Types Of Mange In Dogs.

When I take my drives up on the ridge with Chance, I pass this one trailer that has a female dog that has had puppies. The puppies have mange and are starving. I passed by there today and they were in the garage trying to find something to eat. The health department has been up there twice, but we can't seem to get the animal shelter to respond to calls to go up there.

So, I am going to tell you about the the kinds of mange out there. The first one is demodectic mange. This milder rash mostly attacks puppies, as their developing immune system can't handle the same mites as their mother. The symptoms, like most types of mange, are itchiness and patches of bare skin. The majority of puppies grow out of demodicosis as they reach adolescence. Sometimes, demodectic mange will develop into a more serious problem. Increased symptoms will be crusty and scaly skin, frenetic scratching, and overall weakness in the dog as the mites settle in hair follicles. This cannot spread to humans, but it may be an indication that your dog suffers from a weakened immune system due to cancer or other health condition.


The second kind is called sarcoptic mange or scabies, is resilient, long lasting, and contagious. The mites need to burrow underneath the top layers of skin in order to lay their eggs. The eggs develop, hatch, and the new mites only exacerbate the problem. This disturbance creates swelling, redness, thick or discolored skin, hair loss, insistent scratching, and seepage of pus.
Scabies can be passed between dogs, cats, and even onto humans. Since humans aren't good at incubating the scabies eggs, we can't be seriously infested. However, dogs can succumb to scabies and develop bacterial infections in their oozing skin. Scabies is a good candidate among the different types of mange to be cured by multiple treatments from the veterinarian.

A lesser type of mange is cheyletiella. Cheyletiella is better known as "walking dandruff," because tiny white flakes resembling dandruff scatter across a dog's back and neck. Red mites, or fur mites, cause the mild itching of walking dandruff. It will not get too severe, but neither will it clear up on its own. There are insecticide shampoos to treat this type of mange.

Finally, a specific ear mite that lives off the moisture and discharge from an animal's ears causes ear mange. The ear mite burrows into the outer ear canal, and a black gummy substance will start to ooze from the opening. Ear mange can usually be treated at home with cotton swabs and ear drops, yet severe cases could lead to hearing loss. It is contagious between animals, but not to humans.

Take your dog to the vet if you think your pet has been exposed to another dog that has mange. Also, if purchasing a puppy, look at the puppies and observe any bald spots on them or the parents. This is a good indication that mange is present.