Years ago it was common to lose dogs to Red or Puppy Mange. With the advent of Mitaban and now Ivermecton and other drugs treatment has even improved more in recent years.

The risk is in dogs that develop mange and it is not treated. Most anyone that has been involved in Resue - or ANY breed - likely has seen dogs that have had mange left untreated and it has developed to become GENERALIZED as opposed to LOCAl. Make no mistake, dogs do have to be uthanized in some cases such as these.

We can only hope that the Vet was trying to impress on the owner of the young dog the importance of treating the Mange and the owner took the warning to an unintended level.

I didn't mean the dog needed to be neutered NOW, as in soon; only that it shouldn't be used in a breeding program. Of course, I wouldn't but a demodex dog under for any reason. Wait until they've been cured for a six-months, maybe a year, then do it.

nm

not be used safely though in pups under 6 mo. as it can really hurt them before they are big enough to take it. In pups under 6 mo. the ivermectin is best.

and am very happy about it. She was getting close to her next heat cycle, and the vet and I were concerned that her going into heat would almost definitely make it worse, so we chose to take a chance with the surgery over the heat cycle. We are fortunate in that the surgery did not have a noticeably negative effect. Perhaps we were just lucky in that regard, but I am happy with our decision to spay.

Elaine, do you think the Mitaban is more effective than the oral Ivermectin? What about the injected Ivermectin I hear about every once in a while?

I have had Bulldogs for over 30 years and have had my share of Demodex, my vets over that time tell me I know more about it than they do , because I read everything that could when my first bitch developed it years ago. There was no Mitaban , ivermectin or interceptor then. I had to use a mixture of Ecterol that the vet made up and this was very toxic, I could only do 1/3 of her body daily and had to wear plastic gloves up my arms. It took 4 months to get rid of but we did it ajnd she lived to 14 years of age. She was also bred as at that time they did not say to not breed them and none of her pups ever had it. I also was in on the testing of the Mitaban as my older dog developed Demodex at 6 years of age . This was due to the fact that he was given steroid shots for allergies which killed his immune system and allowed the mange mites to multiply. This also was prior to the knowledge that steroids kill immune systems.

that you can print out a couple of the messages that don't sound too harsh and give the information to her, printed out. It won't involve a lengthy conversation or trying to convince her of anything, just "informational" and she can decide what to do on her own.

You understand that what treatment she was given was not 'bad'..it just wasn't the best she could have received. Hope the dog improves quickly.

I have bullies too and had never heard of having to put a bulldog down because it had mange. None of mine have had problems with mange so I had not had any experience with it. I have a very good bulldog vet but he is an hour away and she does not want to drive that far to go to the vet. And the puppy defiently does have a heart murmur because she went to my vet and my vet sent her to a cardiologist. I called my vet yesterday to ask him about the mange too and of course he said it was very common in bulldogs and he would defiently not put one to sleep because it had mange. I sure wish she would have went to him because he said he would have given her some ointment to put on the spots of mange first to see if that would help. I wish she would not trust this vet but the thing is she does and I dont want to make her upset telling her to not go to the vet because he is a dingbat. Thanks for all the comments though, I sure wish she would have not went and paid $300 for the medicine for the puppy for a month when she could have went to my vet and he would have given her ointment to put on it.

Hi,
We are battling generalized mange here too, and I've learned alot about it. IT is RARELY serious enough to require the dog to be put down, and there are a few treatment options (ivermection, interceptor, mitaban, etc.). If one doesn't work, don't put the dog down for crying outloud, try another treatment! Some dogs can't be cured, but even those survive okay with maintenance doses of medication. Those dogs are still very rare! Most young dogs are perfectly fine after a few months of treatment. Antibiotics to fight skin infection help alot as well. A staph-clearing antibiotic like cephalexin will help make the treatment even more effective since the dog will not be battling mite and skin infection at the same time.

I don't think interceptor is a bad drug for the dog to be on, but there are also other (less expensive) options. My pup takes ivermection and the cost was only about $20 for a 30 day supply.

Tell your friend not to cry! Her pup needs to be spayed/neutered now as the disease is genetic, but should survive just fine.
-Opal

UNBELIEVABLE!!!! Where do they grow these vets!!!!! Add another one to the( I SHOULD HAVE STUDIED IN SCHOOL)group. Not only should you run from this vet but tell everyone you know what he did. UNEXPLAINABLE!!!!

Have her contact us for referral to a decent veterinarian!! And yes, the mange should be treated with Mitaban Dips and the dog should be given vitamins to help build up his immune system. This vet missed helping them on two most important items!

Introduce her to this site if you can..then she can ask as many questions as she wants... there are lots of people here with experience, but first and for most - tell her to get a new vet!

only localized Demodex as opposed to generalized which is all over the dogs body. Even the generalized can be cured in time. Red Mange is just another name for Demodectic Mange not a different kind.

If a dog needs to be put down due to mange there wouldn't be very many bulldogs left. A very high percentage of bulldogs have mange before the age of 1. My dog had it. It cleared up in a month. They just need their immune system to build up. Bulldog pups have little protection as puppies. Tell your friend to fight the mange and it will eventually go away.

Oh and by the way....definitly find a new vet.

and we can all call him and tell him he's an idiot !!!!
Never heard anything so ridiculous.
Lynn
xx

Ivermectin is a less expensive way to treat the mange. No reason to euthanize. The mange should clear. I'd have a 2nd opinion on the heart condition too.

That vet is a quack!

you can use ivermectin oral for a few months and it should take care of the problem. you can have her email me or if you post your email i can send her some info or my number to talk to her.


Run like hell from this vet, OMG what a cook. "D" means done in school, not all graduate at the top of the class many are below the normal line.


Vicky

spay to neuter now...that is directly opposite the advice from our bulldog vet who sees about a half-dozen rescue bulldogs with severe mange each year and that's just the ones we bring to him from the shelters, etc. I know he has many more bulldog clients (hopefully few with mange problems) but my point is that the dog is under stress now from the active infestation of the mites and now is not the time to do vaccinations, surgery or any other stressful 'elective' treatment...we want to get the mites dealt with first! Yes, this can take several months depending on the treatment selected, the dog's response, and sometimes 'luck'.

And I know that many other experienced bulldoggers here agree on this point too.

I also advocate using Mitaban Dips on the dogs with mange who are old enough to withstand this, generally six months old or more, and depending on whether there is secondary bacterial infections on the skin causing open wounds...we don't want to use the dips when there are open wounds because there can be too much absorption of the poison in those cases, so antibiotics and ivermectin usually is used until the skin settles down/closes.

I know what I'm talking about in these instances. I've been working with bulldog rescue for well over a half-dozen years, I'm a retired Registered Veterinary Technician with a degree in Animal Health, and 30 years of bulldog ownership.