Ted's Dog Mange Cure

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Ted's Dog Mange Cure (Most Popular)

WARNING!!!
DO NOT CONFUSE BORAX WITH BORIC ACID!
DO NOT USE BORIC ACID IN PLACE OF BORAX!

Ted from Bangkok, Thailand writes, "The best cure for dog mange is to mix a 1% hydrogen peroxide solution with water and add borax. Dissolve thoroughly. Wash the dog with it once a week. Do NOT WASH THE solution left on the dog with ANY WATER. Do not wipe the dog dry. The solution will take effect on mange. The treatment period should not be longer than a month or two. The dog will probably not be resistant as the treatment is painless. This has worked well for me."

More Exact Measurements (excerpted from various emails on our Reader Question & Answer Section)

Ted replies, "A definitive recipe is add 1-2 tablespoon of borax per 500 cc of 1% hydrogen peroxide solution. To make a 3% hydrogen peroxide to 1%, roughly get one part of 3% H2O2 plus two parts of water. Then apply them on the dog. Wash with this solution daily, no rinsing. If it doesn't go away, I have found mites, or mange to have a large "beehive" hidden somewhere. In which case, quarantine the dog in a small area that is 100% sterile."

"Approximate measurements are 1 bottle of 500 of 3% H2O2, plus 1000 of the cc of water, plus heaping 3 tablespoons of borax. Stir until most of borax is dissolved. The borax is past the point of saturation here so you will see some borax around. Technically the concentration is around 1.5% H2O2, and this is a bit stronger because by the time we finish with it, the H2O2 gets reacted with other things, and by the time we used it is is usually ends up near a 1% solution anyway."

"You need to get put as much borax until it no longer dissolves in a pail of water and forms a precipitate. This is a saturated solution of borax. Add H2O2 to about 1% concentration to a pail of water. Soak the entire dog, several times. Keep the dog wet for some time. The borax will destroy the eggs from laying under the skin which causes the mange. Get some solution and spray or use this to wipe all floors so the dog will not get re infected. Repeat this every week when bathing. This is not a perfect cure, but it my dog now no longer have mange. My dog was completely cured. You can try other chemicals such as sodium perborate, which is more convenient since you don't need to add the hydrogen peroxide."

"The solution (borax or preferably sodium perborate) is to be applied AFTER the shampooing and rinsing. The sodium perborate should remain on the dog after the bath. You will not rinse this at all. It must remain on the dog throughout the day so that it will act continuously on the bugs."

"However, I do recommend a less toxic form of borax, which is sodium perborate if you can find one. The secret is that borax (plus hydrogen peroxide) will work better then most other remedies I have tried, this includes mineral oil, neem oil (no, neem oil does not kill the mange as effectively as sodium perborate) I have tried it. In my "mange colonies" and commercial brands to kill insects don't work. Hydrogen peroxide DOES NOT KILL mange, I USED IT SIMPLY USED IT AS A CATALYST for ordinary borax in case you cannot obtain sodium perborate. Mineral oils simply prevent oxygen from reaching mange, but that didn't stop it. I have tried naphta, bentonite clays, DMSO, potassium permanganate, light fluid, etc. They all worked temporarily, and it just came back. I must make a strong statement that the formula (borax+h2o2 or sodium perborate) works bests and it is broad spectrum. You can use it to control mange, mites, fleas, and lyme disease (initiated by those crawly insects). I have actually compared side to side with neem oil, mineral oil, apple cider vinegar and others here in Bangkok and this is the most wide spectrum cure I have found. Borax prevents denaturation of DNA/RNA in dogs and I currently use this as life extension for dogs. For example a ribose sugar, deoxyribose sugar, and various sugar that causes accelerated aging in dogs can be slowed down with supplementation of dogs indirectly when you do the borax wash. "

"Prepare peroxide 1% solution, add 2-3 tablespoon of borax to that cup. Stir and wait for a couple of minutes for the borax to dissolve. The formula doesn't require an exact science. The importance is to add enough borax until the solution is no longer soluble and well past saturation."

