Cost of mange treatment..?

ger vallely

My little dog-Cavalier/Jack Russell cross has some scabby patches appearing on her belly. I have her booked in to see the vet on Wednesday,so I'm not looking for vetinary advice.A check on the net showed up the possibility of mange.She's our first dog so I've not got experience with this at all. It's just that I'm wondering if mange is that common?Also,she was neutered 3 weeks ago so her belly was shaved and a few googles told me that mange is more likely where the hair is thin or totally gone.If it is mange, how much,on average would I be looking at for treatment? Also,if it is mange would a kennel accept her in?She's booked in for a stay in the local kennel quite soon.Thanks for any advice..

boomerang

Hi Ger,

The rash could be from any number of things, so I'm glad she's going to the vet.

Just to reassure you, sarcoptic mange is inexpensive to treat. Most dogs simply need an Advocate spot-on, repeated after about a month. Max cost of the two Advocate would be €20 (plus your vet's consultation fee, of course.) Demodectic mange is a slightly different story though, as she would need repeated washes with Aludex or similar. It still shouldn't cost the earth, though.

You couldn't put a dog with mange in kennels though, as it's contagious.

Let us know how she gets on on Wednesday and don't worry too much. It could be something simple.

bannermaf

Yes, you'll have to see the vet to be sure, it can be so many things. It may also be Demodectic mange which is not contagious, but takes longer to get rid of.

It may be an allergy to her food, a detergent, a flea collar...and some dogs just have sensitive skin.

You will have to get the vet to check it, but I also recommend a wash that I ordered online called DermOpt. I used it on a dog with Demodectic Mange and a dog with persistantly bad skin and it has made HUGE improvements in both dogs.

Good luck!

DogsFirst

Hi Ger, it could be a whole heap of things. Definitely get the vet to have a look. But here's what they'll say and do.

"It looks like atopic dermatitis though it could be a number of things. It has a number of causes, have you changed your carpet cleaner lately?" Or something along those lines. The vet will then prescribe some antibiotics to clear the bacteria, perhaps a steroid cream to help the skin and heal and send you on your way.

In four weeks you will notice the patches coming back, maybe a little paw nibbling with a distinct loss of condition in the coat. A trip back to the vets will have your dog on repeat prescription steroids for the rest of his life.

If it is mange, should the vet diagnose it, you've got a bigger question to answer, how come your dog is getting mange? Like a dog being over run with fleas, only the weakest of individuals succumb to such issues, dying wolves and dogs in the wild, the most stressed and weakened dogs in kennels etc. This is a commonly over looked issue, the why as opposed to the which drug.

Poor skin, almost regardless of the issue / diagnosis, is cleared up nearly instantly with a change in diet. It is the very first sign of dietary intolerance coupled with a lack of skin / magnesium in the diet (a result of malabsorbtion from a cereal based diet). Skin issues (including ear infections) are the first sign your dry, processed, cereal based diet is not working out for your dog. Your skin issues will not go away unless these the problem is removed from the diet.

If you must stay on dry food you need to move your dog to a rice based / potato based biscuit free of gluten (wheat / barley / rye). However I recommend a move to a fresh diet, one with lots of fresh stuff, no cereal, no cooked protein and no food chemicals. Fresh is best. Subsidise with fish oil caps (two a day for him). The stuff in there will clear up your skin issues instantly, for free and involving zero extremely tough drugs.

If it doesn't clear it up I'll eat dry food for a week. If it does, ask your vet to eat a handful. When he baulks, ask him why your dog would like it every single day of it's life.

Best of luck.

wetfish

DogsFirst wrote: »

When he baulks, ask him why your dog would like it every single day of it's life.

Best of luck.

Who's this 'he/him'?

ger vallely

Wow,thanks for the replies. Well this morning when we got up Velma had torn the skin by licking. So I'm anxiously awaiting the vet appointment. She eats Royal Canin dried food and has done since we got her at 3 months.Her skin has always been perfect up until this situation. As I said previously this showed up while she was healing from neutering,I wonder if the shaving had an affecton her?Well I guess I'll find out at her appointment in the morning.In the meantime it's going to be a full time effort to keep her away from the wound. It appears too moist to bandage,dressings might stick to it.Dogsfirst-I do agree that a change in diet can improve skin condition,it's common sense really. But when you say fresh stuff,what kind of stuff do you mean. Also I do believe Velma will need some sort of chemical start to deal with this. Thanks so much again for the replies.I will let ye know how she gets on.

DogsFirst

Food intolerances take months to years to develop, it's not an instantaneous thing like an allergy (think of him exploding on the floor, man choking on shrimp etc). Your food is definitely wheat based, I will close my account if I'm wrong. That's a solemn promise.

I mean fresh meat, unprocessed meat etc, follow any one of the fresh feeders advice here (some say veggies, cooked or pureed, some don't). Essentially fresh poo would be better than cooked cereal biscuits.

I know it's hard to get away from the tempting blue pill but pure aloe vera for broken skin will work better. Steroids shut down the immune system, preventing it from doing it's job (the skin is exuding toxins inside, stop it doing that and the toxins remain). There is no need for drugs. WHEN the vet says you need 'em, use them for as short a period as possible but try the aloe, great stuff to have around.

Remember though, you do need to remove the antigen, something your vet will know little about.

Knowledge of nutrition round these parts is really shocking. Dentastix by pedigree for example. 74% of 1500 Irish and UK vets interviewed recommend them for oral health in your dog. Incredible. Check out the ingredients. First two are carbs (dogs have no amylase in their saliva so the carbs / sugar hangs around the mouth feeding bacteria) and the third ingredient is sugar!!! Stuffed full of salt. Truly shocking stuff. They offer a bit more of a chew than dry food so out front they go. I'm ranting aren't I......

ger vallely

That's alot of good information there Dogsfirst.I totally agree with the aloe,I use it here at ahome on us humans so would definitely use it on Velma.Also,honey would be good,once I can stop her from licking it! The information about the Dentastix is truly awful. i must confess I had been giving our girl one every other day,I will throw out the rest for sure.A waste I know but probably better in the long run. Anyway,I'm just back from the vet and I ,thankfully,overreacted!Turns out she had cut herself,possibly whilst her hair was growing back,possibly off a fence,who knows.The cut got bigger,slightly infected too. So the vet has kept her in for the afternoon,she said it's best to have her asleep to cut off the infected flap. She'll need 2 stitches and will be home this evening. So,hopefully we'll be able to keep her away from the stitches without the awful cone!Thanks again for the replies and information supplied.It's a whole new world to me but I'll definitely keep on doing the best I can for her.

DogsFirst

Glad she's ok!