without having direct contact with an infected animal.

• Dogs with mange (of any type) should not be bred. Mange-infected mothers who give birth will transfer mites to their puppies.

References

• Mange-in-dogs: ABout mange
• Peteducation: Demodectic Mange
• Puppy Mange: An Overview