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Date Posted: 17:02:01 10/02/03 Thu
Author: JB
Subject: Demodex and the Board

I’ve been out most of the day actually doing dog stuff, so the thread on this board probably carried farther than it needed to.

First. Ed, I feel certain that the only reason you brought up the subject of Demodex in response to Angela’s very nice picture of her pup was to put me in the spotlight.

Second. I was very pleasantly surprised to see that Terry devoted her post to the question of Demodex and supplied the theory she believes correct and only mentioned my name once. Since Angela got her pup from me and I AM the breeder, naming me was not out of line in my opinion (since the subject had already been brought up by ED). If you have read all the posts you have seen her theory and one that Angela feels has more merit.

My experience (which I shall relate in its’ entirety) does not fit Terry’s theory but hers’ is the old, long time accepted, belief, and is still supported by numerous people (Vets, breeders, and simply pet owners). Angela’s theory seems to make more sense to me because it would explain most of what happened and is supported by many of the recently graduated vets).
I do not, and will not, try to piece the events into a convenient theory. I look at the events and see how they can be explained-if they can be.

I bought a grown bitch from South Africa. She appeared healthy. Before I bought her I asked for hip scores and any history of prolapse in her background (parents, grandparents, sister, etc).
She was x-rayed. Good scores. I was told no prolapse in her background. It never occurred to me to ask if she had ever had any mangy puppies-my bad! I bred her and she had 8 good-looking puppies. 4 to5 months later I started getting reports from the people who had bought these puppies that they were developing what turned out to be mange. All of them! In the meantime…….

Two of the owners of these puppies had decided to get a companion for their pup and bought a second puppy from me from a different litter with different parents……..

Since the entire litter came down with mange it seems pretty obvious that they contracted it from their mother. The actual method of infestation and cause could be explained by either of the two theories put forth by Terry and Angela. How it happened is really unimportant (at this point) what mattered was that they all had it. Their mother will not be producing any more mangy pups.

Now comes the interesting part. The two puppies bought as pals also developed Demodex. They came from a litter of 9 pups. A repeat breeding. The first litter of 9 had no problems. The 7 other pups from the second litter from these parents were also fine. No problems at all. The two puppies that developed Demodex had been placed in homes with an older puppy that soon showed the condition. Since none of their 16 siblings developed Demodex it is clear to me that the only way they could have come down with it was through CONTACT with the infected puppies while they themselves were young and vunerable.

I also had another litter during this time. Two bitch pups that came into contact with the healthy-looking pups that later showed the Demodex. I had kept one and sold the other pup to Angela. Both of our bitch pups came down with mange and again, their dam had never produced another pup with Mange.

Interestingly, I happened to get two puppies during this time from another breeder. I kept one and placed the other here locally. Guess what??? They both developed Demodex. Totally different parents from the three other breedings. The only explanation I can see is that they CAUGHT the condition through CONTACT with infected puppies that did not yet show any signs of mange. The old theory of passing it on to the pups from their mother will not fit in any of these three cases. My theory???……

One more bit of information every old-time dog man who spent any time with hounds in the country has seen is that….it is not uncommon for a healthy hound pup under a year to suffer a collision with an automobile and wind up with a broken leg. Pup heals up fine but comes down with Demodex. Usually in a case like this the pup will respond very well to treatment, the mange clears up, the pup never has any reoccurrence.

Now, what do I think? And can I prove it?

I think that there are two methods of contracting Demodex, getting it from a dam who passes it to the pups (as my litter got theirs), and catching it through contact while the pup is still young and has not developed a strong, adult immune system.

Vets will tell us that almost every dog harbors mange mites.

Normally the dog’s immune system keeps them in check and there is no problem.
I believe that most dogs are carrying a small population of the mites and they are able to stay healthy. I also believe that if a pup suffers some strong challenge to it’s system, that the immune system might not be able to cope with everything at the same time, and the mange takes over. I think this can also occur if a young puppy is put into close contact with an infected dog that is carrying a large excess of mites. The young pup is invaded by numbers it cannot cope with.
It has been my observation that pups who pick-up mange through contact respond well to treatment (either Mitaban or Ivomec) and never suffer a further problem.
Now, can I prove my theory? No, but it makes sense to me.

Would I breed a bitch that was showing signs of Mange? No.
Would I breed a bitch that had previously whelped a litter where all (or most) of the pups developed mange? No.
Have I ever bred a bitch under either of these conditions? No
Would I breed a bitch that caught the mange through contact and had a full recovery and no further problems? Well, we’ll have to wait and see, but if I did I guess I would call it an experimental breeding and let the buyers know the background of the bitch.

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