Palssonater Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Is this a common ailment? The vet first told me it was sarcoptic mange but then later changed his mind. He(the vet) seems like the guy who is in it to make a buck on examinations and stuff. The dog is 1.5 years old and we had him on Ivomec for a month orally with a syringe. Then the doctor told us about how this new drug called Revolution could treat Demadecdic(sp?) mange. And said it was considerably cheaper than Ivomec. But he had to apply it to the dog. So we took him in and got this done. The drug was cheaper, but the "exam" brought the total up to the same cost as the Ivomec. The vet walked around the counter, asked us if the dog was getting better cause he couldn't remember, applied the stuff(15secs worth of work) and charged us 40 bucks for the exam. Is this guy on the level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IADEERDUDE Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Re: Demadecdic Mange - Dogdoc i would take him to another vet, but that would mean another exam, and prolly another $40 but i think it sounds to me like he is tryin to make a extra buck...but it is hard to find a great vet.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogdoc Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Re: Demadecdic Mange - Dogdoc Palssonater---I think you are getting a bad deal. Demodectic mange or commonly called "Red Mange" is caused by a cigar shaped mite. It is mainly a problem in younger dogs--less than 9 months of age that are immuno-suppressed. However I have seen it in older dogs also. It does not cause itching unless there is a secondary bacterial infection along with it. Demodectic mange is easy to diagnose in about 95% of the cases---a simple skin scraping will identify the mites under a microscope. The most common clinic sign is hair loss--very common around the face, eyelids, and feet. On the body it usually causes circular lesion that look kind of like ringworm. It is thought that dogs with demodex are missing a certain cell in their immune system that keeps the demodectic mite from causing problems. It is not contagious to other dogs or humans. The two treatments that we use for demodex is: a topical medication--applied just like a flea/tick dip called Amitraz or Mitoban. It will successfully treat about 70% of demodectic cases with about 3 treatments. Some dogs require a few more treatments. For dogs that don't respond to the Mitoban we put them on a daily dose of Ivermectin for one month--this is not approved but works very well. Revolution (to my knowledge) has no effect on killing the demodectic mange. It if very effective against sarcoptic mange but not demodex. Revolution does not need to be applied by the vet. We dispense it as a heartworm prevention and to control fleas, ticks, sarcoptic mange, and ear mites. I have never heard of it (Revolution) being used successfully for the treatment of demodex. A $40 exam fee just to apply the revolution seems like scam to me! Did he do a skin scraping and actually see the demodectic mite?? If not I would be looking for a new vet! good luck todd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
too_pointer Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Re: Demadecdic Mange - Dogdoc Thanks Todd, for always trying to help with the free advice, we all appreciate it much. too- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palssonater Posted February 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 Re: Demadecdic Mange - Dogdoc He originally did a skin scraping on our first visit but came up with a negative for the mite. However he assured me that he was 95% positive that this is what the dog had, due to the patterns of baldness. He did charge me 35bucks for a negative scrape and another 40 for the exam. I am thinking he is giving me the run around till my 1.5year old lab grows out of this and his immune system takes over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogdoc Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 Re: Demadecdic Mange - Dogdoc I guess I need to go up on my prices---we only charge $15 for a skin scrape. I would get a second opinion--like I said demodex is usually very easy to find! todd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted February 22, 2005 Report Share Posted February 22, 2005 Re: Demadecdic Mange - Dogdoc The dips can be very effective. This is what worked for our dog. Keep in mind stress to the animal allows the Demodex to come back even after dipping. This means if the animal gets sick from something else demodex can reappear. Anything that would cause the immune system to be challenged opens up the opportunity on demodex. Yep it's caused by a mite but what a nasty one it is. Dogdoc sounds like you're a pretty reasonable guy and a good vet to boot. Curing mange at a reasonable price will definately improve repeat business Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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