First of all let me start by saying I am not sure if that is what it is. We have an appointment with the vet @ 1:15, but I have been dealing with Sadie chewing on her front and back legs for about 2 weeks which I thought was an allergy of some sort so I had been giving her benadryl and using an anti itch shampoo as well as hydrocortisone cream. But now I have noticed that she has an odor even very shortly after a bath and I saw 2 sores under her arms, and she has places on her side where her shiny beautiful coat is thinning very badly so I searched on the net and Dermodex Mange is the only thing I can nome up with! I am at my wits end cause I am so worried that I did the wrong thing by trying to treat her at home and should have took her to our vet to start with. Any info on this mange or what it takes to cure if that is what it is??

It does'nt sound like demodectic mange, it sounds like a food allergy.What breed of dog is this? Yes you definitely should have taken her in, because if it were demodex, you'd have to treat it totally differently.Demodex usually starts in and around the toes and feet, but I don't think that's what your dog has at all.Let us know what the vet says. By the way what are you feeding her? How old is she?
If it were demodex you'd be given Revolution , or the like.
Sorry to sound a bit harsh, I did'nt mean to be.

***Edited By: Pen2 on 8/14/2007 2:52:36 PM***
Reason: addition.

First off thank you for your reply I appreciate any insight and I will re post with the vets determination when I get back.

I am feeding her By Nature , I have not changed her food so that is what she has been recieving since I purchased her in March other than that she gets the occasional treat and some human foods depending on what we are having usually meat and she loves carrots, but these are all things that I have been doing since she was 6 weeks. BTW she is a Boston Terrier. and it did seems to start on her toes and her feet and legs.

There are a couple of different treatments.. One thing they might do is mitaban dips. This is just something they will bathe her with. It usually requires quite a few treatments.
Another option is ivermectin. The vet will prescribe a medication to be given daily (maybe more than once a day, I don't remember) of drops to give orally. Be patient, it could take up to 3 months, and even if it appears to be clearing up, you should continue the treatment for the entire length of time that the vet tells you to.

You can treat at home with ivermectin as well, but it is easy to accidentally overdose and that can be fatal.. I'd stick with the vet on this one. I know that you use a larger amount than one would use for just heartworm prevention (which is 1/2cc per 100 pounds).

Here's a link I found that says it all better than I just did! :-)
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/demodectic_mange.html

It could be demodex or sarcoptic mange, or something entirely different, like allergies as Pen mentioned. Sarcoptes tends to localize around the sides and underarms so it's a possibility. Bring your dog to the vet. They will do a "skin scrape" in the affected areas, and look for mites under a microscope. Demodex is easier to diagnose, whereas the sarcoptes mite can be hard to find... but the treatment is similar for both. Dips, ivermectin, Interceptor, or Revolution.

I know for sarcoptes you can use Revolution. Three applications, every two weeks.

I know because I took my dog to the vet and they found the remains of a mite in his stool. The technician said it "looked like" a sarcoptes mite but she was not 100% sure. So even though he does not itch, he has no hair loss, no signs of sarcoptic mange at all, they told me to treat him to be safe. :-/

Well, a Boston! I happen to breed them; so I'm extra interested in this one. You said you bought her at 6 weeks of age,may I ask where you bought her, because I would not sell a puppy at that age. Is she very small, and has she been sick with anything else? Demodex usually does'nt manifest itself unless there is a compromised immune system,and if this did start in her toes and feet, you might be right. It's easy to mistake for an allergy; however, it seems to have spread rapidly. I would get the vet to do a blood panel on her, and if you bought her from a reputable breeder (I have to question this) I would be speaking to them about the general health of the mother and the rest of the litter. I have dealt with this once, and it cropped up in a tiny little girl, who at adulthood weighs 9 lbs. None of her litter mates showed any signs, and we put it down to her being the runt of the litter, with a slightly compromised immune system. She was treated and is a little spitfire now.Please let us know what the results are.
I should say that you should'nt feel bad about thinking allergy wise,it really is fairly similar, to a point.My advice though to my clients is first to call me,with any questions whatsoever, and then directly to the vet.
I'm doubting sarcoptic mange, since you said it seemed to start with the toes and feet, usually the ears are a cardinal sign of sarcoptic mange, but the skin scrape will tell.

