So I did some searching on the forums here and was just kind of reading through posts on what people have done for Demodex.
Have any of you tried any of the natural approaches, like the lemon juice with good experience? I found a site here:
http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/dog_mange_cure.html
They talk about some natural ways to treat it and some ways that I would have simply never thought of. Pyoben is what the vet currently gave us to rub on the spots that need the treatment.
I'm just asking about the natural treatments because I don't plan on doing dips or anything if this gets worse. This chemical BS is just crap. Pyoben just looks to be Benzoyl Peroxide mixed with shampoo.
(I'll have to digress here for a minute - hope you don't mind)
I'm hoping to have the small amounts I apply with a wash cloth to the job until I can properly bathe her. What pisses me off to no end is that I asked the vet to check out the skin before her spay. So I get a call after the spay and they tell me they did a skin culture (without asking me for payment - yet I still got billed) and found it to be Demodex mange but it's localized and not cause for concern in their eyes because it's a small amount.
I read them the riot act on the phone and in person to the assistant and the doctor herself. They said they did what was in the best interest of the dog. I said "I have the best interest of her in mind, not you. I am her parent, not you. You consult with me and me alone, and never make decisions on your own unless they are life and death and I cannot be reached." She lifted all charges on the bill since I wasn't consulted.
I asked them why the hell they decided to spay her when they saw that it could have been Demodex, seeing as the immune system should be as healthy as possible to assist with fighting off the mites.
I said they should have asked permission for a skin culture, proceeded when I agreed (which I would have), diagnosed Demodex and then recommended I take her home to cure it before the spay. Then bring her back when she was all set again.
So they say bring her back in 2 weeks to remove the sutures and to give her a Lyme vaccine. I gave her my "if looks could kill glare" throughout the entire fiasco. Yeah, what a great idea - bring her back and give her a vaccine to weaken her immune system even further.
No vaccines for her anymore. She's had her puppy shots and she's 6 months old. The more I've been reading on this vaccinosis, the more sure I am she won't be going in for this unnecessary crap with booster shots and crap like that. I still have more reading to do, but they seem to want to pump pets full of anything. Unbelievable how we take our pets to people who do this as a profession yet they act totally unprofessional and seem to want to take advantage of your emotions to get into your wallets. I have first-hand experience of that, so don't take offense to it.
Anyways, I'm just going to have to see what I can do with wash cloths since I can't give her a full bath, as she was just spayed...
I'm feeding her Royal Canin Chicken and Rice for Puppies because the breeder highly recommended it after years of his own research and experience. We are laying off her regular treats and using
Holistic Treats that don't contain wheat. I hear it's important to not use things that have a lot of wheat in them since the mites feed off that. Other than that we use Old Mother Hubbard Treats, Grizzly Salmon Treats, and Liver Biscotti treats as well. I'll be picking up some yogurt tomorrow as well.
Sorry for this long post - I have a tendency to go overboard with information sometimes.