Possible demodectic mange?

[rhynes]

Been awhile since i've been on here...

Minpin, 2 years old, super cute according to the owner. Asked the vet about the stinky ears, she said all is ok - but I swear he has ear mites. Been using a cleaner and the crap that's coming out is brownish, pretty sure it's mites and he's scratching like a bugger. Got some tresaderm from a veterinarian pharmacist today - took two adults to pin this 9 pound dogs down to administer.

On close look, he's got bald patches over his legs and thighs, and he's been chewing. The patches are scaly and dry. The owner had him on a poultry dry food diet, that was changed to orijen beef and fish etc as of a couple of weeks ago on suspicion of allergies. He will take raw beef as well.

Wondering if it could be demodectic mange - the son brought his lab/husky cross in from the farm where she spent every day roaming the farm.






And the 9 pound devil dog himself, notice his thigh:

[Barkingdog]

If you dog has demodectic mange he will need to get a series of 3 shots . I knew someone that got scabies and she was worried her dog got them too and gave the dog a flea bath. That was a waste of money , the mites live under the skin , did the vet do a skin culture on your dog to see if he has
demodectic mange ?

[rhynes]

The current vet says the dog doesn't have ear mites, I say she's full of it. Poor dog has been near tearing the ears off with his claws and what's coming out of his ears, especially the left, is dark brown - classic for ear mites. I suspect he's got a mild case of mange, not uncommon for minpins from what I'm reading. Both of his eyes are weeping a little, and have slight hair loss - and they are itching.

The owner will be in the hunt for a new vet come Monday. Thinking it may be coming from the farm dog but one can never be sure I guess. The husky/lab cross is healthy and hardy as can be, the minpin of course is spoked rotten.

[Longblades]

It could be allergies and not ear mites or mange. Really need to consult a Vet.

I see you are in Edmonton where most likely the heat is on in the house. Something else to check is humidity levels, with a hygrometer. You, your wooden furniture and electronics will benefit from humidity levels kept at the proper levels for winter, whether it affects the dog or not.

I had my Lab with me to visit his Grandma in her Long Term Care yesterday and he got instant dandruff. It's so hot and dry in that place, but I have to admit I was surprised to see such a quick affect on his coat and skin. And of course hot and dry skin can make them itchy.

Good luck, poor wee thing must be pretty miserable.

[Digston]

It could be demodex. Demodex is normal in a percentage of the population, but it is typically noted since it isn't pathogenic... until the immune system is supressed for some reason. Demodex can be difficult to deal with due to the coinciding immune deficiency. Diagnosis is possible through a deep skin scraping, as they live in hair follicles. This would not be transferred to the min pin from the other dog. I would, however, consider skin mites or lice due to the contact with the farm dog.

As for the ears, did the vet take an ear swab and examine it microscopically? The only way to rule out ear mites is through an ear swab and this would have shown bacteria or yeast issues as well. Since there is a discharge and no mention of bacteria or yeast, only no mites, I assume a swab wasn't performed. Although, just looking at the pictures, the pinnae (external ear) doesn't look inflamed. Maybe it's just dirty ear wax. Without looking at it under a microscope I can only speculate.

Request a deep skin scraping and an ear swab w/ microscopic examination. If they both come up negative I would question whether there is an allergic dermatitis or as previously mentioned, a moisture issue... but with the itchy ears I automatically would lean towards allergy.

1 more point, you may want to consider using an e-collar since you mentioned that he was chewing. Sometimes these behaviors can become compulsions.

[Marty11]

Your dog has allergy symptoms. Brown stuff in the ear, does he bite his feet. If the ear smells really bad it needs an antibiotic. Once under control regular ear cleaning from the vet is required. I had a golden retriever that suffered 12 years of this. Very rare is it a food allergy, it could be environmental allergies. Was he recently vaccinated.