We have returned from the vet and he thinks for sure that it is dermodex mange, but he could not see the mites on the skin grafts he checked but just from looking that is what it is. She has not yet been spayed and he also beleives that the change in hormones could have made it flair up since she is close to beginning her first heat cycle. So she has an appt to be spayed on Friday he is going to do another skin scrape while she is sedated and then treat her with the ivectmen(sp) he said it will be a 42 days dose. The breeder that I purchased her from was reputable belive me I did my homework on that one before I ever purchased her, I am calling her this afternoon after work to let her know what has happened. My vet said that it is hereditary and they get it from their mothers, but the mothers may have never had a flare up nor the siblings. Otheewise she is very healthy she is 6 months old weighs close to 14 lbs and Pen if you will look in my previous post called Pics of Sadie you will see that she normally has a shiny healthy coat, and good skin. He also said that if when he does the second skin scrape if there are still no signs of the mites then we are going to move on to trying to rule out something that she may be allergic to. Even quite possibly fleas since we live in Arkansas they are abundant in this heat even with treatment she stills has some.

Bulldog0531, I looked at your pictures of Sadie, and she certainly had a beautiful coat then. The reason I question your breeder's reputation is because she sold you the dog at 6 weeks of age. When did she have her first set of immunizations? I also question your vet not being able to see the mites, because if she does have demodex, they are clearly visible. I hope that she does indeed have something else,and that you get it under control soon. If it's a food allergy it does take some time though.I would also question the advisability of giving the dog ivermectin,without an absolute diagnosis. Is it possible for you to get a second opinion, from another vet?

Thank goodness! I picked Sadie up from the vet this afternoon and he did not find any mange mites on her! He now beleives that she is allergice to flea shampoo, we did however go ahead and had her spayed as well. So after some antibiotics the skin infection and rash should be gone.

That is good news bulldog, I hope she gets better, I dont use harsh shampoos on my dogs for that very reason, I have enough skin troubles with ruffian being allergic to corn.

OMG the flea shampoo with an allergy prone dog, do I ever know the bad side of that one!

My one girl who is allergy prone went through a similar situation at about 6 months old, thought it was mange as well. Nope no mites - food alergy and environmental inhalent allergy (spring time pollen). I put her on Natural Balance Duck and Potato and with in 2 months she had the best coat of the bunch. Only gets small itchy spots during peak allergy season now. When allergies are bad we give her Chloraphenairmine (sp). Your vet will know the proper dossage for your dog. It's similar to benadryl but does not make them drousy at all! It's also super cheap if you ask for it at the drug counter of your grocery store.

As for the flea shapmoo. I recently had a couple of "bird fleas" don't know where they came from. I bathed this female along with the other dogs in PUPPY flea shampoo. Tis is a 130# girl and by the next day she had broken out in hives and her face was swollen so huge! I imedeatly gave her 3 benadryl, called my vet and put her into a cool bath with oatmeal shampoo to wash off the flea shampoo residue.

She did not tolerate the medicine left behind by the shampoo at all! Some dogs are simply more synsitive than others. I'm glad your vet did not put her on any unnecessary treatment as this could have possibly made things worse.

Don't over bathe her while she is healing just rinse her in cool water. She will need her natural skin oils to recover.

GOOD LUCK!

It sounds exactly like what one of my female Frenchies had. She was licking and chewing on her front paws. She had sores under her arms and scattered around on her underside also. We have a wonderful vet, who is very knowledgable with the brachycephalic breeds. He diagnosed a mild staff infection and prescribed a bottle of Oxydex shampoo. She cleared up completely after only a few baths with it. Bostons , as well as Frenchies are more prone to skin conditions. I do not bath any of mine in the regular dog shampoo. I use the Tropiclean with neem. It really helps with any skin problems and itching. Finding a good quality food is also important. I feed the Natural Balance potato and duck because it is an allergy formulated food and my dogs thrive on it.