Jay Sanders

Dog Mange: Your Dog's Worst Enemy

If you still don't know what worse skin disease can hit your dog, try to look up the one called mange in every pet book you know.

Mange is a type of a skin disease that can be highly contagious both for you and your other pets. Mange is caused by parasites that live on the skin of your dog, causing wounds, hair loss, blisters, and scabs. Mange could make your dog become not so desirable. With walking dandruff and a skin disease apparent on its fur, you'll even have second thoughts about letting your dog inside the house again.

And so you should make sure that your dogs don't acquire this disease at all. There are three types of mange that could develop in dogs - Sarcoptic Mange, Demodectic Mange, and the Cheyletiella Mange. These diseases are very similar to each other, with each of them having varying effects on your pets.

Of these three, demodectic mange can be considered as the mildest type. There are instances that dogs recover from it on their own, even without medical intervention. However, it is almost impossible to tell demodectic mange from sarcoptic mange, which is a lot more severe. If left untreated, sarcoptic mange can become generalized, which means that the entire skin surface of your dog gets affected. In its early stages, sarcoptic mange is localized. Here, the foot, the ears, or the mouth of your dog is affected. Without the proper medications, the disease can easily spread throughout the body.

This only goes to tell you that you should take your pet to the veterinarian on the first signs of the disease. They will provide them with the necessary antibiotics, dips, and diet to make sure that your dog gets cured in no time. Self-medication for mange is strongly discouraged. Veterinarians need to examine your dog fully to determine what type of mange it has acquired. Only then will the necessary treatment procedure can be given. Note that the three different types of mange call for different methods of treatment.

Cheyletiella mange is the type that is most visible. This is the one commonly referred to as the walking dandruff. Like the others, the parasites that cause this disease reproduce massively on the skin, causing severe damage in the process. The mites burrow themselves into the skin of the dog to feed on the nutrients and then reproduce. A single mite on your dog's skin is enough to inflict it with the disease as it will multiply in number in a matter of a week.

However, that will only happen if your dog's immune system is weak. Dogs with strong antibodies can easily fight off the parasites that cause mange. Also, dogs that don't practice good hygiene are more prone to mange than any other pets. And so the best way to prevent mange is to make sure that your pet gets the best attention both in its hygiene and eating habits. Give your dog the most nutritious food around so its body defense system gets stronger by the day. And make sure that your dog gets its daily bath and regular grooming too in order to make sure that no mites or parasites would even attempt to come close to it.

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