Mangy mites

Microscopic, parasitic mites digging tunnels into your dog’s skin or eating the hair follicles cause mange which has become a notable problem on the North Coast.

The expression mangy suggests a bald patched, hairless creature, which is what many of the dogs found by or submitted to the Ballito SPCA look like.

“We see mange all the time. Mange is caused by mites, of which there are three different types, namely otodectic, demodectic and sarcoptic ” said Dr Jeremy Lamb from Aloe Vet in Ballito.

According to Dr Lamb, otodectic mites live in the ears and can cause havoc, resulting in itchy ears and often leading to your dog shaking his head or scratching his ears.

“Demodectic mites are the most common and are generally found on puppies, which get the parasite from their mother’s milk.”

He explained that demodectic mites are a normal parasite in the skin and even humans have them, but often puppies or older dogs do not have a strong enough immune systems to fight off the mites and therefore they get infected.

For this reason, correct nutrition is so important, as this will help strengthen the dog’s immune system.

Human food such as curry and chicken bones are not nutritious for dogs and will not boost their immune systems.

Typical symptoms in demodectic mange is hair loss.

“Demodectic mites live in the hair follicle and eat it, which causes the hair to fall out,” he said.

“Sarcoptic mites are the really nasty ones, who burrow into the skin and cause severe itching.”

The reason for the itching usually is the dog’s allergic response to the saliva of the mites and their excrement in the tunnels that they burrow into the skin.

Female sarcoptic mites can lay three eggs per day in the tunnels for up to three weeks.

The eggs hatch in three to five days and the mites remain in burrows until adults, where they mate on the surface of the skin.

The entire life cycle takes 2-3 weeks.

So, if your dog has got bald patches on his body, tends to scratch a lot (and you have treated him for fleas), has smelly skin or is chewing his skin, let your vet check him, as it is highly likely that your dog may be suffering from mange.

The vet will do a skin scraping and check it out under the microscope to look for the mites.

“There are different treatments, depending on the type of mite, such as dips, injections and oral medication. It is important to treat mange until it is totally gone, which can be anything from 2 months to a lifetime treatment, depending on the type and severity of mange.”