Lisa (San Francisco Ca) on 03/07/2016
I have now given two borax-peroxide bath treatments to my dog for his demodex mange problem. I noticed after this second bath today he was oozing quite a bit from the sores on his back and also his paw pads, which are also infected. I am concerned that this oozing will negate the effect of the borax and am wondering if I should dabble more solution on him tonight or tomorrow.
Also, I should add, after these two bath he looks worse - very red and oozing more than the first time I bathed him, two days ago. I have been told to be patient and that the dog can look worse before he looks better. He seems okay now but he was shaking quite badly after his bath and even whimpering. Fortunately he is still eating and drinking and looks fairly stable now. Any advice anyone has to give me about the oozing would be appreciated! Thank you!
(Mpls., Mn) on 03/07/2016Theresa
The wonderful Theresa from Minneapolis, MN has been helping pet owners and their beloved pets around the world on Earth Clinic since 2013.
About Theresa
Theresa from Minneapolis was born and raised in the inner city, always wishing she had been raised on a farm.
Her love for creatures great and small began at an early age, starting with caterpillars - which continues to this day, along with an interest in all insects and 'creepy crawlies'.
Theresa's interest in pet health started with a bird keeping hobby at age 14, where she learned from another hobbyist that the simple addition of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in a bird's drinking water kept fungal infections away; she was able to share this with her avian vet who in turn prescribed it to her own clients; Theresa was surprised to learn that she could teach her vet a thing or two. This important lesson - that each of us can be a teacher - was a turning point for Theresa, and fueled her quest for the knowledge held in lore, and remedies passed by word of mouth. That quest for knowledge continues to this day, as new and old remedies alike are explored. She may not have experience with a particular issue, but she will research it to the best of her ability and share what she finds freely, in the hopes that you can heal or improve your pet's health.
-----------------------------
How To Show Theresa Your Appreciation
If you would like to thank Theresa for her helpful posts, she asks if you would please consider making a donation to one of her favorite local rescue organizations, or by making a donation to help the genius contributor, Ted from Bangkok, recover from his stroke.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Get-Bobo-home/1409993732632080?sk=timeline&ref=page_internal
Red & oozing = skin infection IMHO. Have you been to the vet for this condition? Did they diagnose mange?
The remedy when I have used it did not sting; that your dog seems ouchy from it means something else is going on.
Dogs with severe demodex can develop a secondary skin infection and it sounds like your dog has gone that route. IMHO conventional antibiotics are helpful here, however you can also use a natural remedy but it can take much longer to take effect. Turmeric and colloidal silver are two remedies that can be helpful here, but there are a host of others as well.
Did you soak your dog in Ted's mange remedy per the directions? The feet being affected/pododemidicosis can be very hard to treat; standing your dog in a vat of the remedy for half an hour would be my approach, all the while pouring the remedy over and over him during the half hour. Some find a small amount of the dip to be effective but if I have to treat - and I use the mange remedy as a general skin funk dip - I make up a big batch and fill a large plastic storage bin for a small dog, or make as much as I can in the bathtub for a big dog. The key is to keep wet and working for as long as you can, and in the case of the feet to have them soaking in the solution.
In your shoes I would strongly consider taking my dog to the vet to check out the bacterial skin infection. I would NOT do an Amitraz dip, though I would consider Ivermectin if you do not see any improvement after 5 dips [every other day].
Also to consider; diet - make sure you are feeding good groceries, no diets with lots of food dyes and grains or corn as these can cause skin problems. You might consider alkalizing your dog's drinking water OR doing Ted's borax protocol for dogs - again in the drinking water.
If this is mange, you will need to treat it 2-3 times a week for up to 12 weeks - so keep in mind this is a long term condition that heals slowly.
Please report back!
Replied By Lisa (San Francisco, Ca) on 03/08/2016
About 3 weeks ago I discovered my dog's paw pads were cracking, peeling and oozing a little bit of pus. Concurrently, he had suddenly developed red bumps and scabs and crusty areas on his back and in various other places. Took him to the vet and she did some tests and found yeast everywhere, and an infected ear. Blood tests revealed all his internal organs are healthy. So the vet's first thought regarding the crusty red spots was environmental allergies. My sense, however, was that he had some sort of parasitic skin disease. But I followed her instructions and gave my dog anti-fungal and antibiotics and stopped giving him snacks containing grains. The ear infection cleared up but the skin problem and paws worsened markedly. I came in for my follow up visit and she could see that the skin was worse and talked about just continuing with the antibiotics and anti fungal pills and to add an antihistamine. I gave the dog the antihistamine and it did not help. I called the vet's office back and she took her time getting back to me. I told her I still felt he had some sort of parasitic skin disease and she agreed and said that based on "everything" he probably had mites. I asked her why she didn't think that in the first place and she said because of my dog's age. My dog is 9. She said it's very unusual to see mites in a dog my age. (obviously that sort of floored me.) She told me to come back in for a skin scraping and from there I would need to go to a specialist for canine skin diseases. I have already spent over a thousand dollars and the only thing I got out of it was my dog's ear infection cured. But I'm not all that surprised at how this has gone. This is why I'm here.