"...The reason why it is not working is YOU CANNOT RINSE THE DOG OF borax and peroxide solution with any shampoo or water. After bathing the dog, keep the dog that way, no drying no rinsing. This is why the dog has not improved. Also BORAX is added DIRECTLY to the 1% hydrogen peroxide solution and no water is added separately, otherwise the solution is too weak."

TED'S UPDATE
7/12/2006: "I have reviewed all the dog's mange treatments both by my own tests and by many contributors. It appears that many people have trouble obtaining materials, such as sodium perborate hydrate, so I revised the remedy to hydrogen peroxide plus borax solution applied only once or so every week. The solution of sodium perborate hydrate is very much similar when borax and hydrogen peroxide is added. Some have either substituted hydrogen peroxide with benzoyl peroxide.

The problem about benzoyl peroxide is the upper limit by which you can use it without effect the dog as it is somewhat more toxic if given beyond a 10% concentration. 5% is usually a safe concentration. Benzoyl peroxide because of its toxicity is somewhat of an insecticide, while hydrogen peroxide is not, what it is in the original formulation is that it is a penetrant allowing the borax to go through the skin. Now some did not like hydrogen peroxide due to its limited supplies, so they make use of apple cider vinegar. For me a regular vinegar will do. Both a vinegar and hydrogen peroxide has two similarities. It is both a penetrant and when added with a safe insecticidal material such as borax, which has an toxicity on LD 50 equivalent to that of salt, this is the preferred method. However, one should not use boric acid since there are reported deaths associated with boric acid but not borax.

Boric acid is not recommended for use as it is much more toxic than borax. Borax's toxicity is about 3000 mg/kg, which is the equivalent toxicity to about that of salt. (check wikipedia). The idea is to make a solution of borax so that the solution can cover the entire body and penetrate through the skin of the dog to kill the demodex mites, for example. To use a spot treatment by pure powder will take an infinitely long time as it does not get to it through the dog's skin.

In some cases, people have tried neem oil, mineral oil. Both of these have similar effectiveness, but in different ways. Neem oil prevents the Demodex fleas from laying eggs by modifying their hormones, while mineral oils are moderately toxic only to the demodex eggs, not necessarily killing them. However, both are very limited based on my tests in really killing the insect. You see borax will both kill the eggs, modifying the hormones and their eggs by drying them all at once. The weakness of borax is limited solubility and limited penetration of the skin which you need either vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, benzoyl peroxide (toxic), MSM or DMSO solution. Ideally 10% DMSO should be preferred.

Pine Sol has limited insecticidal effectiveness, being a contact insecticidal, and does not provide lasting killing power once it has evaporated and does not kill living fleas, but it does kill their eggs somewhat. Only a fairly concentrated solution works and it does not prevent re-laying of stray eggs by the dog. In other words, the use of neem oil, mineral oil, benzoyl peroxide, and vaseline will not prevent the recurring of mange since eggs are not just on the dog, but can be anywhere in the house. Therefore re-infection is at issue. The one magic that borax has over its neighbors is that the borax powder that the dogs leaves in the house will kill the eggs even after the dogs no longer has mange and re-infection is therefore next to impossible. However, borax has limited effect on killing the larger mites and fleas, but not mange.

I found that adding 1/8 teaspoon per liter of water of borax added to the dog's water will cause the larger fleas to dry up and die at the same time. My dog for some reason likes to eat something like more than 1 gram of the sodium perborate crystals whenever he feels sick and the fleas just die off. The borax modifies the dog's blood and kills the mange inside out. This is why borax, i.e., sodium perborate, is required for mange, but not anything else due to preventive re-infection of the mange by the powder of the borax that destroys the eggs where the dog sleeps and where it walks around throughout the house.

VASELINE: The problem about using vaseline as an insecticide is that it has limited killing of eggs, but its weakness is that it is not a penetrant, and therefore the frequency of applications will take at least once every other day. Additionally, the hair of the dog will prevent proper application.

