My Scottish Terrier has red mange!

[thechesters420]

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[LuvsDragonflies]

Possibly. They may offer to take the dog back and refund your money, but be aware they will probably put the dog down. I don't know if red mange is curable or not. If it is, I would try to get them to pay for the bills.

 

[PUZZLDY5]

It's not curable but controllable. The vet said my pups immune system should take over at some point and controll it. until then he takes an oral liquid that helps with the itchy. Just make sure you spay or neuter your dog so it can't be passed on again.
If it makes you feel better Xavier is 7 months old now and it looks like it's clearing up a little bit.

 

[Magic Mom]

Demodectic mange is passed from mother to puppy in most dogs. But for most dogs the number of mites stays really low. If a dogs immune system is compromised from stress or illness (or because its a young developing dog), the mites can flourish and cause problems. Did the vet say if it was a localized or generalized case?

 

[kacaju]

Is there any legal action I can take against the breeder?

Have you spoken to the breeder yet?
I know my breeder (who we now have become friends with) would want to know and would work out something with you...she would be very upset to have legal action started if she didn't even get a chance to talk to you first.

 

[thechesters420]

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[kacaju]

yes the stress of coming into heat can do it, so can the stress of surgery, so don't be surprised if she gets worse after surgery....if she truly has not had dogs with mange before (and truthfully if another pup(s) has had it and those people never contacted her..she would not know)
See what she says after she talks to your vet...and of she wants her vet to see the dog...make sure she pays for that visit.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I just found out today my 10 month old Scottish Terrier has red mange. This can only be passed from mother to puppy. This was very upsetting to us! I just had to pay the vet $175 today. Is there any legal action I can take against the breeder?

It is not that simple.

Are you aware that humans harbor the demodex mite in their eyebrows, eyelashes and other hair follicles and skin areas?

I wouldn't rush off to sue the breeder. It's not the same as sarcoptic mange. This mite is NORMALLY present on the skin.

If the dog's immune system was functioning optimally, it would probably have been able to keep the mites that are normally there supressed to levels that are unnoticable, which may have been the case for the mother.

It's a problem that can be dealt with, just like most other problems that come up.

Stress in the environment interferes with immunity. So can poor diet and other issues. One of my dogs broke out with a small area on her snout after the stress of being in a kennel once. We successfully treated it pretty easily.

My own research at the time led me to learn that there's been a lot of talk about over-vaccination messing with our animals' immune systems. So the question becomes whether it's a genetic issue vs one created later on, ie environmental. I think it's probably a little of both.

At any rate, the breeder is not "at fault".

Many veterinarians believe that all dogs have small numbers of Demodex mites residing in the skin and that having a few mites is normal and common. It is when immune related, or nutritional or environmental stresses impact the dog that visible skin lesions from mite infestations become noticeable.

QUESTION: Can Demodex mites be inherited?
ANSWER: No. The mites are not present on the fetus while the fetus is developing from an embryo in the uterus. However, if the mother has Demodex mites present in/on her skin, the mites can invade the new fetus’ skin immediately after birth. Since many dogs have Demodex mites present in their skin, and never actually develop noticeable skin lesions, the mother may not even be showing any signs of mites and yet transmit mites to the newborn pups. The pups may or may not develop a clinical case of mites.

QUESTION: Why, then, do I keep hearing that Demodex can be inherited.
ANSWER: The problem is the wording. The specific antibodies that will defend against infestation of Demodex can be inherited and most dogs have those immune factors and are able to defend against Demodex. But some individuals have inherited a deficiency of those antibodies and just don't have the ability to fend off the mites. So the ability to resist the mites, or not resist, is inherited. The actual mites are not inherited.

QUESTION: So if I have a pup that has Demodex and it is only six weeks old and has never been in contact with any dogs outside our home, the mites must have come from the mother. But the mother has never had Demodex so how could that happen?
ANSWER: Your assumption that the mother dog has "never had" Demodex is probably not valid. Demodex mites have been proven to inhabit the hair follicles of many, many dogs, humans and other mammals without causing the host any problems at all. So these mites can be present in normal and healthy individuals (who have inherited the immune factors needed to keep the mites suppressed). So just because you have not experienced a visible skin lesion on your dog does not mean that the dog has no mites present.

http://www.chihuahuarescue.com/demofolder/dem.html

 

[Pea-n-Me]

The vet said it showed up because she will be coming into heat soon(she hasn't yet). She said she needed to be spayed as soon as possible. My husband just contacted the breeder. He said she acted totally surprised and shocked. She said her dogs had never had any symtoms. She said our vet must have misdiagnosed her. I called, they said they did a skin scraping and they couldn't be wrong. So my husband gave her the vets number so she could talk to them herself.

