[seainthecity]

I'm going to share my experiences with this to possibly help others who have to deal with this dreaded problem.

Demodex is a mite present on most all dogs according to the specialists I've visited. Most dogs can keep them in check, but dogs that are stressed or their immune systems are suppressed, can have the mites multiply to the point where they cause skin irritations and sores on various parts of the body. Guppy broke out on his ears, below his ears and on his upper neck and back. The dermatologist put him on Ivemectin daily and after 3 months he was better, but still had a large mite count.

In the meantime, although he was on a good quality food, I switched him to Natural Balance Venison and Sweet Potatoe...grain free.

After another month he was still doing okay, but still had a high mite count. His ears were crusty and he still had some crusting on his back and neck, although much better than before.

I wanted a second opinion so I took him to the University of Florida Small Animal Clinic. There they did the skin scrapes (poor little guy) and also determined he had a high mite count. They put him on an antibiotic (Simplicef) and one tablet daily of Interceptor. I drove him back once a month for about 6 months, at each visit they did the scrapes and the first couple months, although he was much better and they were finding dead mites, he still had a pretty high mite count...still mostly in the area under the ears. I was told that the program he was on would probably take a year or more before we completely got the problem under control...and in some cases the animal would have to remain on the program for life. Yikes! I had to bathe him weekly with a Hydrogen Peroxide shampoo and clean his ears daily.

After 6 months we were making progress, but then he got sick. He started vomiting, got dehydrated and was hospitalized with an IV drip for 2 days. At that point, my vet and the vet at UF decided to stop the Interceptor until we could have a DNA test run through the University of Washington to determine if he had a heredity link to the liver disease common in yorkies. In the meantime I couldn't give him the Interceptor as they were afraid if he was predisposed to the disease, the Interceptor could be manifesting the symptoms. My vet took a swab and overnighted it to Washington, but it was still going to take a couple weeks to get the results. In the meantime, he started breaking out again.

I was so upset as I hated to see him go back to square one with the sores and knew it would take quite a while for him to clear up again once the mites got really bad. So, I had him groomed very short and started applying Skin So Soft one day to the areas and Neem oil the next, alternating every other day as I'd read some people had success with the Neem oil and knew that the Skin So Soft I had used on my hedgehog years ago cleared up his ear mites...so I figured, what could it hurt?

Long story short...the DNA test came back negative (wouldn't it be great for breeders to have their stock tested to assure this hereditary problem isn't passed down) and by that time the sores had all disappeared! I'm not saying he's cured of the Demodex, but he's not exhibiting any signs of a breakout at this time and he's not been on the Interceptor for about 2 months now. The treatments at UF, although well worth it, were costing me about $300-$350 a month in scrapes, exams, Interceptor, Simplicef, a 3.5 hour drive each way which caused me to lose a day of work each month plus the shampoos.

So, fingers crossed...prayers from all who will send them this way, and perhaps some tidbits of info and at least a starting point for anyone who ends up in the same place we were. I consulted some of the best in the field, so I do know basically what will be recommended and what worked and didn't. But trying the oils at first breakout is at least an option before going the medical route. Do realize though that the oil is a bit, well, oily and you do have to leave it on...but I warm it a bit and massage it in, then after about ten minutes wipe away the excess on the hair (trying to leave as much on the skin and hair root as possible) with a warm, wet washrag. I'll update back in a month or so and let everyone know if this is just a fluke (I know, bad joke) or if he remains "bug" free.