Some have went so far as to not use a solution of borax with hydrogen peroxide as a rinse then followed likely, perhaps a borax powder after bath. On the argument of being effective only as a spot treatment. Since dogs do not have sweat glands, not using a rinse will prevent the borax from absorbing into the skin to kill the mange under its skin. So this is not going to work. You need both borax as an insecticide, the water as the solution which to spread it to the skin surface, and a reliable penetrant to get it through the skin, such as vinegar, msm, DMSO, or even hydrogen peroxide. A benzoyl peroxide is both a penetrant and insecticide, but at higher concentration is somewhat toxic for dogs and as a result you are pretty much limited by the maximum concentration not to exceed beyond 5% being a preferred safety. I would prefer to limit myself at 3%.

I therefore suggest, not to get you lost in the woods, is that whatever formulation you use, always stick with borax and borax derivatives, such as sodium perborate monohydrate being the main insecticidal chemicals for the dog.

Pyrethrum is o.k. but in very low concentration of about 0.1% - 0.2% to prevent skin irritation for the dogs near the skin infection areas. The second mix you need is always the penetrant and the third formulation is appropriate dilutions in water. To provide lasting killing effect, non of these chemicals should generally be non-volatile insecticidal mixtures, which unfortunately most recommended are, with exception of perhaps borax and bentonite. Bentonite causes eggs to dry, so they can be used also, but they have no insecticidal mixture as borax and borax can performs both killing the insect, modifying the hormones to prevent egg laying, becomes a stomach poison for the insect, and at the same time causes their eggs to dry up.

I therefore will remain very flexible about what penetrants you use including hydrogen peroxide, benzoyl peroxide (limited concentration), and vinegar. It must be noted that when formulating any mange it must be noted that they must be non-volatile and the chemicals should cause microscopic residues around the house so that re infection of mange is prevented, including mites and fleas.

I think this wraps up the basic theory and application of mange treatment, and hopefully other people will make a more effective formulations in the future at least equal or better than the original formula I have proposed. Just want to tell you that there are many ways you can treat mange, but the issue is one of toxicity, re infection, toxic levels, which portion kills it and how, and which is the penetrant which is the key to it all. Penetrant is important, the chemical must reach the target demodex under the skin. Usually hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, DMSO, and MSM will do that. It must be reminded again that borax, to work most effectively, is to prepare a solution without washing it off, followed by a small amount of borax powder to be applied if you wish. Any other application other than this such as using as purely powder form is NOT going to work.

[YEA]  02/17/2009: Ted from Bangkok, Thailand replies: "It's not working because the remedy I now required is applied everyday, plus no rinsing as the key. a rinsing would have washed off the borax. A solution should be long enough to take effect. Perhaps putting them in bathtub and reapply during bath for about 15 minutes will be more effective, before leaving the dog without rinsing. Because a saturated borax is used, it is likely very little of borax remains on the dog. So should the dog licks, it should not have induce the vomiting. The amount of both the hydrogen peroxide and borax dose is too low to have any effect. Therefore, either borax flakes too large or hydrogen peroxide in large amount was somewhow ingested during the bathing. Henceforth an easy way to get around this problem is to put muzzle on the dog DURING and AFTER bathing for a couple of hours (say 4-5 hours) before rinsing them a way, thus leaving no trace of anything to cause vomiting for the dog.

If a hydrogen peroxide concentration is too high, may induce vomiting. However, I have no way of knowing the concentration of hydrogen peroxide in the water solution mixed. A hydrogen peroxide solution should be around 1%. So my understanding is that it exceeded that concentration. As to why it is not working. It appears that the solution did not stay on the dog that long.

I have received one report that the use of vegetable oils applied to mange are area of the dog helped. However, this may not be accurate information, but is worth a try and results should be expected in a short time. I prefer coconut oil or olive oil for use is one safe way to give it a try, only after the borax saturated solution in 1% hydrogen peroxide is applied.

