Demodectic Mange
I am beginning the process of writing down all the things I have tried in dealing with demodectic mange in our senior dog, Mendelssohn age 12. Mendelssohn had a tumor that was supposedly cancerous removed from his left elbow. [July 2012] At the time of the surgery, he was given a 3-year rabies vaccination (without my permission). Within 2 weeks of those events, we noticed a small bald spot on his rear leg (not the same leg as the surgery.) The surgeon did a superb job because the tumor was wrapped around bone, tendon and muscle. The operation took about 90 minutes. The tumor has not grown back, but I’m not happy about the vaccination. He didn’t need that additional assault on his little body.
We used a chemical application for the mange that worked on the one spot, but immediately other bald spots mushroomed. Because of the tumor, we started him on:
Berte’s Immune Blend
Dr. Harvey’s Ortho Flex
Young Living Essential Oil of Lemon, Frankincense and Lemon Grass oils. We added Cedar later on. He was given 3 Raindrop Technique sessions.
We found a very good short book on the subject At that time, it was $10 but it appears at this link it may be free of charge: https://www.scribd.com/doc/89175914/Canine-Care-Guide-Demodectic-Mange-Preview-Edition. If you Google Simon Tong, you may find more information on Demodectic Mange. My sister and I were very happy to read this little book. However Dr. Tong recommends some items that I was not able to obtain, so I did further research. Another pdf file that is informative and helpful is here: https://raraavisherb.com/mange.pdf [I am not able to find this – February 2022]
Mendelssohn did very well with the Young Living Oils and the Dr. Harvey’s. But – I ran out of the Dr. Harvey’s Ortho-Flex; at the same time Mendelssohn went on a long drive from Milwaukee back to Houston. The combination of these 2 stressors, I believe, caused the mange to mushroom once again, this time all over the legs, and one spot on the nose.
I re-read Dr. Tong’s book but found that some of the items he recommends are not available at this time in the US (specifically a shampoo by PetAlive). Upon further research I found that both Dr. Harvey’s and Organix.net have a neem shampoo and a neem spray that worked very well. These products along with resuming the Dr. Harvey’s Ortho-Flex supplement put Mendelssohn back on the right track. It is now December 2012, 6 months later, and the hair is not all grown back, but there is much progress. Not only that, Mendelssohn’s eyes are bright and he has a nice little step and seems very happy. One problem is that he does not like baths.
A really great product is Neem shampoo from https://organixsouth.com/
The above web site has all kinds of shampoo, skin remedies and immune system supplements. I have only tried the bar soap for dogs, which works very well. I used it on myself (because I have weird lesions on my forehead), and my forehead is clearing up – or at least the lesions seem to be calming down. I may try their immune system supplements.
I found that bathing every 4 days was extremely important. This I learned from the Rara Avis Herb site referenced above. [which I can’t find anymore] Also I kept his bedding clean, and washed and steamed the floors. Application of Young Living cedar and lemon immediately on new spots was very helpful in stopping further hair loss.
After one month of relief from this challenge, it has returned. I suppose I should have continued with the baths and oils, but it was Christmas time and I was very busy. So now the mange has returned. We are back to bathing. I am going to try the immune supplements at the Organix web site.
One thing that I discontinued was FM11 – a supplement for all kinds of ailments that is made by Candace Hoke. I started Mendelssohn back on that today. I think he will just need constant attention to this matter. Actually I had all the dogs on it from October – December. It’s a great herbal supplement. You can read about FM11 HERE. [Can no longer find this info, but I know FM11 contained comfrey]
All in all, Mendelssohn looks fabulous except for the bald patches inside all his legs. His eyes are bright and he looks really buff. I plan on taking him to the vet to check for any signs that I am overlooking. I have not yet taken him for a chiropractic and acupuncture session. That is in 2 weeks. Our new foster got Mendelssohn’s appointment from last week because she was in such bad shape. [Mendelssohn lived to be 14.5 – he died of hemangio, 15 months after surgery. They called him the miracle dog.]