Anyway, I completed the antibiotics and anti fungal - they did help his ear but prompted the skin problem to spread. I looked at many pictures of dogs with demodex mange and my dog looks pretty similar: red scabby bumps, crusty spots, some oozing, not a lot of itching, but my dog wants to lick himself constantly. His feet hurt to walk on and he lays around most the day, though he is alert and affectionate and his appetite is great. So, I made a decision not to go back to the vet. Three reasons: I don't think she really knows what she's doing. I can't afford to be ripped off. I don't feel they will cure my dog.
I still firmly believe my dog either has mange or some sort of dermal parasite and so I'm going to commit myself to the borax treatment. If he does not get better at all after six treatments I will know that mites are not his problem. Good news is, he does appear to be slightly better after two baths. Yesterday, in between bath days, I did do an added borax-solution blotting, with a cotton ball, of the areas that are hardened from the dried lymph. I also blotted his feet this evening. I think they're slightly better. He will get another bath tonight. By the way, I said he turned very red after his last bath but the red changed to pink after about two hours. Isn't this an indication that we're dealing with mange?
Sorry this got so long, but I thought it might be good to give you all the details. I really want to make my dog better and I intend to do everything possible. Thank you again for answering my post and I look forward to hearing any advice you have for me.
Cheers!
Lisa
Replied By Lisa (San Francisco, Ca) on 03/08/2016
Thanks again!
Replied By Lisa (San Francisco, Ca) on 03/09/2016
Lisa
Replied By Lisa (Ca) on 03/12/2016
Anyway, this treatment is incredibly effective if you do it exactly as you're supposed to. I am also giving the dog borax in his water. 1/8 teaspoon per liter/quart. I will stop that as soon as the swelling in his paws goes down.
Replied By Lisa (San Francisco Ca) on 03/22/2016
So, that said, I had a horrible experience yesterday. I applied tea tree oil to his feet in hopes of speeding things up. Instead he had a terrible reaction to it -- he turned red all over and developed a fever of 104.2 degrees. Needless to say I was really frightened but I suspected it was the Tea Tree oil so I gave him an epsom salt soak in the tub for 20 minutes to get the stuff off of him. I then took him out, put him on his bed and put a fan on him to cool him down. Then I gave him ice water and steak pieces. His fever broke soon after the bath and the steak. So I would say STAY AWAY FROM TEA TREE OIL!! It even made me sick, just inhaling the fumes. Awful!
EDIT and UPDATE - May 8 2016
Turns out the problem with my dog's feet was auto-immune disorder. Probably an affliction called pemphigus foliaceous. Found this out by taking him to a different Vet who was more experienced. He was put on Prednisone which put it into remission, and he's now doing well and phasing off the drug. I'm adding Curcumin to his med routine and hoping I can soon eliminate steroids entirely. I'll be trying medicinal mushrooms too.
Replied By Lisa (San Francisco Ca) on 04/25/2016
Regarding the Borax baths-- I don't regret trying the Borax treatments because they did help with his yeast, and the baths certainly did no harm. I had also been soaking his feet in Epsom salts regularly, which I think helped detox him. So anyway, now I need to learn all I can about natural methods for keeping my dog's immune system healthy and normalized.
Replied By Lisa (San Francisco, Ca) on 03/08/2016
I recently took him to a new vet and his skin problems and the chronic inflammation of his paw pads was identified immediately as autoimmune disease: pemphigus foliaceus. This is why the borax treatment didn't work on the paws. (Oddly, it did appear to help with the red spots on his body.) Anyway my dog was prescribed prednisone and his feet were on their way to healing in less than a day. The borax baths did not harm him, and ultimately everything led to the right treatment. Now I will need to educate myself on natural remedies for Pemphigus foliaceus. Prednisone has to be taken with great caution and I'm hopeful that I can find herbs or a medicinal mushroom combo that will normalize his immune system.