Ted"

EC: We would love to post your photos, thank you!. Please send them to deirdre@earthclinic.com. (SpamArrest is used on this account because of the hundreds of spam received each day, so please confirm when you get a confirmation email from them.)

03/08/2009: Peggy from Delbarton, WV/USA replies: "Yes, I used Ted's h202 borax and I have been using an equate brand for acne treatment medicine on him whenever I see him scratching. I immediately feel for mange pimples and even if it's a scab, it gets treated. He is on weekly baths and I still rinse him with the h202 borax solution. I also add 1/8 tsp of borax to his and Daisy's drinking water.

The pix of him in his dog house was the way he looked when I first brought him home. He seemed so grateful to have a home of his own. During the winter he has stayed in doors with us. I use ACV to spray the floors and bedding areas as well as his toys on a daily basis. I also wash his toys at least once a week. (The fuzzy ones).

You can see what a shape he was in but he wasn't like this the day I took him to the vet for his neutering. I think the stress of that is what brought this all on. When I took him for his first set of shots. She said he had sarcoptic mange and put him on antibiotics and Revolution. Even though it helped, I think it was all too strong for his little system. The lady that knew of his existence in the back alley said he'd been there maybe 3 wks on his own. He had a really poor start. When I called to him he barked at me but once I kneeled down he came to me, peeing all the way. His fur was so harsh and rough that is was hard to pet him. That is how he got his name Ruff. :D

His little private areas were consumed with mange pimples. They are no longer there. (I did forget to mention that I keep a solution mixed up to spray him when needed but I was wondering how long it last once mixed?)

This final pic was just taken the other day. As you can see he is happy and looking healthy. He actually got into the tub by himself, first time with out a fight and him trying to eat me alive. :D

Peggy"

03/08/2009: Nina from Brighton, TN replies: "I have a 13yr. old Chow who has suffered with this skin condition for as long as we've had her..now in the last six months our 1 1/2 yr old Hound has the same problem so i'm sure this is contagious but to date our 5yr old Chahauha has no symptoms..these babies are constantly suffering and until your site we had lost all hope..the chow's condition has gotten so severe if this doesn't work the only option will be to put her down..just over the last several months she's lost all the hair on her neck,chest,around her eyes and everyday she's losing more and more..her legs and paws over the last week. They smell horrible and nothing i'ved bathed them in has worked. Before I try this I need to know if it's safe to use since they have scratched and bitten themselves so bad it's causeing some open wounds..and also the hound almost died last summer after I treated them with flea drops and it either got into the blood stream or he ingested it from chewing..so now I am very cautious about what I put on them. Will the blue listerine mixture burn or sting if it gets on a opened wound?? Or will the borax mixture make them deathly ill if ingested or seeps into a wound like the flea drops did..I pray that the answers you give me are no major reactions will occur because this is the last hope for our old girl "Princess" she's just miserable!"

03/09/2009: Peggy from Delbarton, WV replies: "I hope someone else answers this as well. Ruff seems to break out with odd puff balls at the site of his flea medicine. I actually haven't had to use any lately cause Ted's cure takes care of the fleas as well. When I do put it on him it's just so he won't drag fleas in on my other dog Daisy. I would try the borax solution first...I use the Listerine mostly as a deodorizer when he comes inside from being out in the hills. It also softens his fur. Mix the borax (20 mule team from Walmart in the laundry section) with the full strength peroxide first then add the water. This helps the solution dissolve better. Maybe try it on a small place first to check your dogs reaction to it. They don't consume enough of it to hurt them, so don't worry about the licking it off part. Maybe use a sponge or cotton ball to try it out first. It will take care of mange odors once it starts working. The vet says this is due to a poor immune system. He was taken away from his mother too soon, dropped off by who knows and left to fend for himself in a high traffic area. I think they wanted him to die and I wanted him to live more! If he gets stressed he will have a spot show up. I just doctor it with the solution I keep mixed up for things like that. The pimples I use an acne cream on. I hope and pray this will help as well, we love our dogs and hate to see them suffer. I think what helped me too is just trying to relax myself and not get to uptight about it. I did start giving him vitamins, more real beef and chicken, and he loves to take yeast/garlic pills (Wally World aka Wal-Mart) I am trying to build up his immune system and it seems to be working. Keep us informed please. Pp"

