Dog mange, never in my life did I think I would have to learn about dog mange. Even though I have had dogs as pets from my childhood through adulthood, I have not been exposed to mange. I had seen in it pictures on other dogs, but they were always runaways or other homeless dogs. I thought it was a disease of the streets. I have come to learn that indeed street dogs can suffer from a highly contagious form of mange called sarcastic mange. The variety of mange my dog suffers from is demodectic mange which is not contagious, but can create very similar coat issues.
This past year I have learned a hard lesson. Mange can happen to any dog at any time. It is a naturally occurring condition caused when mites that are always present in the root follicle of dogs are able to overpopulate and wreak havoc upon a dog's coat. I have learned it can happen during times of stress or if a dog's immune system is reduced. Apparently, it is also quite common in puppies under one year. In my particular case I have a male, adult, lab mix. He is great, but his age is unknown, as I found him wandering and skinny with no identification or chip behind a business. My guess is he is probably at least 10 years old and possibly much older, but I have no definitive way to know. It apparently is not uncommon for such older dogs to suffer from a depressed immune system.
Within the past 6 months he developed a small patch of missing hair at the base of his tale. I had thought it was most likely a patch that he had chewed, because this year's flea season was merciless. However, as time passed and fleas abated, the patch grew, but he was not chewing himself to create the missing hair. As the skin began to develop a crust I knew this was something very different than self-mutilation. That began my quest for a fix, a cure. I discovered my dogs condition was indeed demodectic mange. I looked more closely at my dogs paws and discovered he had very small patches forming of dried skin, as is common with the disease. He had taken to licking them, even though he does not seem to be in any discomfort from the condition on his back that also spread to the upper portion of his tail.
I have since ordered a special shampoo, Davis Benzoyl Peroxide Shampoo for Dogs and Cats, that contains benzoyl peroxide. The use of this shampoo serves to open the follicles to allow a dip to be applied that will kill the mites. That shampoo must be left on the dog for 5 to 10 minutes to have the greatest effect. Once you rinse the shampoo I allow my dogs another 10 minutes do dry thoroughly before applying a sulfur infused dip. The purpose of the dip is to penetrate deeply, so it must be applied and not rinsed. I purchased both Davis Benzoyl Peroxide Shampoo for Dogs and Cats and Vet Basics Lime Sulfur Dip from Amazon. I will caution that the dip is concentrated and must be mixed with water to create the final dip that is used. It must be allowed to dry naturally. To do otherwise will negate the benefits. During this time I can't allow my dog lick the dip, as it can upset his stomach.
So far three weeks have passed and I am making some progress. The crusting is beginning to dissipate and the spread seems to have ceased. I am hopeful successive weeks of proper bathing and dipping will allow my dog to regain the beautiful black coat he once had.