demodetic mange... HELP!!!

My dog Chloe is 9 months old and has been diagnosed with demodetic mange. She has the generalized form of mange and is covered from head to toe with secondary bacterial infections and sores. We have her on a medication provided by the vet and he has said it will take a couple of weeks before results can be seen but we are desperate for any kind of help. She is so uncomfortable. She barely comes off her bed. She is on an antibiotic for the infections and Ivermectin for the mange. We were aware that Ivermectin could pose side effects so we started her at a low dosage to see and so far there have been none. My wife and I cant stand to see her like this. what can we do?
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What breed of dog is Chloe?
Marcus was a foster sheepie for us that had demodex mange as well. I learned quickly it is better to keep their hair short (if your dog is a sheepie), give him a medicated bath once a week, keep him flea and tick free. We also gave him the Ivermectin and 3 Benadryl tablets in the morning and at night to prevent the itching. Food allergies may play a part as well. Give your dog good food such as Nutro which most dogs seem to have the least reaction to.

With this regiment the dogs skin will heal.

Hope this helps you and if you have any additional questions you can either private message me if you are a member or post here and I will try to answer your questions.
Hope she gets better soon.
Chloe is a 9 month old sheep dog and she is the cutest thing you have ever seen. I love her to death and this is heart breaking for us. Thank you for your suggestions. We are currently giving her the medicated baths that she needs as well as the vet prescribed Ivermectin. Im just not sure it is helping.

Does anyone have suggestions as far as immune boosters/ vitamins that I could try for her? I want to make sure she is geting all the nutirents she can to help her fight this. SHe is currently on a venison and potato food given to us by our vet in an effort to also rule otu any food allergies.
You need to treat the underlying problem. Demodex doesn't just go away and never come back. It could be a lifelong batttle, or maybe will happen only under stressfull and unhealthy conditions.

My gal suffered for months until we got her under control. If it is comfort you are looking for we used warm salt water to ease the itching and promote clean healing. We also kept a T-shirt on her to keep the skin from breaking as she scratched and to keep the sores clean.

Hopefully the antibiotics will help her feel better, as the infection clears.

We did not use the Invermectin dips as we did not have the screening test done to ensure it would not harm her. We used Advantage Multi, which is used "off label" for this....along with tons of tender loving care.

Keep the stress levels lows.
I am not positive about this, for some reason I can't shake the cobwebs today, but I seem to remember that Ivermectin can cause lethargy in Sheepdogs and other breeds related to the Collie.

Can someone back me up on the drug and the symptoms?
You are correct Ron, we had an article about it and the reactions to it published in our OES gazzette warning of this over 18 months ago. Can't find it, but here is a link in relation to it and Collies, this article mentions OES and a few other breeds that can run a risk.

http://www.awca.net/drug.htm
Chloe's Dad wrote:
Does anyone have suggestions as far as immune boosters/ vitamins that I could try for her?


Don't give her any shots for anything right now. They can reduce the immune system which needs to be boosted to handle the demodex.

I had Dixie on some skin/coat vitamins from the vet...HD (I believe that stood for High Density) for 4/5 months. They really helped build up strength in her skin that was so fragile.

Ron, there are dogs, mostly of the herding breeds, that can have a sensitivity to Invermectin....can be fatal, actually. There is a test to see if the dog carried the gene that predisposes it to the sensitivity.

I think, but not certain, that if the dog will have a problem it shows up right away.

Lethargy should be looked at by the vet. She could have an ear infection, bladder infection, or just feel miserable. How long have you had her in your care and where did she come from?
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