03/10/2009: Peggy from Delbarton, WV/USA replies: "I forgot to mention that during Ruff's worse times, he had sores and running wounds and the solution didn't seem to sting/burn him when I used it on him. I wanted an instant cure and in fact it took a couple of months but I did see a change after the very first bath. Be patient, and start them on vitamins as soon as possible. Introduce some good food to them. I have given Ruff cooked chicken and beef, not for every meal but I tried to see that he got some at least once a day and avoid any processed lunch meats and scraps.

Please post something in return and let me know how your dogs get."

[YEA]  03/11/2009: Pamela from Tomahawk, AB Canada replies: "Hello there again - here's my update from 02/06/2009 about Jack Sparrow. His demodectic mange began around one eye & then spots appeared down his nose, 4 patches on his forhead under chin, & by his collar. I located sodium perborate by calling pharmacists - one told me it is in (100%) Oral-B (the mouth rinse)(made in Belgium). We mixed 5 packets which equals 2 Tablespoons of Oral-B/sodium perborate, with one litre distilled water and saturated the bald areas and rubbed in from his neck up. I took care not to get it in his eye as i got it in mine & OUCH! If this occurs use the eye drops for contact lenses/dry eye. We didn't give him a complete bath. We also continued to feed him immune boosting foods (salmon & dulse/seaweed from Nova Scotia). Initially he produced more bare spots, but soon the hair around his eye - the initial spot was growing back in. We just had a check-up with our Vet & he's pleased as even the new areas have hair growing back. I believe this all has helped overcome those blasted mites & Jack is on the road to complete recovery as hair is appearing quickly now. We will always feed our pets high quality foods & supplement with veggies/real chicken/salmon etc. because i don't believe 'they've' developed a great dog food out there yet simply because of the processing it requires. Again, thank-you for ALL the info.& resources - it has been greatly appreciated! This has been an experience! and i wish all of you & your special paw families the same results! Pamela"

10/06/2010: Peggy from Delbarton, Wv Usa replies: "Frank, I use a mix of baby oil, blue Listerine (cheap) and water 1/3 parts each to make the fur soft and keep my dog from itching. I also had another spray bottle with apple cider vinegar in it that I sprayed the beds with as well as the toys and any place they laid around a lot. The Listerine mixture helped to keep bugs off of them, also, when outside."

02/19/2009: Mags from Salem, OR replies: "A number of you had mentioned you "sprayed" the solution on your dog and/or its bedding. What kind of sprayer are you using. The solution clogs every sprayer i have tried? Thanks."

10/02/2011: Peggy from Delbarton, Wv Usa replies: "I use a plastic bottle bought at Wal Mart. If you're using the borax solution try this first. Dissolve the borax in the the peroxide before diluting it. You may still end up with some settlement. Then, use cheese cloth or a strainer.

If you are using the lysterine, water, and baby oil solution you shouldn't be having a problem with the spritzer.

I'm thinking it was the borax solution that you were having problems with. Sorry it took so long to respond.

Pp"

[YEA]  01/22/2009: Mary from Regina, Canada replies: "Hi: When I treated my dogs with Ted's cure it dripped all around their eyes. No problems and worked like a charm. If you are worried, just apply with a cloth to control for dripping. The borax wont hurt the eyes. At least it did not hurt my dog's and I just did it the other day. Good luck. Mary"

01/05/2009: John from Westport, Ct replies: "In my experience those symptoms are indicative of a bad diet and vitamin or mineral deficiency. Try a high quality dog food with added human food and the dog should improve within a week."

