# Demotex or Mites



## Janders (Feb 27, 2014)

Our little guy, Gus, was diagnosed with Demotex yesterday. He's just 5 months old. I'm wondering if anyone has dealt with this before? Everything I'm reading online is really scary. Seems like it takes a while for treatment to work. My vet only said to apply the Advantage multi every 2 weeks. She didn't say anything about special baths, diet, or calming ointments. While the places seem to be localized to his face right now (basically ears and top of head) I'm terrified that they will spread. Any suggestions?


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## Melissa_DT (Jan 9, 2013)

Bentley got this at about 1 yet of age and I did the same treatment, Advantage multi every 2 weeks for the first 3 months and then just monthly (I opted to just continue it through the summer heart worm season instead of going back to the heartworm pills I used last year to be sure). It was also localized to Bentleys face with one small spot on his one shoulder. I felt the same as you but it's just one of those things that takes time to get rid of so don't be alarmed if you don't see any changes for a few weeks. It didn't seem to bother Bentley at all but he sure looked a little sad with all those bald spots on his face! He is all better now and hasn't had any other incidents of it popping back up


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## Janders (Feb 27, 2014)

Melissa_DT - Thank you so, so much for the encouragement! I don't feel as bad now. I'm also glad to know the Advantage works. It doesn't seem to bother him either. I've had dogs before but Gus is our first Vizsla. He has really placed himself solidly in our hearts. Just want him to have a long, happy, healthy life!


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

Don't worry! It's common in puppies because they have weak immune systems. Our Chase had this, we just used Vetricyn and coconut oil topically, and he was fine. Though he had a pretty mild case. Took about a week or two to stop the spreading, then a few months for the hair to grow back. Good luck!


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## Janders (Feb 27, 2014)

Was there a specific type of Vetericyn you used? We use this on our cattle but I believe we have some for pink eye. It seems so safe. I'll order some today. I think I'll order some coconut oil too. It seems to be mentioned in a lot of posts. Is there a specific brand/type I should look for?


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

At 4 months our boy also had demodex, as did his sister. We opted to supplement his food with immune system boosters and vitamins to help strengthen his ability to fight off the mites. In the end we then used Advantage Multi (at first every other week, then did once a week for a week or two) to finish his treatment. All in all, it took us 2-3 months to completely treat his mild, localized case. His sister opted to do the dips and was cleared up in a shorter amount of time but we did not like the idea of the dips.

Demodex is fairly common in puppies so don't stress about it too much. If you've caught it now, that's half the battle. As our vet told us, all dogs and people have these mites on their bodies. A dog with a healthy immune system can fight them to keep the population in check. A dog with a weakened immune system cannot which causes them to be able to populate, attack the follicles of the hair and cause hair loss. Once the immune system is back at full strength your pup will be able to fight the mites to keep the population in a normal range and prevent this from happening again.

I'll also add that I've seen that people recommend probiotics to help the digestion of the pup so that they get the most nutrients out of their meals and, in turn, it will help boost their immune system back up. You may want to try this. It isn't guaranteed that it will fix the demodex, but there isn't anything wrong with a probiotic at all.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

A very small spot or two of demodex is not something I treat on a pup. I like to see if it will go away on its own. If you treat early, you will not know if it would have cured itself, or turned into generalized mange.
If you never plan to breed later, its not a problem to treat the mange early. If you have big plans for campaigning your pup, and possibly breeding, you could be passing this on to the puppies.
While all dogs have mites, and young pups under stress can develop this type of mange, it would not be generalized.
Treatment now is easy, years ago it was baths and ointments for months.


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

Janders said:


> I think I'll order some coconut oil too. It seems to be mentioned in a lot of posts. Is there a specific brand/type I should look for?


Unrefined or virgin. Refined oil will do in a pinch, but some of it's antimicrobial properties will have been lost in the process. A lot of grocery stores carry it now.


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## Janders (Feb 27, 2014)

I know it's only been a little over a week since diagnosis but I feel helpless against Gus's demotex. His little ears are full of bumps. He has a few more spots on his shoulders now. He scratches at night & first thing in the morning but other than that, they don't seem to bother him. I've read about them losing their hair but the bumps on his ears concern me. This is where the vet took the skin scrapings & saw the mites. We're using vetricyn & coconut oil. I have also been giving me yogurt each morning. Anything else I should try?


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I have to say I don't remember the dogs having bumps in their ears with localized demodex. But I have only had two since I became a adult. One was a golden mix puppy, that had been dumped by the side of the road that I rescued.
The other was a Catahoula. It was just small dry spots with hair loss. As a kid I had a collie that had to have treatment, hers was generalized. That was 40 years ago, and I don't remember if her ears were involved.
Demodex is not going to go away overnight, you will be looking at months of treatment. 
In the mean time watch out for skin infections, if your pup is scratching.
Also many allergy's show up in the ears. So bumps and/or swollen red ears might not be directly from the demodex. It could be a secondary skin infection, ear infection, or allergy.


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## Melissa_DT (Jan 9, 2013)

I agree with TexasRed, the ears sound more like allergies or ear infection. Bentley gets bumps in the ears during the spring and summer from allergies and we usually have to do Benadryl doses through out the summer and keep them really clean.

As for the Demodex, here's a picture of how Bentley looked after the first 3 weeks of starting treatment. He was still red and had bald patches on his face (and one on his shoulder). It really does take a while to start to improve. Bentleys bald spots didn't grow back until about 2 months into the bi-weekly treatments. I know it's hard to not think that treatment isn't working but it's one of those things that doesn't have a quick overnight fix. The bald spots probably bothered/concerned me far more than they did Bentley.


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## Janders (Feb 27, 2014)

Thanks for your replies. I will take Gus back to the vet in about an hour. His ears are starting to itch him some. I just feel so helpless. He looks more pitiful than he acts.


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