How to Treat Dog Mange

Video Transcript

"Let's talk about how to treat mange in dogs. The first thing to know about mange, is what it is, and there are two types. Mange is actually a mite. It's a small little mite, that lives in the skin. There are two types that we generally see, demodectic mange, or demodex mange, versus sarcoptic mange, or scabies. Demodectic mange, most dogs have it normally anyway. They get it from their mothers, right after birth. It's a little mange that usually, or a mite that doesn't cause many problems. It lives in the skin, a lot of times around the mouth, eyes, and on the ends of the joints, that sort of thing. When you will see a breakout, is if the immune system cannot handle the small amount of mites, that are present, like poor nutrition, being a stray, growing too quickly, stress, that sort of thing, so what you'll see, are areas of hair loss and crustiness, and things like that. With demodex mange, it's generally not that itchy, unless there is a secondary skin infection, along with it. To treat demodectic mange, check with your veterinarian. If it's local in a small spot, there is an ointment for that. If it's generalized or larger, they will usually recommend a dip every two weeks, for several times. There's also a type of drug, a anti-parasitic called Ivermectin, that they may use orally on a daily basis, to prevent demodectic mange. Sarcoptic mange is different. It is transmitted, and dogs don't normally have it, so a lot of strays have sarcoptic mange. It's incredibly itchy, and so the first things these dogs will do, is itch and itch and itch, and how do you treat that? That is usually treated with Ivermecticn, injectable or oral, and sometimes they can use shampoos to get rid of it as well, or topical anti-parasitics, but check with your veterinarian, if you think there is a mange issue, and how to actually deal with it, your veterinarian should be able to help you through that."