01/05/2009: Dianna from Austin, TX replies: "against my better judgement (ted censor if you want) i am going to write about an old-time treatment for mange that worked on a stray dog that was dying from mange and nothing the vet did helped at all.

we had an old man on the property that had worked for my dad for 30 years and he said he could cure the dog. now we were at our wits end with this dog and had already spent hundred of dollars and the dog had lost pretty much all her fur and much weight (she was like this when we found her) and had even pus filled places where she had scratched and the vet gave up and said we would have to put her to sleep if she didn't get better. she got the highest grade dog food and supplements, VCO - and i had tried the ACV and white vinegar treatment - but the mange (or mites) were too deeply embedded in her skin.

well what the man did did was to pour used motor oil on the dog and rub it into her skin. of course she hated this but she let him do it and almost immediately you could tell she was feeling better.

in just a few days she was walking around and eating and he only did this once - he left it on - and said to let it 'wear' off and it wore off eventually. but let me tell you - this dogs fur grew back - she gained weight AND her mange totally disappeared and the dog went on to have a happy life and never have mange again.

he told me it has to be 'used' motor oil. when the vet saw her recovery he was amazed - but when i told her what had helped her - he was appalled. but at least she recovered and did not have to be put to sleep.

drastic measure - but it works if nothing else will.

btw the old man told me that every time he had done this the dog recovered with no ill side effects.
djh/texas"

01/10/2009: Peggy from Delbarton, WV/USA replies: "The smell is very indicative of mange. That is what gave away our pup that we found in an alley. He had a horrible smell and I thought he was just dirty from living on his own. As soon as one of my friends saw him, she said she hated to tell me but my dog had the mange. After visiting the vet, he indeed does. I was given the "dip" but it's so horrible that I'm trying the borax and hydrogen peroxide. He is getting more spots and has had 4 treatments. Do they get worse before they get better?"

01/11/2009: Vreed27 from Edmonds, WA replies: "Do you have a type of "good, nutritional" dog food that is recommended?"

EC: Check out this page: http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/food.html

01/12/2009: Randy from Amite, Louisiana replies: "dianna, i heard that using burnt oil would cause a dogs hair to fall out. we are having a cold spell down here in louisiana. would it hurt to put it on now, or wait till it warms up? ita a stray catahoula pup that needs treating. also he has spread it to another of my dogs."

[YEA]  01/13/2009: Peggy from Delbarton, WV, USA replies: "I am sorry I certainly didn't mean for my comment to be a NAY. I was commenting on the smell could be mange to someone else. Then got caught up in my little Ruff's problems. I took him in at about 10 wks old. I took him for his shots and a check up and the vet said he had scarcoptic (sp?) mange. He was put on medicine and by the time he went back for his second set of shots he was cured of it. Then in Dec. when I take him for his neutering the vet calls for me to come pick him up that he was ready to go but she needed to talk with me. She had done some scrapings and he had demodectic mange. She gave me vitamins, shampoo and the "dip" for him. I was to use it once a week. (all the instructions were included). However, it was so horrible I thought there was no way I was going to make him take baths in this. I began my search for natural remedies. I had not read far enough apparently cause I was only bathing him once a week. He is a bit of a wild pup (almost 8 mo) and growls and tries to bite me when I bathe him. He is a handful. My older dog will go get into the bathtub trying to showing him it's no big deal. He seems afraid of water and I have no doubt that he may have been doused with hot water before I found him by people trying to run him off.

Recently my husband and I bought a truckload of straw and put it all over our front yard trying to old down the mud the dogs were tracking inside. Then, I notice Ruff is getting more spots...and sores on his privates and the mite pimples are all over him. I have been using the borax/H20/Peroxide but only once a week. I have a solution mixed that I put on him two or three times a day by gloved hand. Should this still be helping him out? He is on a yeast/garlic pills as well as a vitamin. He eats two to three times a day so he has a good appetite. He has been wormed and I do my best to give him all the love he can handle. He is house broken and it was really easy as he went out with his "big sister". She btw has remaind mange free throughout all this. *fingers crossed* Ruff had a poor beginning and probably has a poor immune system. The vet said stress can cause this to worsen and he stresses about taking a bath. How can I get him well when I can barely bathe him once a week? Also, I spent all day yesterday raking up the straw after I read it can give dogs mange. Then, I scatted borax all over the yard.

