mange

[ichihuahua]

HI!
I'm new to this forum, but I have a darling little 5 month old chi. We rescued her on the way to the pound and have been absolutely thrilled with her. Her name is Dolly and she is a blonde deerhead!

She came to us with NO vet care...no shots, no worming, no collar, etc...so we started from scratch at 4 1/2 mos. When I took her to the vet, she told me that she had puppy mange..the non-contagious, hard to treat kind. I can't spell it...demodectic or something. Anyway, I've been on the net and gotten very nervous about it. I read that 80-90% of puppies who get it will get over it in time, even without intervention. I am putting on Goodwinol cream every day. I see NO improvement (she has a large patch on her front "elbow" and two-three spots on her back). I have asked other chi owners about this and have gotten some good advice, but I'm wondering if anyone here has had any experience with this. She is such a darling and the thought of this spreading is horrible.

Thanks in advance!

[opthedogfather]

did your vet recommend the Goodwinol cream??? i've never heard of that. they usually recommend medicated shampoo or something like that. good luck with it though, keep us posted!

[ichihuahua]

Yes, I got the cream from my vet. It says on the bottle that it's a long process, but if there is no improvement in 10 days to contact your vet. I did call my vet over the weekend, but she hasn't gotten back to me. I don't see improvement, and actually, it seems worse. Someone on another site said that it CAN look worse before it gets better because as you rub the cream in, the dead hair falls out. I don't know, but it's all worrisome to me! I would love to hear from anyone who did use this cream (I've seen it recommended on the net) and had good results...if they did, even if it took a long time, I won't be so disheartened.

The dips seem so very toxic. I can't even consider them! I'm kind of hoping it will sort itself out on its own as she eats good food and is in a safe and good situation (she is a rescued pup).

Thanks!

[opthedogfather]

well, good luck with all of it. id try calling your vet back though, since its the week after thanksgiving, she's probably busy, but if your persistant, she'll have no choice but to talk to you. those dips do smell funny, like theyre gonna burn the dogs skin off, but ive given several dogs those baths, and you'd be amazed. id swear, those dogs sighed in relief. at any rate i applaud you rescuing, and like i said before, keep us posted on how everything turns out. id like to know how that cream works.

[ichihuahua]

My vet is a close friend of mine, and I actually think she is thinking my message is silly, and she is busy so I'm "last on the list" with the other friends and family. I'll call her again. I do remember that she was NOT worried about it, but after I read up on it, I AM worried.

I also read that the dip was not to be used on toy breeds? I would probably go ahead and do it for a lab or such, but it seems SO toxic for Dolly. She is about 5 pounds now, I guess. She was 4.6 pounds on Nov. 9, but I think she has probably gained. I know she is a good size for a chi, but still seems so small to me. My other two dogs (both also rescued) are an Aussie-border mix, and a Golden "heinz-57", and they both seem like mastiffs to me all of a sudden!:)

I'll definitely keep you posted on the mange. I'll call my vet again today, and I know we'll see her in a few days for the next shots. She'll probably tell me to keep up with the cream until then. Maybe it will suddenly start looking better!

Oh, and I started her on "California Naturals" puppy food. I was buying Nutro Ultra, but the guy there talked me into this for her coat. I'm thinking of buying Omega 3 supplements as well.

Sorry these posts are so long, I just have a million questions with my first little adorable chi!