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What can anyone tell me about mange in dogs?
My sister is considering adopting a dog she fell in love with that has a case of mange. The shelter is treating it and told her most likey it will be controlled, and also that it's (rarely) transferable to other healthy dogs. Her dog will be around several other dogs in the family/friends.
The dog is a 1-year old flat-coated retriever mix, male, and his name is Samson. He is a sweetheart and very well behaved. She wants him BAD!
Mange is highly contagious. This is from the Yankee Golden Retriever Rescue Home page about a Golden who was turned in with mange:
"This type of mange is a skin disease caused by an infection by a "scabei" mite. They cannot be seen with the naked eye and live in the dog's skin. The presence of these mites generates an inflamatory response the the skin. Sally's skin was also covered with infected pustules and she had a motheaten appearance.Â_She was very uncomfortable. Sally was treatedÂ_with ivermectin and had to be kept isolated since this type of mange is so contageous. Once Sally was able to leave the veterinarian's office, she was kept in isolation at Riverview where staff wore gloves to handle her and her bedding was washed with bleach."Â_
Mange is VERY contagious. I am VERY surprised the Shelter did not know that.:eek: However, they want to get rid of the dog as soon as possible. It may spread to their other dogs. Our 2 separate shelters (Humane Society/City Shelter) BOTH had to shut down due to Kennel cough last year. However, they did allow my friend to adopt a dog a few days after the "quaranteen" and it had Kennel cough. That is contagious as well. I knew the second she adopted the dog it had it. Ironically, the policy at the shelter is that the dog must go back to their vet for nuetering/shots prior to full adoption. It still had not been treated for Kennel cough! A few days later when she went to pick the dog up, I mentioned it to the shelter. They claimed the dog had come in shortly after the quaranteen and hadn't shown any signs. Then the dog started coughing and they agreed that it needed possible treatment. We had to take it back to their vet and they charged my friend over $100 for medications.:mad: :rolleyes:
The good news is that the dog got treated and was well within 2 weeks. The dog (Scruffy) was a gift to my friend's 3 year old daughter. The kid talks about Scruffy ALL the time and just loves the dog almost to death at times if your not watching!!!:eek: ;) I've even gotten to babysit Scruffy a few times!!! He's a cut-tee!!!
I do encourage the adoption of this retriever. However, I do caution listening to the Not contagious to healthy dogs. We never know for sure if our dogs are healthy 100% of the time. My suggestion is that adopt the dog when the condition is finally under control. Buy throw away bedding or cheap bedding that won't hurt to toss out at the end of the month. WASH HANDS IMMEDIATELY AFTER PETTING THE DOG AND DO NOT PET THE OTHER DOGS UNTIL HANDS ARE WASHED. This is how the mange is spread into "healthy" households. I lived out in the country and we often adopted "mangy" mutts. However, we made sure the dog stayed outside until the condition healed. It could easily get into the carpet and spread. Gives baths atleast once a week. There should be a shampoo available for treatment. May ask the vet or get some kind of shampoo to treat the itching. Avoid FLEA and TICK shampoo's. It may hurt their delicate skin.
All in all. The dog should be able to adopt within a good 3 weeks to a month's worth of treatment. I think it is mostly cured within a month with proper treatment. I hope the dog finds it's way home where it is clearly wanted. Good luck!!!
There are different types of mange. Demodex & Sarcoptic. It
is treatable, but I believe one type is more managable than the
other. I might be wrong, but I think one type is inherited. It's
best to ask your Vet about this to get more info. Good luck.
Yup.Quote:
Originally posted by lizbud
There are different types of mange. Demodex & Sarcoptic. It
is treatable, but I believe one type is more managable than the
other. I might be wrong, but I think one type is inherited. It's
best to ask your Vet about this to get more info. Good luck.
Sarcoptic mange is the HIGHLY contagious mange, to most animal species and humans. It is called scabies in humans. This can be treated fairly easy, you just have to be careful not to spread it.
Demodex is also mange, a mite that lives in EVERY DOG (and everyones eyebrows too). Some dogs have reactions to the mites, some don't. This type of mange is not contagious but can be difficult to treat. Sometimes it may never come back, sometimes it will come back every few weeks or years and some you may never be able to get rid of. It all depends on what treatments you use & can use and how your dogs reacts to the mites & medicines.
There is also Cheyletiella mange, which is pretty rare. I've NEVER seen or heard of a dog that has it I've only read about it. It is also called walking dandruff. Th treatment is the easiest treatment for any mite, usually just one dip gets rid of the mite. This is also the largest mange mite, easily seen by the human eye, if you can't see the mite they might of already left the host but you can certainly see the dandruff it causes usually over the top of the neck and the back. the vet will look at the dandruff under a microscope. This mite is usually found in kennels.
Demodex as Iv4dogs just pointed out is an endemic mite that does not cause problems in normal dogs. Demodex comes up as a response of a suppressed or immature immune system. Outside of collies, oral Ivermectin over 3 months can bring the mite under control. In rare cases a genetic T-cell defect can cause the mites to create problems throughout the dog's life. Demodex in an adult geriatric dog indicates a serious immune problem (e.g. cancer).
In summary if the diagnosis was Demodex then it's not contagious and easily treatable (minus the genetic problem). If it's some other type of mange then it could be contagious. Ask the shelter for confirmation it's Demodex. Speculation here that given the stress of the shelter, it's Demodex.
We have found out that it is Demodex mange, and therefore treatable and not contagious. They also had their vet look at him to confirm.
They are going to get him tonight and bring him home :) , and very excited. I stopped by the shelter earlier today and met him. He is very sweet, well-behaved, and quite mellow for only being 1 year old. He's more interested in getting affection and being close to you than fetching/playing. Likes to nuzzle a lot. This dog really wants to go home with somebody and be loved.
Maybe the mange was stress-related of being in the shelter and not in a good home. He's very people oreinted.
My sister just emailed me this picture they took of him (Samson) after they brought him home today:
Thats great news! He sure is a cutie & everyone looks happy! I hope they keep it under control.