1. It all began...

My story began a day in June 2011 when I went to feed my animals one morning and noticed that my dog, a male Miniature Pincher named "Sarge", had 2 small circular patches of missing hair on his back. I didn't think much of it at the time as I also have a female cat in the household that sometimes slaps the s#!t out of my dog for eating out of her bowl. My dog and cat have a love/hate relationship that my dog dominates, but there has been very rare occasions where my cat has been pushed to the limit and had decided to strike back. I thought this was an incident where my cat had lashed my dog and caused some minor bruising and thought little of it.

Days later, while getting my dog ready for a walk in the park I had noticed that one of the bald spots had grown almost double in size, while the other had stayed the same. I could now clearly see Sarge's white flesh from a spot on his back about an inch south of his shoulder blades. At this point I knew something was up. And being perfectly honest, this was exactly the point where I knew that I was not going to take my dog to the vet.

The reason I made the decision to rule out a vet visit was the fact that earlier in the year, my sister's tiny teacup yorkie named "Mocha" had gotten sick, and we rushed her to the vet. The first thing they asked for was money - even before they asked what was wrong with the dog. About 15 minutes later they came with the bill to show us the cost we'd have to pay to help them fight the dog's infection. Which amounted to $800 to keep the dog overnight, and $1200.00 to be billed later. We paid the $800 and the next morning we got a call saying that Mocha died in the animal hospital. In that same phone call, they asked for money, and the next day we get a bill for $1200.00 in the mail.

So my mind was made up on NO vet, and that I was going to ID the problem and cure it myself.

3. What is Dog Mange?

OK, so I hit the web, I'm pissed off because I've been putting this Lotridimine or whatever they call it on my dog's back for 2 weeks only to find that he doesn't have ringworm, he's suffering from some s#!t they call mange. So again I do heavy research into "mange" and find out that it is a condition where these little parasite bugs called MITES roam ON or IN your dogs skin and proliferate. They generally cause a level of discomfort that can include itching, pain, and severe health problems. These effects are whats known as MANGE. The three mites themselves that cause mange are known as The Demodectic Mite and The Sarcoptic Mite. The 3rd one, I forgot the name, but they call it "walking dandruff" and would kill itself after a short while. It's not even serious, so I'll focus on the heavy hitters. Both of them cause a different type of Mange.


DEMODECTIC MITES (Demodex canis)
These mites cause Demodectic Mange, also known as Red Mange. Demodectic/Red Mange is not contagious to Humans. I've learned that Demodectic Mites live on all dogs, but their numbers are generally kept in check by a healthy dog's immune system. Therefore, as long as your dog is pretty healthy, he's completely immune to demodectic mange. If that immune system is weakened or compromised, the dogs body cannot stop these ugly things from invading and overpopulating the skin.

The are two types of Demodectic Mange: Localized and Generalized. Localized meaning that there are only 4 spots or less in your dog, and generally in the same area, while generalized means that spots are appearing anywhere your dogs body and not necessarily together.


SARCOPTIC MITES (Sarcoptes scabiei canis)
Sarcoptic Mites cause what is known as Sarcoptic Mange or Canine Scabies.

According to Wikipedia:

Also known as canine scabies, sarcoptic mange is a highly contagious infestation of Sarcoptes scabiei canis, a burrowing mite. The canine sarcoptic mite can also infest humans (scabies), cats, pigs, horses, sheep and various other species.

These mites are in the family Sarcoptidae. They dig into and through the skin, causing intense itching and crusting that can quickly become infected. Hair loss and crusting frequently appear first on elbows and ears. Skin damage can occur from the dog's intense scratching and biting. Secondary skin infection is also common. Dogs with chronic sarcoptic mange are often in poor condition.