[keri f]

My 4 mo.old puppy has had an eye problem about 3 wks now and today I took him to get vaccines at a non profit. The workers/volunteers said it looked like demodec but im not 100 percent sure if it’s that or allergies. The hair around his left eye is half way gone and under the eye, there’s a patch of thinning hair and there’s a small bald spot towards his left ear.
It hasn’t gotten worse and not much better. I’ve been applying eye drops with borax in it and eyebright. No improvements yet.
He’s also itchy, off and on so that’s why I’m thinking it’s allergies and I’ve been feeding him grain free food which is diamond naturals and before, natural balance.
Any helpful advice would be great especially a natural way to get rid of what ever he has.
thanks,
miko

[Susan]

Hi Keri, does he have white fur & pink skin undernealth, Patch gets this on his white side of his head above his eye to his ear, I put Cortisone 1% cream on it & it seems to stay the same, it gets a bit better.. I think when we are walking it gets sunburnt cause its only the white side as his brindle side where his Patch is, is fine…. today I put some “Sudocream” on it, it’s for Nappyrash,Dermatitis,Eczema, before our walk & it looks a bit better not as red…I also bath him in Malaseb Medicated shampoo, this stops his itchy skin… u need a skin scrapping done at the vets, Ive done a skin scrapping on Patch & it came back no mites…

[USA]

The dog you see in my avatar had localized demodectic mange when we first adopted him. He was 4 and a half months old. He had a ring of no hair around both eyes and he was itchy. This is pretty common in puppies as they transition from their mothers immunity and develop their own immune system. I transitioned him from the kibble he came with to the home prepared diet all of my dogs get. His immune system developed and held the mites in check without any drugs or medications.

All dogs have mites it’s just that a healthy immune system usually keeps them in check and no symptoms appear. It is possible that your dog will need some help in restoring balance but my first choice would be a home prepared diet of 75% meat (including about 10% organs) and 25% non-starchy vegetables and a little fruit. A good starting book to read on preparing a home made diet would be Steve Browns See Spot Live Longer. All recipes that do NOT contain bone can be lightly cooked or served raw. I would start with lightly cooked while his immune system develops and then if you like you can ease him onto a completely raw diet or continue with a lightly cooked one.

Good Luck with your new addition!!!

[Melissaandcrew]

It sounds like your pup is getting the telltale “raccoon eyes” that comes with localized demodex. The first step is to go to a vet and get medication for it. It WILL get worse the more he itches and rubs it, and then you run the risk of secondary bacterial/yeast infections springing up. If the area is small enough, they may be able to treat it with ointment-dips and ivermectin orally are also treatment methods used, Next, be sure you are feeding a really high quality dog food.

We took in a doxie that had localized demodex and the idiot breeder did nothing about it-until it was generalized and the poor thing stunk so bad it even made us gag. Her solution was to dump the dog on rescue and it took 6mths of daily meds plus dips to clear it.

[Melissaandcrew]

BTW-many pups get demodex flare ups as pups, especially during times of stree. The mite is a normal mite on the skin for dogs, and usually doesn’t cause a problem. Most stop flare ups by 1 yr of age, but those that do not, its typically viewed as an immune issue.

[InkedMarie]

In the future, if your pup has any health issues, it is wise to hold off on vaccinations.

[Author]

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