Help! Mites!

[Latoya]

Hi All,

Looking for some advice on my 7 month old Staffy. When I first bought her at 8weeks old I noticed a small patch on her nose of not much hair, the size of half a pea. Slowly she started to lose more hair on her head in patches. I took her to the vet and had a scraping and they said she had demodectic mites. She had 5 injections and they started to go away. That was about 8 weeks ago. Now I have noticed slowly her neck is completely hairless and scabby and her head is loosing patches of hair and tiny patches now down her back. To look at her she looks fine but its when you see her on different angles you can see all of these patches. I am going to go back to the vet this week and get another scraping and start over with the needles again. Does anyone have any other advice on things I can do to help her? Is it my fault she's gotten mites? She was bought from a reputable breeder also who has been really helpful in offering advice when I first noticed it. thanks in advance!!!

[megan_]

I believe Advocate deals with mites

[Sandra777]

No it's not your fault. Demodex mites are transferred from mum to pups shortly after birth and are NORMAL. We have mites in our hair follicles too, it's a perfectly normal thing, so don't guilt yourself.

Most dogs have no issue with them but sometimes in some dogs their immune system just gets out of whack and the mites breed out of control causing the problem you're seeing. Most of the time this will right itself regardless if you do anything or not, but sometimes the dog's immune system is chronically weakened and they need help. I believe Advocate is commonly used - the injections are usually ivertmectin and can be pretty harsh on the dog and may contribute to lowering their immune system even more, causing a vicious circle.

Discuss it with your vet and don't be bullied - if they refuse to believe there is any solution except for injections then I personally would seek a second opinion. Yes in some cases this is the best solution, but all options should be open for discussion.

If the patches aren't infected (and secondary infection is common) then you certainly do have the option of taking a wait and see attitude.

Just a warning, if you bought this bitch with the intention of breeding you need to discuss the problem with people who know her ancestors. A part of the strength or weakness of the immune system is inherited and if it "runs in the family" it may be that you choose not to continue the problem into another generation. As she had the condition when you bought her (assuming the bald spot on her nose was demodex? It may have been just a normal puppy-inflicted wound :) ) the breeder would be the place to start, did they say anything about it at the time?