I recently was adopted by a mama Beagle and two small puppies who have sarcoptic mange. My local vet gave them some shots and told me to bathe them in a sulphur solution for a couple of weeks then bring them back for a followup shot. They're getting better but still scratch a lot.

I googled 'sarcoptic mange' and a new treatment called 'Revolution' was mentioned as being much easier (not to mention smelling better) to use as a treatment. My vet didn't mention this option and I don't want to insult him by suggesting it. Does anybody know a good cure for this malady? Utah Lefty??

I also noticed that one of the pups has a blue film over one eye. It almost appears as a cataract but is not as opaque. What could that be? Is the pup blind in that eye do you suppose?

Google "scabies" and see what you get � and fervently hope that you don't get scabies.

We lost a dog to it about a year ago. Revolution works well if it isn't to bad, but stick with the other if the mange is wide spread. Keep on top of it, and things should be ok.

Don't confuse sarcoptic mange with demodectic mange. Different mites. Sarcoptic is ugly looking but easy to treat. A vet will have good success with it. Demodex, on the other hand, is slower moving but very difficult to treat. It can be fatal. I had a dog with demodex once but we got lucky in that a vet caught it very early. He used Lindane and got it with only a couple treatments.

Sacroptes scabiei, aka scabies, the mange, etc isn't too common here but is much more so down south. As one would guess, it's an external parasite -- a bug if you will. and itches like the devil.

Treatment is usually via an insecticide-type medication and/or shampoo (dip).

As infestations go, this bugger isn't too difficult to kill but re-infestation is a concern.

Revolution is marketed primarily as a flea product but is also labeled for heartworm, one tick species, ear mites, and yes S. scabiei. It's also proven effective for a couple other buggers (off-label use).

The cool thing about it in this instance is that it's a once-a-month topical application and it's on-board should any of them survive in the environment and jump back on to try to set up shop again.

The "shot" you got I would wager was Ivermectin, an injectable antiparasitic which would kill any on the dog as they try to feed. That combined with an insecticide shampoo/dip would nock down 80-90% of them >>>>>>>>>> then on to the Revolution for 3-6 months. Because it covers for heartworm, you can do just that and not Heartguard too, saving a few $$.


for the eye thing:

are we talking about a blue cornea (can't see the iris or pupil) or a blue lens (behind the pupil) or a blue iris (around the pupil) ??

The vet here misdiagnosed our dog at first, then when it was too late (he was 14 and had other health issues), the Vet said it as Sarcoptic mange, we did save the other dog though

It appears that it's over the cornea and not a part of it.

it's hard to say really, without seeing it.

could easily be trauma and corneal edema. could be an active lesion/ulcer or a healed scar.

beagles have been reported to get a non-progressive endothelial dystrophy and / or a stromal dystrophy too.

did the vet look at this ??

Not yet. I just noticed it a couple of days ago and it appears to be getting more and more opaque by the hour. It's a milky blue looking thing now. I'll take her to the vet on Monday. I have to dip them in the sulphur bath again this afternoon.

Thanks, UL.

if it's progressing rapidly it would be good to look at it before Monday. Corneal ulcers can "melt" to Descemet's membrane in a matter of hours sometimes and potentially rupture the eye.

I agree with what Utah has said. It would be very rare for a dog to die from sarcops unless there were a severe pyoderma with septicemia..and that would be rare. So, I think that the dog that died did so from unrelated disease.

My guess on the eye would be trauma. An ulcer on a pup would be very rare..difficult without seeing it and staining it.

art

Mickey,

Here in the south of Iowa we found Revolution doesn't work so great for fleas. It's not a real cheap product and there is an expiration date to deal with, so your vet might not even stock it, as there are other products that accomplish what Revolution does and arguably better. I think it does work great for ear mites and Sarcoptes.

Tar & Sulphur Shampoos stink but they really are soothing to canine skin. It's an old school Rx, but hey, it works!

We see mange (both sarcoptic and demodectic) fairly often. Sarcoptes can be hard to recover from skin scrapings as they burrow so deep into the skin. The coyote and fox populations are the reservoir here, so if the client mentions the dog was in a tussle with a nasty looking varmint, that can help with the diagnosis....

Thanks to all of you. I have no idea where the mama dog got it but I'm sure the pups got it from her. She showed up at my son's church two weeks ago and he called me. When I got to the church he was holding the pups and he was all dressed in his preachin' clothes. He's about as bad as I am when it comes to animals.

I wouldn't be surprised if the eye problem wasn't due to trauma. The pups have felt good for the first time in their short lives and they tussle all the time. A claw could have gotten in the eye and that's probably what happened because it showed up overnight. They'll be at the doc's office early Monday morning. I really appreciate you guys. You mean a lot to me.

Mickey, we bought a little lapdog from someone in Texas about a year and a half ago. We immediatly noticed he would itch a little and it just kept getting worse so of course we mentioned it to the vet when he was in for shots.

They gave him Ivermectin(sp?) tablets. We use Ivermectin as a pour on for cattle so I thought it was a little strange they have a dose for a 5lb. puppy. Anyway it took about a month and one or two refills before he was completely itch free.

I did hours of research on the mites and Ivermectin seemed to be mentioned quite a bit. Good luck with getting the dogs lined out. It is TOUGH to see 'em in misery.