He is getting more and more spots of hair loss (black in these spots..not the skin just the hair color) The sores/pimples worry me most. I just feel so sorry for him. I am ready to try the dip again but don't want to. I just want him well. I have been reading this site for three weeks and he's had 3 baths with the solution. I did see some improvement but now he is worsening...straw probably didn't help.

I spray his bed area, wash his toys and covers and spray the carpets as well as shampoo them. I suppose I need someone to tell me how to get the solution on him daily without a fight. During the summer it was easy I just bathed him where he stood outside but it's way to cold to do that now and he knows what is up when he sees me gathering his towels and heading toward the bath area I use to bathe him in. Then it's a chase to catch him, put up with his trying to bite me. (Once I do have him in the tub, he is calm and the best puppy. I talk soothingly to him to assure him he is ok.) What else can I do? I apologize for this being so long. And Yea to this remedy. I am all for natural remedies and always have been. I am thankful this site is here!"

EC: Thanks, Peggy. We'll remove the NAY from your other post!

01/13/2009: Peggy from Delbarton, WV, USA replies: "This is concerning Diana's remedy that the old man used. My parents always used old motor oil to cure our pet dogs when we were young. I was going to and may yet, but when I questioned a man at the Pet Store about it his response was that the motor oil of today is not the same as the olden days. He said if the dog licks it off if could damage the lungs and other body parts. So, I was scared away from this remedy. How did you keep your dog from licking the motor oil off? Ruff licks the solution and everything I put on him off. I try to sit with him to prevent this but he is one stubborn dog. The nearest Pet Store is over an hour away and I can only imagine what it would be like trying to get him to wear a cone. :D Also, did the old man just dab it on the spots. Ruff's problems are his entire underbelly, all four legs-inside/out, and under his neck. He is now developing spots all over (generalized for sure). Help me out here, I may end up trying this since it's so hard to bathe him."

EC: We've seen many warnings about using motor oil for mange. Here's one:

"Please don't use motor oil. It is extremely toxic, and will cause liver damage/failure." http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006060225324

01/13/2009: Peggy from Delbarton, WV/USA replies: "Thanks, I can't really see me using motor oil. I would go back to the mitaban dip first and I really, really hate having to do that. If I could only bathe him daily it would help. They just move to a new place it seems. He is digging today and now that my family is home from work I can get some help giving him a bath. I just dread it as much as he does. I did fix up a used bottle of peroxide (solution) and put it on his places throughout the day hoping this would help. However, I just keep seeing new places showing up. I did see an improvement of his underbelly sores (pimples~ that's putting it lightly) after one day of applying the solution. But the darn things keep popping up somewhere else on him. I keep him inside with my almost 4 year old and she is doing fine...no mange. I think she had a better start in life. You can check them out at http://www.doggyspace.com/profile/6082

I've posted some pix of him when I first got him. He is part of my family and I just want him well."

01/20/2010: Jan from Biggs, Ca replies: "This is just a comment to follow-up on the motor oil treatment for mange in dogs. When I was in the South many years ago, the standard 'country' folk treatment for mange in dogs was to cover them in creosote. I'm sure the effect was similar to the motor oil, but have no idea about the toxic effects - just know that it worked."

02/26/2012: Robin Little from Alamogordo, Nm replies: "The motor oil works because it smothers the mites where they live. (Google them and you'll see how they stick their head down inside a hair follicle and their butts stick out so they can breathe. ) If you coat the butt with oil they die. You can use any oil. I wouldn' t use castor oil. But you could even use crisco or lard, although they woud prolly lick it off. (elizabethan collar?) I imagine they used motor oil because it was unlikely they would lick it off. I don't remember our dog EVER licking that junk off. My dad used motor oil (new) and flowers of sulfur. Just use vaseline. And don't let them lick."