I just gave her the first liquid dose, goodness shes a stong one! I don't really know what to do, I certainly dont want her put down.

OMG, calm down, it's not the end of the world.

My guess is the breeder is probably unfamiliar with it.

Both of you need to take a deep breath and simply educate yourselves to what it is and what it isn't.

Yes, time to spay the dog, she should not be bred.

ETA I see your comments about putting the dog down were in response to another poster saying what could happen if you "return" the dog (which I agree with). I mistakenly thought you yourself were considering it because of the demodex. My apologies, I hadn't read through the whole thread yet.

 

[thechesters420]

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[Pea-n-Me]

Thanks for the help. Thats exactly why I asked here because I wanted others opinions on the matter. I was spitting mad at the vet! From what I had heard about it I thought the only way dogs could get it is from their mother, so when he told me what it was I was super anger at the breeder. My husband said she seemed really upset about it. I'm reading all I can find out online but its pretty confusing. Thank you again for your input!

I added some comments to my last post.

Yes, it can be confusing. But it's not anything that anyone did. It's a medical condition that can happen, just like diabetes or cancer or heart disease.

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

I just found out today my 10 month old Scottish Terrier has red mange. This can only be passed from mother to puppy. This was very upsetting to us! I just had to pay the vet $175 today. Is there any legal action I can take against the breeder?

LEGAL ACTION? Really? You just found out your TEN MONTH OLD dog is sick and it is something that could have been passed to the dog from it's mother and you think you should SUE the dog breeder? Dogs get sick. There are TONS of illnesses that are genetic and breeders can't guarantee you a dog that will never get sick. I wouldn't expect anything from the breeder. I definitely would let the breeder know so they can get the mother of that puppy checked out and possibly stop breeding the mother, but legal action?

That's what's wrong with things today, everybody wants it to be someone else' fault and everybody wants to sue. You bought a dog, it got sick. Pay the vet bill and go on with your life.

You were spitting mad at the vet because what? You thought the breeder intentionally sold you a dog she knew was defective or sick? I think you have WAY overreacted to the whole situation.

 

[thechesters420]

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[Sarah_Rose]

Our dog had a mange flare up shortly after adopting him. Our vet said that all dogs have these mites on them and normally cause no symptoms, but mange only flares up when the dog has a compromised immune system. In our case, the stress of being given up to a shelter and then adopted to a new home caused my dog to break out in mange. We treated it, and we have never had another issue in the 5 years that we've had the dog.

Don't worry too much about it! There's a good chance that this is the first and last time you'll see a mange outbreak on your dog.

 

[thechesters420]

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[thechesters420]

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[bjgrazi]

BTW responses like the one above are the exact reason why I am so reluctant to post any questions on the boards. People are so quick to demean and judge others, its sad. I was simply asking questions because I was upset about my dog. I thought maybe I could come to what is supposed to be a friendly place to ask a question. I should have known better. Instead I'm told what is wrong with America. Lady your whats wrong with the boards..........there.............burn! Now tell me how awful I am again

It's you're not your as in you are. At least you got there correct.

 

[CruiserMom]

Pea is correct. Demodex mange can be managed and controlled. I adopted a 6 month old dog from a shelter that had demodex mange. For several years we would put her on antibiotics and ivermectin, and she would get better for a time, then get worse again. After a few years of this (she has a compromised immune system), we tried another approach. We put her on a top quality food with no grain, and we started dipping her every 2 weeks with a special topical medication. It took 3 months, but she got better, and now has been mange free for 2 years.

Please don't have the dog put down until you have tried this. As others have said, it is often brought on by having an immature immune system (such as young puppies) or stress (being in heat, living in a shelter). But if it turns out to be a chronic situation, try the grain free foods and the Mitaban dip.

 

[zurgswife]

It's you're not your as in you are. At least you got there correct.

Really....It' people like you that annoy me....who the heck cares if her post is grammatically correct.