[dodolah]

This is my first basset.
He is 6 months old now.. and yesterday, I took him first time to Dog Beach.

After we go home, I gave him a thorough bath and groom him..
I found there is some red pot on his belly that soon disappear the next day.
But, I notice he has been shedding like crazy.. Although he doesn't seem to be scratching or doing anything differently. He still eats fine..

But, i do notice he shed a LOT.. if you pet him, there will be hairs on your hand.
Now, this is my first basset..

Is this a normal phase? Is this the season for Basset to shed? or does the visit to the beach is the one causing him shedding?
So far no bald spots, no changes in behavior, no scratching... just tons of hair (a bit more than usual)..
Hair is actually quite shiny..
Please help.

Thanks

 

[Soundtrack]

Quite normal. Basset Hounds shed a lot. Twice a year they shed even more.

 

[smitte21]

Yes it could be a change over in coat for the season... mine usually do that in early spring though... Could also be his puppy coat is being replaced by his adult coat.

 

[FloppyToby]

tobes has been shedding like crazy

 

[Yogi's Mom]

Yogi is also shedding like crazy. I swear we never seem to get away from the hair! If Yogi isn't shedding then Gunny is! Still wouldn't trade my boys for anything in the world despite all the hair!

 

[dollypop's_momma]

mine did that too

My dog just finished shedding her winter coat too. And there was hair everwhere constantly no matter how much I vacumed and cleaned out her crate. That is very normal though. And surprisingly now she doesn't shed anymore than our other dog which is just a mutt.

 

[dodolah]

Finally, I decided to go to the vet to check.

Last week, he developed two bald spots about the size of a dime. One behind his collar and another one on his upper leg.
I go to the vet and he did a skin scrape and found a demodectic mite. He is diagnosed with a demodectic mange
Those who are not familiar, Demodectic mange is NOT sarcoptic mange.. People immediately think sarcoptic mange immediately when the word mange appears.

here is the dilemma...
He did not itch.. and he looked great.. the only bald spot are the two I mentioned. He eats fine and he is on his usual self. I saw the pictures of generalized red mange, to be honest he doesn't even come close to look like that. Again, he had 2 dime sized bald spot. Other than that, he's normal.

But, the vet puts him on:
1. Antibiotic (Cephalexin)
2. Atarax (Hydroxyzine)
3. 6-8 Mitaban Dips (costing 60 bucks a bath)
4. Goodwinol ointment.

Please don't get me wrong.. money is not the issue.. but doesn't it seems to be far too aggressive to treat a localized red mange? Plus, I am a bit worried from the fact that the vet came with a guide book on mange and gave me wrong info about the fact that the mange is hereditary from the father side.. ummm whaaaat????

And reading the side effects from the pesticides baths, i got more and more concerned.. My only worry comes from subjecting my 7 months old puppy to a nasty treatments that might actually ended up costing his life or some organ failures.

I am having a second and third vet opinion.. and I got instead 3 completely new opinions..
One said Mitaban is safe and Ivermectin is bad.
One said completely opposite.
The other said he would let the puppy have another month to see if his immune system can handle the mange.

any word of advice, guys?

 

[Kirska]

Have you visited a specialist vet? Your profile says you are in LA. Here is a dermatology specialist vet group that I found near LA: Animal Dermatology Clinic :: Locations :: Tustin. A google search turned up a few more. There is a title that dermatologist vets that are certified get: dip ACVD. That's the best advice I can give, hope your puppy gets better soon.

 

[Tuesday]

So sorry to hear that. All those chemicals sound dangerous for a puppy. Maybe a yeast and grain free diet can help until you can find a solution. Mites feed on yeast. Have you looked into going to a holistic Veterinarian?

 

[Mikey T]

Isolated demodedet mange need not be treated aggresively it is often a secondary condition the result of a slightly impeared immune system. It the area spreads then it does need aggresive treatment.


Demodectic Mange .

It is generally a disease of young dogs that have inadequate or poorly developed immune systems or older dogs that are suffering from a suppressed immune system.

...Fortunately, 90% of demodectic mange cases are localized, in which only a few small areas are involved and can often be treated topically. A treatment that has been successful for years has been a 1% rotenone ointment (Goodwinol ointment), or more recently, a 5% benzoyl peroxide gel applied daily. Bathing periodically with a benzoyl peroxide shampoo and feeding a high quality diet and a multivitamin with a fatty acid may also help some dogs. Most of these localized lesions will heal on their own and do not require overly aggressive treatment, though they may worsen before they improve.
If a dog develops generalized demodicosis, more aggressive treatment is usually required. Studies show that between 30% and 50% of dogs that develop the generalized form will recover on their own without treatment, but treatment is still always recommended for the generalized form.

FWIW 5-10% benzyol-peroxide is the active ingredient in many over the counter acne medications. and readily available.

 

[dodolah]

He is on Godwynol ointment now (and the ointment cause the spot to reddened and lose more hairs -in which I heard that it's quite expected to do so for a while).
I am holding off on the Mitaban dip treatments.. I think it's far too aggressive to treat a puppy with that many pesticides.

Gus had just been bathed with 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide shampoo. I think I will give him the bathe once a week for now.

I am going to have a second opinion on Tuesday.
This time I specifically go to dermatologist specialist.

 

[dodolah]

Just got back from the second vet.
After physically seeing Gus, he basically agreed that the dip is way too aggressive on treating him. We spoke on the phone earlier, and that he usually recommended oral ivermectin on dog diagnosed with Demodectic mange. But, in Gus' case, he didn't even think that Ivermectin is necessary.

So, he told me to keep up with the antibiotic (cephalexin 500 Mg -as a blanket treatment), Atarax (hydroxyzine) only when he is itching, and Goodwinol ointment.

A bath of benzoyl peroxide weekly is good too.

Assess this for a month, see if the bald spot remains the same and continue treatment. If it gets larger or suddenly grow out of control, then he would administer Ivermectin. He did say that most likely Gus will grow out of it and get cured by himself.

Sounds good to me..