Cheers, Lisa
Replied By Lisa (Ca) on 03/12/2016
(Mpls., Mn) on 04/28/2016Theresa
The wonderful Theresa from Minneapolis, MN has been helping pet owners and their beloved pets around the world on Earth Clinic since 2013.
About Theresa
Theresa from Minneapolis was born and raised in the inner city, always wishing she had been raised on a farm.
Her love for creatures great and small began at an early age, starting with caterpillars - which continues to this day, along with an interest in all insects and 'creepy crawlies'.
Theresa's interest in pet health started with a bird keeping hobby at age 14, where she learned from another hobbyist that the simple addition of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in a bird's drinking water kept fungal infections away; she was able to share this with her avian vet who in turn prescribed it to her own clients; Theresa was surprised to learn that she could teach her vet a thing or two. This important lesson - that each of us can be a teacher - was a turning point for Theresa, and fueled her quest for the knowledge held in lore, and remedies passed by word of mouth. That quest for knowledge continues to this day, as new and old remedies alike are explored. She may not have experience with a particular issue, but she will research it to the best of her ability and share what she finds freely, in the hopes that you can heal or improve your pet's health.
-----------------------------
How To Show Theresa Your Appreciation
If you would like to thank Theresa for her helpful posts, she asks if you would please consider making a donation to one of her favorite local rescue organizations, or by making a donation to help the genius contributor, Ted from Bangkok, recover from his stroke.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Get-Bobo-home/1409993732632080?sk=timeline&ref=page_internal
So glad to hear that you got a diagnosis! I found this to be a very informative veterinary article on this condition - it covers various medications and cautions about weaning off of the steroids carefully:
http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/canine-and-feline-pemphigus-foliaceus-improving-your-chances-successful-outcome
Please keep us posted on what you find helps boost /normalize your dogs immune system.
Replied By Jane (Massachusetts) on 07/20/2016
Replied By Michelle (London England Uk) on 07/30/2016
Replied By Lee (Clackmannanshire ) on 10/18/2016
(Mpls., Mn) on 10/26/2016Theresa
The wonderful Theresa from Minneapolis, MN has been helping pet owners and their beloved pets around the world on Earth Clinic since 2013.
About Theresa
Theresa from Minneapolis was born and raised in the inner city, always wishing she had been raised on a farm.
Her love for creatures great and small began at an early age, starting with caterpillars - which continues to this day, along with an interest in all insects and 'creepy crawlies'.
Theresa's interest in pet health started with a bird keeping hobby at age 14, where she learned from another hobbyist that the simple addition of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) in a bird's drinking water kept fungal infections away; she was able to share this with her avian vet who in turn prescribed it to her own clients; Theresa was surprised to learn that she could teach her vet a thing or two. This important lesson - that each of us can be a teacher - was a turning point for Theresa, and fueled her quest for the knowledge held in lore, and remedies passed by word of mouth. That quest for knowledge continues to this day, as new and old remedies alike are explored. She may not have experience with a particular issue, but she will research it to the best of her ability and share what she finds freely, in the hopes that you can heal or improve your pet's health.
-----------------------------
How To Show Theresa Your Appreciation
If you would like to thank Theresa for her helpful posts, she asks if you would please consider making a donation to one of her favorite local rescue organizations, or by making a donation to help the genius contributor, Ted from Bangkok, recover from his stroke.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Get-Bobo-home/1409993732632080?sk=timeline&ref=page_internal
Ted's Mange remedy works on many other skin issues - not just mange. However if not nipped in the bud early on, some skin issues can get out of control. It sounds like your dog may have secondary skin infections going on. To get a handle on this you need to look at the big picture. Are you feeding a quality diet? Diets with grains - corn, wheat, soy - have been linked to skin problems in dogs and doggie 'leaky gut' which causes sensitivities to food and other things. Consider alkalizing and also Ted's Borax Protocol for dogs to help treat a systemic yeast infection from the inside out. Consider topical application of coconut oil, or topical creams boosted with healing essential oils such as lavender. Your dog may benefit from wearing a t-shirt to protect the raw skin, as well as a good nail trim/file to limit the damage the nails do when your dog scratches. Oral supplements of turmeric. quercetin and yucca can help with inflammation and oral colostrum along with vitamin C, found at health food stores, may help boost your dog's immune system.
Replied By Debra (Co) on 03/28/2017