What’s the topic for today?
Mange in bigger dogs
Mangey dogs, they are the scabby, itchy, bald ones, aren’t they?
Well, mange does cause hair loss and scabs, but, contrary to popular opinion, not all bald, scabby, itchy dogs have mange. Mange refers to a specific type of skin disease, whereas there are lots of different diseases that cause hair loss and scabs.
So what causes mange then?
Mange specifically refers to skin diseases caused by mites, a parasite that lives in or on the skin. The word mange comes from the French word mange which means to eat. Basically, the mites eat the skin or debris on the skin.
That sounds revolting. How do you diagnose them?
We scrape the surface of the skin and look at the cells under a microscope. Sometimes they can be very difficult to find. Or now that we have very effective treatments that kill mites, a simple treatment trial may be used.
Are mites contagious?
It depends on what sort of mite is involved, as there are several types of skin mites. Each type has its own characteristics. The 2 most common mites that cause mange in dogs are Sarcoptes and Demodex. One is contagious and the other isn’t.
Which is the contagious one?
Sarcoptes. People may have heard of the skin disease scabies. Well, scabies is caused by the Sarcoptes mite. It’s highly contagious between dogs, and people can catch it from dogs too.
Ah, so that’s why my mum always told me to avoid scabby bald dogs in the street!
Good advice. Fortunately, Sarcoptes mites don’t breed on humans, and they eventually die. But they are intensely itchy in the meantime.
What about dogs? How do you treat it in dogs?
Well, fortunately, several of the newer flea treatments are very good at killing Sarcoptes. It can also be used regularly to prevent the dog from catching scabies in the first place.
That’s good news. What about the other type of mite?
Demodex mite is quite a different story. It’s not contagious and most dogs carry a few demodex mites all their lives. Most dogs live in harmony with this mite without it causing a problem.
So when does it become a problem?
If the dog’s immune system isn’t functioning well, the mite numbers can increase dramatically and start causing skin disease.
What situations would cause this to happen?
Puppies’ immune systems are not fully developed, and so we often see skin problems due to demodex in puppies. In adults, some diseases and some drugs can cause a dampening down of the immune system.
Is this type of mite treatable?
Again, products like Bravecto or Simparica are very effective against Demodex.
What about adult dogs?
It may also be necessary to treat any underlying illness, which may be causing immunosuppression.
Can humans catch demodex?
No. The good news is that it specifically lives on dogs, although there is also a variety that lives on cats, too.