demodectic mange

[ShaneW]

Does anyone have any info on this. We are doing dips and antibiotics, anyone had any experience with this long term, cure, etc?
Thanks,
Shane

[Boomer]

Here's a quick but decent summary: http://www.barkbytes.com/medical/med0019.htm

My wife has a dog that has had demodex for probably almost 3 years now. He has a really poor immune system (among other physical problems) and can't seem to get rid of it. There have been several times where it seems to have gone away, but it always pops back up again. We treated it aggressively for awhile, too. Now, I think my wife generally just gives him a dip when the mange looks obvious either on his skin/coat or in his attitude.

If you're dog is less than a year old, it just may take some time for his immune system to beat it. If he's older, hopefully the treatment will help get rid of it.

[Tri-Power]

Back when i was a kid my grandfather always had a solution for every thing including mange. First he recommended boiling poke root in a barrel and dipping the dogs in the solution but i can't remember if it did the job or not but, i do remember one that did. When you change your oil in your car take the oil and mix it with powdered sulfer and rub it all over the dog and let him wear it off. You may need to do this a couple of times but this will do the job. Don't know what to tell you if it's a house dog. It won't hurt the dog but he'll look at you as if he thought you were nuts.

Tri-Power

[Boomer]

You've got to be kidding! I don't care if it "works" or not...used motor oil can do all sorts of damage to a dog. It may not necessarily (but certainly can, depending on the dose and dog's tolerance level) irritate the dog's skin, and it's unlikely to cause immediate death, but it does have documented carcinogenic (causes cancer), mutagenic (causes genetic mutations - which could manifest itself as a depressed immune system, a developmental problem in a growing dog, etc), and teratogenic (causes defects and problems in future offspring) effects. Many of the constituents of used motor oil are lipophilic (literally "fat-loving"), which means that they are readily absorbed into tissue deposits.

I am sure that most any topical application to treat mange can have potentially dangerous side-effects, but not compared to used motor oil!

[Tri-Power]

Boomer: I'm sure we could find something wrong with all medications if we look hard enough. The FACT is: I have used this medication on several dogs both male and female for several years in several situations and NEVER and i repeat NEVER had any four headed pups and never saw any ill efects on any of my hounds. You know come to think of it, if one drank enough whisky it would kill him.

[Boomer]

I mentioned that most/all medications can have potential side-effects, and I am among the group of people who thinks that the risk of routine exposure to chemicals are very over-blown and that chemicals are generally safer than people think. I spent 5 years of my life in a lab where I was potentially exposed to numerous potentially dangerous chemicals - petroleum products, solvents, heavy metals, explosives, acids/bases, carcinogens, radioactive elements, etc, in addition to biological hazards, and I don't expect to see any long-term health-effects. But there's still no way in hell I'd willingly put used motor oil on a dog, and if I got any on a dog, I'd do what I could to remove it immediately.

Here are some links that seem to agree that this form of treatment is harmful, and most of these claim it is also ineffective...
http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/Zoo/ ... oroil.html
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_de ... mange.html (go to the bottom)
http://www.petsmart.com/pet_library/hom ... ange.shtml
http://allsands.com/Pets/mangetreatment_wvm_gn.htm
http://www.texasbostons.com/docs/DEMODECTICMANGE.doc http://www.kthv.com/columns/askdrbob/ar ... oryid=4376
http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/dsmange.html

To be fair, there are people who support its use here
http://beaglesunlimited.com/beaglehealt ... cmange.htm
http://www.sting-ray.com/wackyuses/boar ... 13251.html
http://mysticstackshack.tripod.com/herbs.htm

...and I am sure you can find more out there who support this "home remedy." I just certainly don't!