Archive for the ‘Dog Mange’ Category

Can Mange Affect Dogs and Humans?

Friday, September 26th, 2008

If you suspect that your dog is suffering from mange, you should do something about it immediately. As a responsible pet owner, you cannot just leave your dog to the mercy of these microscopic parasites that could thrive, duplicate, and infest the skin and hair of your dog. In just a matter of a few days, you will see that your dog’s hide would be red from itchiness and its hair would start to fall off.

But the worse thing is that mange can be transferred to you too. Merely touching your affected dog could cause the parasites to move over to your skin. Mange is highly contagious, even to humans. So if you want your home to be infection-free, you should begin living clean and healthy. And start doing so with your pets.

Certain purebred dogs are very susceptible to mange. This means that your dog may develop this disease with the mere association to other dogs that are suffering from it. Given the case, it is but mandatory that you take good care of your dog. Know the places that it frequents, if in case it flees out of your backyard. If you take your pet to the dog park, make sure it only plays with dogs that are perfectly healthy.

Pet owners would quite easily know if their dogs are infected with mange. There would be red spots on your dog’s skin, especially on the foot, ears, and mouth areas. Your pet is going to scratch a lot and be irritated with his condition too. Mange can easily spread. Localized mange can become generalized mange fast if not treated right away.

As for humans, mange can be very itchy. It would seem like an allergy or irritation on the skin. It usually affects the hands and arms. The reason for that is because those are the parts of the body that are mostly exposed and are commonly used to touch your dog. The redness and itchiness on your skin could linger for a day or two. Medicinal creams can be applied on the affected areas to treat it. In worse cases, go and see your doctor for help.

Veterinarians would know what to do in cases of mange in dogs. Take your pet to the vet immediately when the symptoms of the disease appear so that it can be treated right on its onset. Generalized mange is much harder to address. In worse cases, it may even prove to be untreatable. Pet owners with dogs suffering from worse generalized mange may have no other recourse but to put their pets to sleep so as not to prolong its suffering. This is true for incurable cases of mange in dogs.

Mange may affect you and your dog. And so you have to do everything to keep your pet in pink of health at all times. Doing so is the only way you can ensure long, happy years with your animal best friend. Give your dog the care it deserve at all times.

Visit us at Mange-in-dogs.com and find information and resources about the dog mange disease and sarcoptic dog mange.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cristian_Stan

Dog Mange

Sunday, September 21st, 2008

Dog Mange - Your Dog’s Worst Enemy



If you still don’t know what worse skin disease can hit your dog, try to look up the one called mange in every pet book you know. Mange is a type of a skin disease that can be highly contagious both for you and your other pets. Mange is caused by parasites that live on the skin of your dog, causing wounds, hair loss, blisters, and scabs. Mange could make your dog become not so desirable. With walking dandruff and a skin disease apparent on its fur, you’ll even have second thoughts about letting your dog inside the house again.

And so you should make sure that your dogs don’t acquire this disease at all. There are three types of mange that could develop in dogs - Sarcoptic Mange, Demodectic Mange, and the Cheyletiella Mange. These diseases are very similar to each other, with each of them having varying effects on your pets.

Of these three, demodectic mange can be considered as the mildest type. There are instances that dogs recover from it on their own, even without medical intervention. However, it is almost impossible to tell demodectic mange from sarcoptic mange, which is a lot more severe. If left untreated, sarcoptic mange can become generalized, which means that the entire skin surface of your dog gets affected. In its early stages, sarcoptic mange is localized. Here, the foot, the ears, or the mouth of your dog is affected. Without the proper medications, the disease can easily spread throughout the body.

This only goes to tell you that you should take your pet to the veterinarian on the first signs of the disease. They will provide them with the necessary antibiotics, dips, and diet to make sure that your dog gets cured in no time. Self-medication for mange is strongly discouraged. Veterinarians need to examine your dog fully to determine what type of mange it has acquired. Only then will the necessary treatment procedure can be given. Note that the three different types of mange call for different methods of treatment.

Cheyletiella mange is the type that is most visible. This is the one commonly referred to as the walking dandruff. Like the others, the parasites that cause this disease reproduce massively on the skin, causing severe damage in the process. The mites burrow themselves into the skin of the dog to feed on the nutrients and then reproduce. A single mite on your dog’s skin is enough to inflict it with the disease as it will multiply in number in a matter of a week.

However, that will only happen if your dog’s immune system is weak. Dogs with strong antibodies can easily fight off the parasites that cause mange. Also, dogs that don’t practice good hygiene are more prone to mange than any other pets. And so the best way to prevent mange is to make sure that your pet gets the best attention both in its hygiene and eating habits. Give your dog the most nutritious food around so its body defense system gets stronger by the day. And make sure that your dog gets its daily bath and regular grooming too in order to make sure that no mites or parasites would even attempt to come close to it.

Find out more about dog mange, sarcoptic mange in dogs and demodectic mange in dogs by visiting us at Mange-In-Dogs.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Kay