Need Opinions about my Puppy
 

My puppy is 9 months old and is very tiny. She is only 2.8 pounds as of today. She was diagnosed with Demodex a little over a month ago. We had been taking her to the vet several times when she had a little dry scabbed over area on the top of her head and we were told she had dry skin and the vet gave us a conditioner to use for her. She continued to get worse and developed a really bad area on her head that was red and bleeding and her back became red and flaky and she developed a really bad odor. We took her back to the vet and they did a scraping of the top of her head and diagnosed the Demodex. We started her on antibiotics to clear up the skin infection and a cream to put on the top of her head which she had an allergic reaction to the cream for her head and they had to shave her head. After about 2 weeks on the antibiotics, we started Ivermectin which hasn't helped her. If anything, she is worse since starting meds. She is on Ivermectin 0.04cc a day, the antibiotic 0.3cc twice a day, a vitamin twice a day and benadryl (childrens) 1cc twice a day. I took her back to the vet today to recheck and she now has a vaginitis along with goo in both eyes. My poor baby has just been through misery! He now says today that we need to spay her ASAP because her hormones may be making this worse, so she is scheduled for surgery in 3 days. He told me to stop the Ivermectin as of today and we will put her back on it after surgery.

My question basically is has anybody heard of spaying to help get rid of Demodex? and I have read about stopping Ivermectin before surgery, but we will only be off it for 3 days. I am just so nervous about her having surgery (we had planned on spaying her this summer because we wanted her to grow a little more), but she just needs to get rid of this nasty Demodex.

Thanks in advance (sorry for the long post)! :)

This is just my opinion only, but I wouldn't be putting a puppy through a spay operation when they are so run down and so tiny. Have you considered taking her to a specialist? It doesn't sound like what they are doing is working.

I agree with Yorkieusa...and that's just my opinion I'm not a doctor, but you're asking because your instincts are telling you that your vet has lost his/her mind....I think you need to consider going to a different vet in the least. Poor baby!!!! I feel so bad for your puppy!!!!!!!!! So Sorry!!!!!! Please keep us posted

i would switch vets right away. demodex has NOTHING to do with hormones it's a mite. ivermectin is an aggressive treatment style and that's what they have Bentley on. you give it at one dosage for a week and keep upping the doses. the antibiotics are good because you have to treat the already open wounds and infections along with killing off the mites...i would seek out a new vet with more experience. also use an oatmeal and aloe shampoo to help soothe the poor skin. also you can add one fish oil caplet once a day to the pup's food to help put back good oils on the skin that's being dried out and infected.

also if ivermectin does not seem to be working, talk to the new vet about using a promeris treatment for a few months which is topical and seemed to kill Bentley's first round of demodex.

keep the pup eating and keep that immune system up always. once they have demodex it's super easy to get it over and over again and it's horrible to treat. you have to keep their immune systems up all the time.

good luck and God Bless, i certainly know how frustrating and sad this nasty thing can be

also ask the new vet about an eye drop for the eyes. we got some when Bentley had his first round of demodex because his eyes were goopy and sick too. also for vaginitis you will need creams and an antifungal for that. tritop is best for those. Bentley also had a lot of pustular dermatitis around his penis when he had demodes the first time.

sounds like ur poor puppy had a rough start at life. where did you get her? Bentley was a rescue and came from a bad breeder and bad neglectful owners who didn't take good care of him. dogs only get demodex from a compromised immune system. so prob. someone before you didn't do a very good job of caring for your poor baby.

Have you thought about a second opinion?

I don't want to say what is right or wrong b/c I really am not 100% sure. Here though, I was watching spays one day and one of them came up positive for demodex (thinking maybe this was a recurring thing for this pup so they were rechecking). The vet said after the spay that she probably should have held off (already weakened immune system - could make surgery recovery a bit more challenging, but also the stress from the surgery is not going to be good for the immune system).

I'd find a vet that I trust to make the decision. If I was deciding on my own, I'd wait (probably need more specialized care anyway because this sounds like a bad case).

I agree with the others, your baby is too weak for surgery now. Also the vaginitis & eye goo is most likely yeast from all the meds she is on. Are you giving Pro Biotics ?

Thank you so much for the replies. I think I will call tomorrow and see if I can get a second opinion for her. I have tried to search online and can't find anywhere that says the spay is helpful for Demodex. The only thing I can find is where it recommends spaying because you shouldn't breed a dog with Demodex.

Our other Yorkie is so healthy and always has been. We got her from an older couple who bred their Yorkie for the first time and we got to go to their home and met the Mom and Dad and saw the rest of the litter. I tried to find them when we decided to get another Yorkie, but they have moved and I didn't have a phone# for them. Anyways, when we decided to get another Yorkie, we called several places and this lady had a Yorkie "available now" and we went to the lady's house and was strange because she owned 2 houses next door to each other and said one house was for her dogs as a "nursery" and the other house she lived in. She didn't let us meet the Mom because she said she didn't allow people into the nursery for fear the puppies would catch something. I was so naive when she only brought the puppy in to see us and I didn't see the Mom or Dad. She breeds several kinds of dogs (different breeds) and I should have known better (now I do), but I have fallen in love with this dog and my kids are crazy about her. She just fits right in with our family and with our other Yorkie.

Thanks again for the responses. It's nice to hear from others about what to do :)

Also, someone asked if we were giving probiotics. We give her yogurt twice a day because the probiotics we found she was too small for. She eats her food really well. She is on Natural Balance grain free food.

I give Buster Jarrow Petdopholis. Pet Dophilus I also give him Flying Basset Colustrum to help with his immune system. The Flying Basset :: 100% Pure Colostrum Powder -8oz $27.95 I hope you find a solution to ease your poor baby's suffering. I also give Buster Salmon oil to help with his skin and fur. Best Wishes to you and your sweet pup.

We ended up getting a second opinion and the other vet agreed that the increase in hormones as she is going into heat can make the Demodex worse, so she had her spay surgery this morning. They also had to pull 9 baby teeth as she had a double row of teeth. She is doing awesome so far, and I just pray that she continues to do well and it helps her to heal up from the Demodex. They keep dogs overnight after the spay, but there is nobody there to watch them, so I asked the vet if I could bring her home and he agreed to let me pick her up before they closed for the day. She has been laying around and sleeping a lot and we are trying not to disturb her to keep her comfortable. The vet told me to start back on her Ivermectin in 3 days and to continue the antibiotic and vitamin and eye oinment starting tomorrow. I just hope I made the right decision for her.

Glad you got a second opinion and so thrilled all is going well!!! I'll continue to pray for you both through this whole process! Please, keep us posted. We're here to offer support!!! ((((Hugs))))

Thank you so much Gennies. We appreciate the prayers. My little Sophie is doing wonderful. So far so good. :)

Oh, I'm just seeing this. Your poor baby, I'm adding my best wishes for a full and quick recovery.

hope your baby feels better soon